Did you know that the majority of states either have or are considering legalizing sports betting? If sports betting is currently illegal in your state, there’s a good chance that this could change as time goes on.
If sports betting is legal in your state, it’s time to make some money! Before jumping in and making your first bet, there are some sports betting tips you should follow. Keep reading to learn four of them.
1. Set up a Bankroll
One of the most important betting tips is to set a bankroll. If you don’t know how much money you are comfortable losing, things can quickly get out of hand.
Although it’s ideal to win every bet you place, this is not realistic. Losing money on sports betting is inevitable.
It’s easy to start your bankroll with a round number like $100 or $1,000 depending on your finances. As a beginner, it’s best to start low, even if you have some money to blow.
Your first time betting is a good test of what sports betting is going to be like. If you quickly lose your bankroll, it’s probably best to take a break from making bets until you learn more about the process.
If you make bets with your bankroll using units, your money should last you a decent amount of time. A unit is a measurement of the size of a given bet. In short, it’s a percentage of your bankroll.
One unit might be equal to 10% of your bankroll, but it’s not the same for everyone. If your bankroll is $100 and you want to have 10% units, you’ll be making $10 bets.
You can put more than one unit on a bet if you feel confident about it winning. Beginners should stick with betting one unit at a time to see how well their research has paid off.
Betting with units is a great way to make money over time because you aren’t making random high-risk bets with all or most of your bankroll.
2. Check the Data
Newer sports bettors receive a lot of their data from cappers. Joining discords to get plays is a common thing in sports betting these days. You can find a capper that has data-backed plays and join their discord, but it will probably cost you.
If you want to win sports bets on your own terms, it will take time to get used to the process. You’ll need to complete a lot of research and basically come up with your own model to have the best chance of winning.
You can start your research by looking at simple numbers like win records, home/away records, against-the-spread records, and more. There’s a deeper level of research that you can dive into.
In baseball, for example, you can examine the matchups between batters and pitchers. Coaching matchups in football and player matchups in basketball can also provide you with some great insight.
There are a number of statistics you can study. Try to find the most important ones to distinguish yourself from other beginner bettors. It’s helpful to start betting on one sport at a time to limit the amount of research you have to do.
3. Shop the Odds
With your research and data, you’ll have an idea of what you want to bet. Sportsbooks tend to have the same odds, but some of them have a few outliers.
If you want to shop for the best odds, you’ll need to look into different sportsbooks. You’ll need an account with each sportsbook you want to use.
You can utilize FanDuel or go for something less mainstream, like Bet Rivers. Learn more about BetRivers at this link: https://www.therx.com/sportsbooks/betrivers/.
Your favorite betting site could have the team you think that’s going to win at +100 odds, while other sportsbooks have the team at +120 odds. To get the better odds, you might want to bet without using your favorite betting site.
If you are comfortable having money in numerous sportsbooks, shopping the odds is a great strategy to utilize.
Start looking at the different lines in the morning when the markets open, and keep checking as they change throughout the day.
4. Learn the Terminology
Bettors, especially beginners, need to know the terminology behind sports betting. Otherwise, you’ll open a sports betting site and wonder where to place your money.
If you learn the basics before you start placing wagers, you’ll be in a better position to enjoy the experience of sports betting. Learning about the most common types of bets is a great place to start.
Some of the most popular forms of betting include:
- Moneyline wagers
- Point spreads
- Totals/Over-under bets
- Parlays
- Futures
- Prop bets
Moneyline betting is simply choosing the winner of a game. Point spreads refer to a team winning by a certain number. Bettors can take an over or under for the total points scored by both teams combined.
Parlays allow bettors to combine different bet types into one giant bet. This is a high-risk strategy, but it comes with a higher payoff. You can only win a parlay if every tier hits.
Futures are bets made on an entire tournament. Futures, also called outright bets, refer to the NBA championship winner for basketball, the Super Bowl winner for football, etc.
Prop bets are bets made that don’t have to do with the outcome of a game. These bets can win you a good amount of money, but there often isn’t data to back up these bets. An example of a prop bet could be who wins the coin toss.
Betting Tips to Help You Succeed
Succeeding as a sports bettor isn’t as simple as having a gut feeling and winning some money. To make a profit, it’s best to follow these four sports betting tips.
Set up a bankroll and stick to it. Check data on teams, players, leagues, etc., and use that research to make smart bets. Shop around for the best odds and learn the terminology.
For more tips like this, check out the other posts on our website.
