Are you in for discovering some of the most practical sports betting strategies for beginners? With our guides, you can easily learn how to start betting on sports. Not only that, you will get to know some other bits and pieces of this world, as well as how you can make the whole process interesting.
Sports Betting Basics – How Does Sports Betting Work?
Our sports betting basics start with some betting must-knows. Before all else, you should get familiar with terms such as odds, selections, markets, bet slips, etc. The odds stand for the chances of a certain outcome happening in a sporting event.
In other words, the lower the odds, the more likely something will happen. In contrast, the higher the odds, the less probable something is to occur. You can have one or more selections or legs (events) on your bet slip.
As far as the markets go, they represent particular outcomes. For instance, there’s a draw market implying a no-winner game. Moreover, you will find different types of bets, each unique in its own way.
- Single
- This type of bet involves only one selection that must win in order for your bet to be successful.
- Accumulator
- Accumulator bets have four or more selections. Each selection has to win so as for your bet to be a success. As one leg wins, its odds are multiplied with the next selection and then finally multiplied by your stake amount.
- System
- System bets relate to multiple accumulator bets. With this bet type, only a certain number of legs can win (not all of them), and your bet can be successful. The number of selections that wins determines your potential payout.
Start With a Familiar Sport
You may be a football or basketball fan and have a wish to place bets. It’s more than obvious that you should place bets on events that you know much or at least something about.
It may happen that you place bets on a sport you’re not familiar with and base your estimations on unknown parameters. While it’s totally fine to do so, the chances of successful betting with this are lower. So, our sports betting strategies for beginners suggest going with a sport you’re fond of is always a safer choice.
Avoid Betting on Dangerous Sports
When saying “dangerous” sports, what our sports betting tips for beginners mean is sports that may have some fixed matches. In modern sports, this is not really a common case. Still, you may avoid betting on some non-professional or lower-rank leagues.
As the name suggests, the aforementioned leagues are usually the ones with fixed matches or mudding waters. Therefore, placing bets on professional and top-notch leagues, cups, and tournaments is always a better option.
Focus on Moneyline Betting
Sports betting basics would never be complete without moneyline betting. It’s pretty straightforward, actually, and therefore excellent for beginner bettors: when two teams or players are competing against each other, you bet on either one team or player to win. In other words, you select the outright winner.
Manage Your Bankroll
As we’re talking about betting with real funds, it’s, of course, important to know how to manage your bankroll well. More specifically, our sports betting strategies for beginners advise you to check your budget and see what amount of funds you can use for betting. Never bet on funds you are not prepared to lose.
More importantly, you should determine your budget, and use it slowly and with patience rather than spending your whole budget all at once. It’s about placing bets with low stake amounts that beginners should aim for.
Do Proper Research
We’ve already mentioned that it’s always better to bet on sports you’re fond of. Well, you can also do some research on various aspects of a particular sport. It doesn’t really matter whether you know much about a sport or not, this strategy is helpful most of the time.
For example, you can:
- check sports betting statistics
- read news about transfers
- find out more about the coaches
- learn tactics, etc.
You can also watch those events to see how things work on your own. Knowing these elements can help you predict the event outcome(s) more accurately.
Favourites vs Underdogs
One of the telltale signs for future game winners involves favourites and underdogs. The majority of matches have a favourite (a team or player most likely to win).
The same goes for underdogs (a team or play likely to lose the game). When you get to know who the favourite and the underdog in a certain game is, it will be much easier to bet on moneyline markets and other ones that relate to the dominant team or player (ex. number of goals or points).
Study Key Team Positions
Another essential part of our sports betting tips for beginners refers to standings. Favourites and underdogs are not only determined by their squads or their recent form but also by their rankings. You can, in no time, see the standings of any player or team within any cup, tournament, or league.
More precisely, there are numerous websites, some of which are the official ones, that are in charge of player and team rankings. By having an insight into this, you can see if a player or team has had or is in a crisis, how fast or slow they advance, etc.
Join a Betting Syndicate
A sports betting syndicate is a group of bettors that act as one in order to find the best betting opportunities. As a beginner, a user can join this group and get to learn how experienced bettors make event selections and which betting tactics they use.
One of the most important aspects of reputable betting syndicates is finding a suitable betting value.
