Best Sports Betting Strategies

Now that sports betting is slowly coming to America (state by state), the strategies we use to make better bets are at their most important. Beating the sportsbook is certainly possible, but requires a number of different skills other than just luck. I mean, who doesn’t want to make solid money by enjoying your favorite sports teams play?

While its true that unless you have a time machine handy or can predict the future, there is no way to win your sports bets 100 percent of the time. If there was, then you probably would not see many people lining up to take the role of the sportsbook.

To be profitable, you will need an expert knowledge of both sports and betting to be successful. However, there are also strategies that when correctly implemented can greatly increase your odds of winning, take away risks, or help to get the best odds. Let's go through some strategies every bettor should understand.

Arbitrage Betting (Dutch)

One of the most difficult strategies talked about out here, arbitrage betting is not something the average bettor will be able to quickly pick up. You need to practice and concentrate in order to gain an eye for finding these lucrative opportunities.

Arbitrage betting, when done right, is a type of bet that eliminates the risk producing a guaranteed profit no matter the game’s result. The main concept of Arbitrage betting is to place a wager on every outcome of a single event. This bet works best on events with only two or three possible outcomes.

For example, betting on one team to win and lose in the same game. However, in order to make these bets you need to find them. Sportsbooks will not purposely offer odds above the exchange so you will need to use different sportsbooks with different odds.

This strategy can be difficult due to the movement of odds and the amount of money you need to begin making arb bets can be a lot. 

Bonus Betting

Betting with bonuses is probably the simplest strategy to begin with. Especially since technically you don’t need any money to begin with. This strategy entails simple going and signing up for bonuses and promotions offered on different sites and using them to bet with.

Most if not all sportsbook websites offer promotions to new bettors who sign up. These include various amounts of money given to the player just for creating an account. The amounts can range anywhere from $5 up to $1500.

Some sportsbooks can instead offer to double your first bet or to give you a number of free bets of a certain amount. You can sign up for as many promotions and sportsbooks as you want so you can bet risk free for a good amount of time. Just be sure to read the terms and conditions listed on these bets. 

Value Betting

In order to successfully pull off value betting you need to really understand matchups and the odds that go along with them. Value bets occur when the odds on a certain outcome of one game are lower than the actual odds. In other words, you think that the chances of one team winning or losing are higher than the sportsbook has stated.

This allows you to make bets on an outcome you deem to be favorable with inflated profits due to the sportsbook’s wrong prediction. Doing this correctly will increase your expected chances to win and make you more profitable over a long period of time. Sportsbooks are still human and do not always get their odds right. So, with a keen eye it is possible to use this strategy often enough.

However, trying to implement value betting at betting exchanges is more difficult because they respond quickly to updates, news and changes and in turn quickly update the odds. Making value bets can be done just with your own thoughts and knowledge, however there is software available online that can help you calculate prices and odds.

Laying Bets

A lay bet is where the player bets against a certain outcome through a betting exchange. Rather than betting for a team to score five runs, you wager that there is no way the team can reach that number. This is a way to effectively act as the sportsbook for a bet.

On betting exchanges, they will offer the option to make lay bets or bet against certain outcomes. Your odds of winning the bet are increased, because you are backing more possible outcomes. However, the problem is that your liability (money you stand to lose) for lay bets can be more than just making a traditional back bet.

This is because as the sportsbook, you are liable for the payout should the outcome you lay against come true. Like if a horse you bet against ends up winning the race. To calculate the potential liability for a lay bet, simply multiple the backer’s odds by the backer’s stake and then subtracting the backer’s stake from the final amount.