Betting on sports has a long and storied history, almost as long as organised sport itself. But the arrival of online bookmakers took the industry into the stratosphere, attracting a wide demographic of new bettors who may never have set foot in bricks-and-mortar bookies.
But while sports betting can be simple — placing a bet on your favourite team to win, for example — there are advanced betting techniques and wagering options available across all online sites and apps, and these can seem daunting for newcomers. There is also the question of odds — how to read them, what to look for, and which are the most favourable/generous. If you’re interested in sports betting, but don’t know where to start, read on for some tips to get you going, enjoying, and hopefully, winning.
Don’t Rush!
You need to work at sports betting, remember, it isn’t meant to be easy to win — otherwise, bookmaking would be an unprofitable business. It might be tempting to start throwing your money around on ‘sure things’ — bets you think you won’t lose. But you might lose, and even if you don’t, sports betting is something that takes time to get good at, and is impossible to perfect. There are some in-depth sports betting guides out there that will take you further, but we’ll go over some basic concepts here.
So, start small, with low bets on simple, reasonably safe wagers. Once you start to come to grips with different strategies and more complex wagering options, you can gradually increase your bets.
Odds
An all-important part of earning your sports betting chops, you’ll need to get to grips with how odds work. You probably already know that sports betting odds represent the probability of a particular outcome. The most common formats appearing are fractional, decimal, and moneyline odds.
In fractional odds, such as 5/1, the first number represents the potential profit relative to the second number, which is the amount wagered. So, a successful $100 bet on 5/1 odds would bring you a tidy $500 profit (plus the original $100 stake). Decimal odds, like 6.00, directly represent the potential total payout, including the original stake. So, placing a successful $100 bet at 6.00 odds would result in a $600 total payout, including the initial wager.
Favourites, Underdogs, and Pick’em
These are terms you might have heard and probably understand, but we’ll go over them nonetheless, as they’re important factors when placing bets. Simply put, favourites are those judged most likely to win by the bookmakers, and underdogs least likely. Sometimes, when, for example, a lower league football team encounters an elite side from Serie A or the EPL, the favourite and the underdog will be obvious.
Other times, when placing bets on horse races, etc, there will be more factors to consider such as form, distance, and track quality on the day. Favourites will have shorter odds, meaning you’ll find less if you place a successful bet on them. Meanwhile, Pick’em means the contest is too close to call, so anything goes, pick your favourite!
Moneylines, Spread, and Over/Unders
The simplest possible bet you can make — who wins, who loses. This doesn’t have to be a team sport, you can bet on cycling, Formula One, horse racing, you name it. With moneylines you don’t have to worry about spread, or any other factor, making it the most popular wager format for newcomers to sports betting.
If you know a bit more about the sport you’re betting on, spread betting allows you to gamble on how much you think the winning (or losing) margin might be. For example, if you bet on Manchester United to win against Nowheresville Town by more than 4 goals, you would bet +4. If you bet for Nowheresville to lose by 4 goals or fewer, you would be -4. If Manchester won 3-0, you’d lose the first bet, and you’d win the second bet. Over / Under refers to bets on various totals within a game (final score, goals scored by a specific player, etc). It’s a betting option best suited to more experienced sports bettors.
Before venturing out, it’s imperative to remember that your sports betting experience should be fun and exciting. However, as with any activity you want to master, preparation is key. It’s important to learn the ins and outs to maximise your experience, and increase your chances of pocketing some real winnings.
