Betting on sporting events is a popular way to increase the pleasure of watching a game. As Homer Simpson once described it, sports betting is like toppings on ice cream – it makes a good thing even better.
Some people are professional gamblers, and bet on sports exclusively to make money. Others gamble just for fun and don’t care very much if they win or lose. Most gamblers, like myself, are a mixture of both – we bet to enjoy the game more, but we’re also looking to make money.
Given the current job market situation, this is considered the safest bet to earn more money as gambling is not necessarily a sin if you know the tricks and trade of how much to bet and in what circumstances. Budding gamblers always question on where to find btts tips so as to improve their technique and bet on the right player.
While the most important aspect of winning your bets is predicting the outcome of a game, there are other ways to increase your winnings. Here are five tips that can make you a better sports gambler:
#1 – Shop around for the best line
Not all sports books use the same line. While the lines are often pretty close – usually within a point of each other – it’s always in your best interest to browse multiple books until you find the line most in favor of your bet. For example, let’s say it’s college basketball season, and you’re betting on a Maryland-Duke game. Duke is the underdog. In one book, they’re a +6, and in another, they’re a +6.5. Naturally, if you’re going to bet on Duke on the spread, it’s in your best interest to bet on the +6.5 spread. At the end of the day, if Duke loses by 6, you’ve won your bet, while those who bet on the +6 have pushed. Invariably, several games a day will end this way, so if you make every bet on the best possible line, you’ll win where others push and push where others lose. Never underestimate the half point.
#2 – Keep the “public” teams in mind
The job of an oddsmaker is not to make the line fair and accurate, but to make as much possible money for his book. This means that if the public supports a particular team, the line is going to heavily, if unfairly, favor that team. Casual bettors tend to not know much about less popular teams, so they’ll bet with the “public” teams, which means the lines will unfairly favor those teams. This gives the savvy bettor an opportunity to play the underdog on the spread. Let’s try another example: It’s football season, and the Steelers are playing the Falcons. In this hypothetical season, the Steelers have been dominating the league, and getting all the press coverage on SportsCenter and elsewhere. The Falcons are having a mediocre season, so nobody knows much about them. The less informed bettors will be willing to bet heavily on the Steelers in this scenario, meaning the spread will tremendously favor the Steelers. The Falcons probably won’t win, but they’ll probably cover the spread. Savvy bettors bet the underdog against public teams.
#3 – Don’t bet exclusively on big games
The most popular events to bet on are the Super Bowl and the NCAA basketball tournament, but often, the lines on these games are too risky. Quite often, the safest and most profitable bets will be on less significant games. Casual bettors develop tunnel vision, betting only on the games that are most exciting. Smart bettors keep their eyes on every line, looking for a good bet.
#4 – Time your bet properly
It takes experience to recognize the nature of line shifts and be able to predict them, but here’s a good rule of thumb: If you want to bet the favorite, bet early; if you want to bet the underdog, bet late. Generally, casual bettors bet late in the day and bet the favorite. This means that as the day goes on, the line will usually shift in favor of the favorite. For example, if the favorite is a -6.5 at the beginning of the day, as the day goes on, more and more people will bet the favorite, and to counteract that the oddsmaker may shift it to a -7.5. So it’s best to bet the underdog late in the day, when the line is most in your favor, and earlier for the favorite.
#5 – Don’t use a handicapper
Many bettors think they can make a profit by trusting expert advice. It’s not a smart move. For one, most handicapping services are scams. If you find a legitimate one, the handicappers who work there will be experts who understand not only the teams, but also the complicated mathematics behind sports gambling. All the more reason to trust them, right? Wrong. It’s dangerous to trust the advice of somebody when you don’t fully understand that advice. Handicappers, because of their expertise, know how to balance their bets, understand the odds and the spreads, calculate risks, etc. The advice they give you may be what they’re planning to do themselves, but they also know how to react when things don’t go the way they expected. If you take their advice without that expertise, you could be left in the dust. It’s like trusting a stock guru. They don’t intend to deceive you, but they have an expertise that you don’t, so it’s a bad idea to blindly follow them. Plus, you’ll not only lose money on your bets, but you’ll have to pay them, too. Of course, you may understand mathematics and statistics as well as the handicapper, but then, you don’t really need the handicapper, do you?
These tips won’t turn you into a stud gambler overnight. It’s called “gambling” for a reason – there’s a risk involved. But if you’re savvy and bet intelligently, you can have a good time and make a small profit off of sports.
