Sports betting. It is a rising industry and one that more bettors are starting to get invested in.
In 2021, the sports betting market was valued at over $76 billion. It is expected to reach a valuation of over $167 billion by 2029.
If you are a sports fan that wants to get in on the action, you may not know where to begin when it comes to making a smart sports bet.
What should you do? What are the biggest things that you need to look out for?
These are four betting tips for you before you get started.
1. Fade the Public
The first thing that you should do is fade the public when it comes to betting on a big game. What this means is that you should bet against the public if enough of them like a team.
What you need to remember is that sportsbooks like to balance bets as much as possible. That means that they ideally like to have close to 50% of the money go on one team and 50% of the money go on another team.
There are websites out there that can help you keep track of the percentage of bets going on each side. A simpler way can be reaching out to sports betting communities like https://www.bookmakersreview.com/forum/.
When fading the public, one big sign that you should do this is if a large percentage of the bets are going on one team, but the line still does not move. Normally, if a sportsbook sees a large number of bets going on one team, they will move the line up if the team is a favorite and down if the team is an underdog.
So, what does it mean when the line stays the same in spite of this? It means that the public is likely to lose this bet. Fade the public in these situations to take advantage of a good line.
2. Avoid Parlays
For those of you that are not familiar with this type of bet, a parlay is when you combine two or more bets into one. You are betting on all of the bets on your ticket to win, and by taking this risk, you are hoping to get a bigger reward.
The reward can be tempting because you can earn a lot more money on certain teams than betting them individually.
For example, let’s say that you are betting on the New York Giants and the New England Patriots to cover spreads in their games. They are listed as each having -110 odds to do so. That means that you have to bet $110 to win $100.
Combining them together, you can get paid out with 13/5 odds. That means that you can get paid $264 when you bet $100.
How about if you add a third team with the same odds? Then, you can get paid nearly $600 for that same $100.
That is the trap that gets people to bet parlays. Why is it a trap? Because all of the teams on your ticket have to win.
So, if the Patriots, Giants, and Pittsburgh Steelers all have to cover the spread, you lose everything if one of them fails to do so.
What you can do instead, if you do not want to bet a lot of money on these teams, is make three separate bets at about $55 each. That way, as long as two of them win, you are still coming out of that with a profit.
3. Avoid Big Favorites
The next thing that you want to do is avoid betting on big favorites. The main reason that you want to avoid this is because the risk far outweighs the reward here.
Let’s say that you want to bet a big moneyline on a team that is a big favorite to win. The Kansas City Chiefs could have a -500 moneyline at home against the Houston Texans.
A lot of people could believe that they are a lock to win and that there is no way that they can lose. People could see that as an easy way to make $100 and not care that they have to put up $500 to get that.
Here is the problem with this idea. If the Chiefs get upset in this situation, then you lose $500.
Essentially, you just lost what could have been five separate bets all at once, and now you are a lot less likely to break even or make a profit from sports betting in the long-term. So, avoid these big favorites and stick to average lines or moderate underdogs.
4. Shop for Lines
Finally, take advantage of how many sportsbooks are popping up in your area and shop around to find the best line for your bet. Getting a better line in some situations can significantly increase your chances of winning a bet.
To do this, you should know swing numbers in certain sports. In football, those numbers are three, four, six, and seven. Those are the lines that are most likely to change the outcome of a bet.
Let’s say that the New York Giants are the favorite by 3.5 points in one sportsbook against the New York Jets. But, then you look at another sportsbook and find one that has the Giants at -3.
You should place the bet at the second sportsbook because if the Giants win by a field goal, you at least push the bet there versus losing the bet outright at the first sportsbook.
Bet Like a Sports Fan
These are four sports betting tips for a sports fan to get started in the gambling world. Remember to shop around for lines, be careful about how much money you put up, bet against everyone else, and stay away from tempting parlays.
For more relevant information, check out our Sports section.
