Image of two chess pawns and and arrow pointing up for using Betting Strategies

Top Betting Strategies That Make You Become a Better Sports Bettor

Implementing betting strategies while placing wagers is key to success. There are various betting systems to try, and in this guide, we have broken down the best ones for you.

Betting strategies are a systematic way to gamble with the aim of generating profit. With a well thought out strategy, you can enhance the chances of achieving your financial goals and utilize bookmaker odds to your advantage. Let’s get cracking!

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Why Use Betting Strategies

There are many reasons why it is advantageous to use a betting strategy. At the very least, deploying even just a basic strategy can help you to limit your risks by managing your bankroll and making more calculated bets. At the end of the day, it’s better to build up your bankroll slowly over time with a low-risk strategy than to treat every bet as a “hit and hope”.

While luck will always be the ultimate deciding factor when it comes to sports betting, you can still increase your chances of winning. By taking simple steps such as planning in advance and picking the right sports, games, and betting lines, you should find that your bankroll has a better chance of increasing over time. Additionally, it always pays to shop around for the best odds and to use bonuses to your advantage.

How to Start Using a Betting Strategy

Don’t know where to start when it comes to planning your betting strategy and putting it into action? Not to worry, as we have provided you with five simple steps to get you started. Following these steps is essential before you place your first bet.

  • Learn the basics – Those who are new to sports gambling must get a firm grasp on the concepts. This entails familiarity with several wagering options, such as the point spread and the Moneyline.
  • Understand the Lingo – Do you know your “combos” from your “accas”? Can you tell the difference between a “banker” and a “longshot”? Understanding the language of sports betting is vital before you start.
  • Do Your Research – Knowing all of the stats about the sports, athletes, and/or teams that you are betting on is vital. Additionally, you need to know the ins and outs of the betting world as well – that’s why research is crucial.
  • Have a Betting Bankroll – This is a fundamental part of wagering on sports. You’ll soon be broke if you don’t learn to manage your money. Always gamble within your financial means, never double down on a losing bet, and play only for fun.
  • Diversify your betting markets – You don’t want to be placing the same type of bet on the same sport all the time. By diversifying your range of sports and betting markets you can spread your bets better, thus giving you a better chance of winning.

Key Betting Strategies That Improve Your Betting Skills

Successful sports betting strategies begin with a thorough understanding of the basics. Each strategy is designed to help you accomplish a defined target. Some improve your odds of winning, while others help you keep your money in the game. To help you get started, we’ve compiled a list of the most important betting strategies that work.

Bankroll Management

Firstly, you should create your overall betting bankroll budget, which should be no more than you can realistically afford to lose. Then, you will want to divide it into units that you will use for each bet. For new or conservative sports betters, the recommended unit size is 1-3% of your total bankroll.

Over/Under Bets

This involves betting on the total points scored by both teams combined in the game, meaning that the overall result has no bearing on your bet winning or losing. For example, let’s say the total betting line for a hockey game is 5.5. If you bet on the under, you would need a combined total of 5 or less goals to be scored for your bet to pay out. If you bet on the over, you would need 6 or more goals to be scored.

Arbitrage bets

Taken from the investment world, this is a strategy that involves betting on both sides of the outcome at multiple online bookmakers in order to guarantee a small profit no matter who wins. You do need to calculate how much you need to bet on each outcome to secure a profit. Effectively, this strategy requires a high investment and yields a low profit, but has almost zero risk.

Chasing Steam

Betting by “chasing steam” is an appropriate sports betting strategy with a track record of success. To implement this method, you must check the odds at numerous online companies that specialize in your chosen sport or league. That way you can bet in the same direction as the informed betting public while improving your chances of winning.

Fading the Public

The flipside of chasing steam is fading the public. In this situation, you are wagering against the mainstream. When the lines or odds are shifting rapidly in one direction, you should wager in the opposite direction. This sports betting strategy is most effective in extremely high-stakes contexts, such as big tournaments or events.

