According to the age-old adage, “the house always wins.” But if that statement is true, then how do professional gamblers make their money? There may be some truth to this statement in the sense that a vast majority of players will be unsuccessful, but for a minority, it couldn’t be any further from the truth. It is possible to bet and win consistently and in this guide to How to Win at Sports Betting we’ll give you some tips on doing just that, covering topics such as:
- How to win bets consistently
- How the professionals do it
- The importance of bonuses and budgeting
- And more…
How to Win at Sports Betting
There is no sure-fire way to win every single bet that you place, contrary to what other sites might tell you. It is true that you can greatly increase your chances by focusing on “dead-certs”, but there’s no such thing in sports betting.
Not only does this method require you to place huge bets on very short odds, but shocks happen all the time in sports and you could easily lose that money.
But we promised to show you how to win at sports betting and the truth is that while you can’t win 100% of the time, there are a few things you can do to secure a profit most of the time:
1. Bankroll Carefully
If you want to know how to win at sports betting, you need to know how to bankroll. This is the single most important aspect of professional gambling and it’s something that every wannabee profitable gambler needs to learn.
A bankroll is basically your gambling budget. It’s something you draw upon every time you need to make a deposit or place a bet and something you only bolster when you win.
To set your bankroll, calculate a sum of money that you can afford to lose, one that will not eat into your bills or essential payments. Depending on how safe you want to play it, you can then reduce the sum even further. If, for example, you have €1,000 in disposable income every month, then you could keep €500 for savings, €400 for other expenses, and €100 for gambling.
That €100 is your monthly bankroll. Deposit it into a sportsbook and use it to gamble, placing bets that stretch this amount much as possible. If you win, then your bankroll will grow naturally, and you can withdraw a fixed sum every month. This is your profit. If you lose, then avoid making any further deposits and wait until the next month, when your bankroll begins again.
A bankroll is something that all professional gamblers have in common. It ensures that you don’t lose more than you can afford and don’t get carried away, thus preventing problem gambling issues and ensuring your finances are not adversely affected even if you have a streak of losses.
2. Become an Expert
Sports betting websites utilize vast quantities of data and analytics to create their betting markets. These are tweaked constantly—reacting to every change in the market. If you want to bet and win consistently then you need to beat those systems and understand that data.
This is easier said than done, but it’s important to remember that data doesn’t paint a complete picture. If we use sports like boxing as an example, data can tell you who’s the most likely to win based on previous fights and physicality, as well as reach, punching power, and other key data points.
However, data can’t judge the heart of an individual. It doesn’t consider external factors, such as whether the favorite is influenced by something happening in their personal life or whether it’s the outsider’s last chance at making something of their career. These are aspects that a human can calculate but a machine cannot.
This is something you need to consider if you want to beat the bookies on a regular basis—getting the best odds, finding likely outcomes that have big odds, spotting the things that few others see.
3. Stick with What you Know
Successful gamblers stick with what they know, only venturing into other disciplines when they have taken the time to understand them and know what they’re doing. You might see a high-stake Poker player drop a few Euros on a game of Baccarat or Blackjack, but you won’t see them go all-out and destroy their bankroll with something they’re not comfortable with.
You need to adopt the same attitude with sports betting. If you’re not comfortable with your knowledge of a particular betting market, then don’t risk your bankroll betting on it. If all you know is football, then stick with football and don’t start betting on tennis and other sports you know little about.
4. Don’t be Controlled by Desire, Anger or Favoritism
It’s important to keep your emotions in check when you gamble. Failing to do so may result in massive losses and problem gambling issues—it’s a slippery slope that you need to avoid.
If you feel angry, frustrated or upset, take a break and don’t place any more bets until you calm down.
Professional gamblers, and all successful gamblers for that matter, don’t let their emotions get the better of them. You also need to avoid the trait of “wishful betting” whereby you bet money on the outcome that you want, as opposed to the one you expect.
This is true for anyone who bets on their favorite team to win, but it’s also true with many gamblers who wager on lots of goals and lots of entertaining outcomes, simply because that’s what they want to see.
The main issue with this is that it stops you from betting on the most likely outcome, but it can also lock you into a habit of making the same bet every game, at which point you stop treating it like a sports betting market and start treating it like a lottery.
5. Take Every Bonus Available to You
The best way to guarantee a profit, and perhaps the only way, is to play with money that isn’t yours. That way, every cent that you win is a cent of profit. Of course, no one’s going to give you money to gamble with, but you can secure bonuses and use these in a similar way.
Online gambling sites use Welcome Bonuses to lure new players in; Reload bonuses to ensure they stick around, and more. You can collect a lump sum as soon as you join and/or make your first deposit, and you can then earn money every time you bet. These bonuses are not as common on sportsbooks as they are on online casinos, but they’re still available.
6. Compare Odds
Very few bettors bother to compare odds. They assume that the differences will be so small that it simply won’t impact their profit. They also assume that a win is a win and whether you’re turning a $10 bet into $100 or $110, it doesn’t really matter.
But if you want to be serious about your betting, you need to compare odds and do your research. The best sports betting sites offer highly competitive odds, which can significantly increase your profit during a successful stint.
This is true regardless of the bets you’re placing, but it’s even more relevant if you’re focusing on small stakes and big odds. Sportsbooks treat long-shots very differently. It’s very common to find odds of 66/1 (67.00) on one site and over 200/1 (201.00) on another. In the first instance, a bet of €1 will secure a profit of €66; in the second it will be €200. That’s a difference worth paying attention to.
7. Try Live Betting
Thanks to live betting it has never been easier to use your sporting knowledge to win money. How many times have you watched a game live and correctly predicted the outcome, whether you’ve had a good feeling that the winning team will throw their lead away or that a certain player will score?
With live betting, you can put those hunches to the test, staking money on the outcomes that you predict and winning big when they come in. Many professional gamblers focus only on live betting markets and this serves them well, allowing them to use their knowledge and experience to read a game and correctly predict it.
You can find live betting markets on all major sportsbooks these days. They are more common in popular sports and big matches, but they’re becoming more common across the industry and you can even find them on relatively short and explosive sports like Boxing and MMA.
Summary: Improve Your Chances
If you’re looking to win betting on a consistent basis, then keep all of the previous tips in mind, following them diligently, and keep a close eye on your budget. Keep betting sensibly and with a little luck, those winnings will keep coming! Just make sure you keep that budget under control and keep your cool at all times.
