Betting on sports can be fun and extremely rewarding if you know what you are doing. For those who are just starting out, picking bets can be difficult, especially if you are not familiar with all the markets.
The truth is that there is more to picking bets than just finding a winner. Consideration has to be given to popularity of the market, the theoretical winning chances, and the overall value of the odds. Here is what you should know:
First Manage Your Expectations
It is a long-held myth that professional tipsters win the majority of bets they place. Even the top betting professionals win just over half the bets they place. This means they lose almost 48% of their capital on an average month. How they make money is by finding value bets where the reward outweighs the risk. If you serious about making money with sports betting, prepare to part with your cash because at best you will win just over half the time.
Avoid Popular Sports
If you are passionate about Football, Basketball, Golf or any other popular sport, you may want to try extending your sports knowledge. The most popular sports are the ones that generally get bet on the most. Since they have such a high hit rate, the bookies can decrease the odds and still get loads of people betting. Less popular sports will have far higher odds for the same type of markets.
Choose Less Obvious Markets
If you want to stick to a sport you know, you can also try choosing a different betting market. Popular markets like money line, outright winner, over/under, and draw/no bet will usually have the lowest odds. Consider trying prop bets like first team to score, total number of tries, best defence team, or something similar.
Avoid Betting on the Favourite
It may sound counterproductive, but if you want to make money, you should avoid betting on the favourite. There is a good chance you will win, but the profit will be so small that the risk is not worth the wager.
Rather find odds that pay a little more with a decent theoretical win ratio. Also avoid betting on the long shot since the risk is just too great no matter how much money you stand to win. Many punters have been duped into placing bets on long shots because they heard about someone winning big. If you look at the statistics, long shots only win a fraction of the time.
Look for Value First
Finding value odds is the only guaranteed way to make a profit with New Zealand’s top sports betting sites in the long run. By value, we mean finding wagers where the profit/win ratio is more favourable. These don’t come around very often, but you can find them if you know a lot about your chosen sport.
Sometimes, a team, horse, or player gets underrated or new information has come to light but is not yet reflected on the betting odds. With these bets, you know the potential reward is worth the small risk. Place enough of these types of wagers, and you will slowly build a profit.