Moneylines

A Moneyline wager is a bet on the outright winner of a sporting event. It’s the most basic betting line there is and the easiest to understand. You have two different concepts to understand with a moneyline bet – the favorite and the underdog. The favorite has the best chance of winning and low odds, while the underdog has a lower chance of winning and higher odds.

Look for Outliers

Betting on outliers is a no-brainer if you do your research. Contrary to the norm, outliers are statistical anomalies that stand out. The best value can be found by selecting a wager with favorable odds. For this, having multiple accounts with various bookmakers is recommended.

Hedging Your Bets

Similar to arbitrage betting, hedging your bet involves wagering on the opposite side of your original outcome. However, where arbitrage betting is done to guarantee a profit, hedging can sometimes be used just to limit losses. Sometimes punters will hedge their bets closer to the time of the event due to a change in circumstances, such as an injury happening to a key player.

Half-Time Bets

Half-time bets are basically any wagers that are based on the result after the first half of the match has finished. For example, if you bet on a team to win the first half and they go in at halftime in the lead, then your bet will pay out regardless of the final result of the match. This is an advisable strategy to use when betting on teams or players that are known to start games strong but run out of steam later on.

Early or late goals

This involves betting on the timing of a goal and is best used for sports such as football and hockey. These sports are relatively low-scoring when compared to the likes of basketball and the NFL. If we take a 90 minute football match as an example, betting on an early goal would mean that a goal would have to be scored within the first 15 minutes of the match. For a late goal bet to pay out, it would need to be scored from the 75th minute onwards.

Live In-Play Betting

This is a more fast-paced and exciting form of betting that involves betting on the match while it is actually taking place. The odds can change quickly with live betting, which is why timing is key. Waiting for breaks in play – such as injuries, timeouts or the half-time break – is therefore recommended.

Value betting

Value betting involves trying to find a bet that gives you an advantage over the bookmaker. Admittedly hard to find, you are better off focusing on simple bets with only two or three outcomes such as moneyline or win/lose/draw. The bookies’ implied probability is always altered to include their own profit margin. So if your calculated win probability for a certain outcome is higher than that of the bookmaker, this could be seen as a value bet.

Kelly Criterion

Some gamblers and investors are firm believers in the Kelly Criterion system. Using your valuations, this algorithm will tell you how much to bet ideally on your given wager. In sports betting, it can be a very risky approach to bet a large portion of your money on a single wager. Your Kelly Criterion is displayed as a percentage and is calculated as follows: bp–q/b = K%. “b” refers to the odds, while “p” refers to your win probability and “q” to your loss probability.

Return on Investment (ROI)

The idea of yield, or return on investment, is the bedrock of any investment strategy, including sports betting. Your betting habit is best viewed as an investment. The money you have available to wager is your starting capital; you should do all in your power to increase its value.

Future Betting

As the name suggests, futures betting involves wagering on long-term outcomes within the world of sports. For example, you could bet on who will win the league next year, or what teams will make the playoffs. For individual players, you can bet on things such as the top scorer at the end of the season or the MVP.

Is Sports Betting Systems the same as Betting Strategies

Many gamblers misinterpret betting systems for sports betting strategies, leading to a variety of problems. In the context of gambling, a “betting strategy” refers to a predetermined strategy for making wagers. Its purpose is to provide the bettor an advantage over the betting site. While the best betting strategies are found in sports betting systems. 

Sportsbooks have a high house edge, but these systems are designed to assist gamblers to reduce that edge and boost their odds of winning. Players have created a variety of betting strategies for football over the years, with the 1-3-2-6 system being among the most popular. If you follow the technique and make four consecutive right bets, you will experience a winning streak.

1-3-2-6 Betting System

One of the best ways to improve your gambling success rate is to use the 1-3-2-6 betting system. It’s an accessible strategy that suits punters with varying levels of expertise and knowledge. However, it is a betting strategy that can not apply to all sports. 