Make use of Line Shopping
It’s not only the variety of bets you can choose from but also a vast range of bookies being at your fingertips. As every bookmaker sets its own odds, you can make odds comparisons and find the ones that fit you personally.
What our sports betting for beginners guide tries to point out here is that different operators may provide different odds for the same markets. It’s up to you to compare as many of them as possible and then select the one you think is right.
Explore Bookmaker Promotions
The bonus selection is a major part of online sports betting for beginners. Almost all brands have sports betting promo sections on their sites. These bookmaker promotions have one thing in common; it’s offering additional betting features that make users’ experience a lot more interesting.
These betting options can give you additional means you can use to place bets. They may also allow you to use things which expand betting processes that are not available outside of bonus domains. Needless to say, you can have an overview of different sports betting offers on different platforms and opt for the one you find most appropriate.
Understanding How Sportsbooks Work
Before placing bets, each player has to join a certain brand. Understanding how betting platforms function is the essential part of sports betting strategies for beginners. Once you learn about why and how bookies offer promotions, how to calculate odds, and what the general betting rules are, you can create your own betting strategy.
Avoid Bias
We’re all biased at times. However, letting some biases seep in may influence particular things, such as betting. First of all, betting on your favourite team, even though they may be underdogs, just because you cheer for them is a prime example of a betting bias.
Besides, there’s a well-known home team bias. It’s about thinking that the hosts have a big advantage over the away team just because they have a larger crowd on their side or are used to their pitch or court.
Plus, some bettors have a bias that it’s hard to beat one and the same opponent twice in a short period of time. This, of course, is not bound to be true. Users should always use common sense and rely on rational analyses of events prior to betting.
Practise Discipline
Going back to responsible betting for a second, we mentioned how important it is to start with small bets. It’s also crucial to know how much you bet and how much time you spend betting on average.
Furthermore, one of the sports betting strategies for beginners is to know your limits. For instance, if you get some winnings, you may wish to take a small break. Finally, you should never chase any losses, as this may mean that you overdo things.
When you feel you have a good grasp on the basics of betting, feel free to read our article on football betting strategies for advanced bettors.
Keep Track of Your Bets
With modern technology on betting platforms, you can easily keep track of your bets. This strategy may look trivial, but it’s really helpful as it prevents you from getting lost in the betting process.
It’s actually easy to lose track of time and the funds spent when betting on various events. That’s why you can see guides on brands’ sites on how to track your bets. Once you notice some extensive activity, it may be time for you to take a break.
Conclusion
All in all, it is really important to grasp the concept of beginner’s guide to betting as it can help you a lot with this process. For anyone wondering how to get started with sports betting, we recommend paying attention to a few key things.
First, you will need to become acquainted with the betting process (bet types, odds, etc). Then, you should select the events you bet on with special attention, as well as make sure you’re familiar with the ones you wish to bet on.
Picking the right brand with the right offers is also the key. Apart from that, you should bet responsibly. This encompasses limiting your bets, in the sense that you spend only a limited amount of funds and time.
Sports Betting Strategies for Beginners FAQ
For quick but effective guides on betting for beginners, you can see our FAQ segment beneath.
Is it worth betting on favourites?
Most of the time, the favourites are the ones that win. However, there are many other factors that determine the match winner.
How do moneyline bets work?
Moneyline includes betting on the outright winner of the match. You pick a team and bet on it to win the game, regardless of extra time or point/goal difference.
What is spread betting?
Betting on spread sort of implies that one team or play has an advantage over the other. For example, you can place a bet that a basketball team will cover the -3.5 spread, i.e. that it will win over their opponents by 4 or more points.
What sport is the easiest to bet on?
The simplicity of sports betting usually depends on the markets you choose. If a player selects markets like 1X2, correct score, or so, it’s rather simple to place a bet. Some of the complex bets involve handicap or spread betting, each way bets in horse racing, etc.
What is the safest sports betting strategy?
One of the safest betting strategies includes double chance betting. This means that you cover two possible events (ex. home team to win or draw the match). Typically, bets that encompass two or more outcomes at once are considered the safest ones.
How do I get better at sports betting?
There are many ways to improve your betting skills. Some of them imply learning about bet types, odds, markets, getting familiar with sporting events, joining a betting syndicate, and many more.