The numbers 1-3-2-6 refer to the number of betting units from your total bankroll that you should use to bet each time. For example, if your total bankroll is €/$/£100, and you have units of 1%, then every unit is equal to €/$/£1. Your first bet should therefore be €/$/£1, and if it wins then your next bet should be €/$/£3. If you continue to win then you would bet €/$/£2 on your third bet and €/$/£6 on your fourth.

Sports Betting Systems to Avoid

Some betting systems claim to have figured out a definite way to win. Ordinarily, if they were effective, everyone would be rich and sportsbooks would go out of business overnight. Therefore, here at Betyep we also let you know which systems to avoid. Let’s take a look at some time-tested betting strategies that fall short of their hype.

Martingale System

This sports betting strategy involves doubling your bet after a loss in an attempt to recoup your losses and make a profit. The obvious issue here is that if you go on a losing streak, you’ll need a lot of money just to break even.

The d’Alambert System

 You only increase your wager by one unit when you lose, making this a more conservative alternative to the Martingale. Unlike the Martingale technique, which simply demands you to win your last wager, this one calls for a higher winning percentage altogether.

The Labouchere system

The term “split Martingale” is also used to describe this strategy. If a bet loses, the units are added to the sequence. When you get a winning combination, you get to scratch off the first and last digits. This technique is difficult to match with your money and offers no advantage over bookmakers.

What is the Pareto Principle in Sports Betting?

The 80/20 rule, or the Pareto Principle, states that 80% of your outcomes may be attributed to just 20% of causes. The Pareto Principle describes how most of an effect comes from a small percentage of the whole. It is not a strategy in and of itself, but rather a tool for determining which plan will yield the greatest profits. 

If you apply it to horse racing, you’ll know that just the best 20% of horses and jockeys account for 80% of all race victories. Though this knowledge alone won’t guarantee you a steady income, it will help you narrow your options and get started in the right direction. This concept applies to a wide range of sports.

Multiple Betting Accounts

There is no limit to the number of betting accounts you can open, but each sportsbook can only accept a maximum of one. Having access to many betting accounts allows you to compare odds before placing your wagers. 

By signing up for multiple online sportsbooks, you have access to a wider range of betting markets. More importantly, it gives you more scope to shop around for the best odds. All bookies will have slightly different odds for each market, and having multiple accounts allows you to choose the best every time. Additionally, you can also claim bonuses on multiple betting sites as opposed to just one.

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Rely on a Betting Strategy

Most people who bet on sports don’t give much thought to developing a solid online betting strategy. Yet, sports betting strategies are essential to keeping a healthy bankroll and increasing your winnings from betting. 

Each strategy is most effective when paired with a suitable market such as the favorite to win, underdog, accumulator bets, or the total points/goals. Matched betting is a betting technique that involves using all of the bookmakers’ bonuses and paying close attention to the odds. 

Experienced punters boost their odds of winning by consistently making wagers by employing time-tested betting systems and strategies. We urge you to use a betting strategy the next time you’re placing a bet. While bets are based on luck, you’ll considerably boost your chances of winning with strategies. 

Football is statistically the best sport for betting returns. However, that is due to the fact that it’s the most popular betting sport, and more volume = more total returns.

A betting system is effectively any form of premeditated strategy that has been planned and implemented with the goal of making a profit.

The ideal betting strategy depends on the sport and your interests. Common sports betting strategies include hedging, underdog betting, and live betting.

No. Anybody can wager on sports, irrespective of background. More information will help you determine which bets to place at any particular time.

If you’re willing to bet real money online, the process is simple. You just have to register an account with an online bookmaker, make a deposit into your account and away you go!

No, betting systems aren’t unethical on the whole, though some are not very well-liked by the bookies. Effectively betting systems are just smart ways of increasing your chances of making a profit.