Top Strategies for Sports Betting

Sports betting is one of the most popular forms of gambling worldwide. However, despite the fact that many people participate in sports betting, only a handful of people really understand what they are doing. A lot of people simply bet on their favorite teams or make wild guesses. This approach is fine if you bet only as a form of entertainment.

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If you are, however, serious about making money through sports betting, you will need to improve your betting strategies. In this article, we will take through some of the most effective strategies for sports betting. Whether you are into EPL, MLB, NBA, or NFL betting, here are some ways to win more bets:

 

Look at betting trends

This is one of the first steps to take if you are seeking to improve your betting earnings. Without incorporating trends in your bets, you are simply making guesses. To win more bets, you should pay attention to performance trends for teams and players. Occasionally, teams and players get into winning or losing streaks. You can typically take advantage of these periods if you identify the streaks early on.

Another significant trend to pay attention to is the “against the spread” (ATS) stat. The ATS essentially tells you how well a team has been performing against the point spread created by oddsmakers for sportsbooks. This stat is particularly valuable if you are betting on point spreads and not just outright wins. To win a point spread bet, your team must not just simply win the game but also cover the spread set made by oddsmakers. Thus, it is essential to study how that team has fared against the spread in the past.

 

Bet against the public

This strategy is based on the logic that most people bet on popular teams that have significant media hype. In the NFL, for instance, you can expect teams like the Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills, and Kansas City Chiefs to attract more bets compared to the other teams. However, to balance the action and minimize risk, the sportsbook would move the betting line. Ideally, a sportsbook wants to ensure an equal split of action between both sides of a bet.

To do this, the sportsbook typically moves the line in favor of the underdog in an attempt to make that team more appealing to bettors. Being able to identify when the public is moving in a specific direction and shifting the betting line is crucial when betting against the public. In such cases, you gain an edge by moving in the opposite direction, as there is typically more value on betting for the underdog.

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Hedge your bets

It might be ideal to make the opposite bet to your original bet in certain situations. This is called hedging. While it might sound counterintuitive to bet against yourself, it can actually be an effective way to guarantee a profit or minimize the risk of a loss. Of course, taking the opposite side of your original bet only makes sense in specific scenarios.

For instance, before the start of the 2022 NFL, you bet on the Jaguars to win the Super Bowl at +1000. These odds indicate that the Jaguars have a low chance of emerging champions. However, if the Jaguars are well positioned to win the Super Bowl towards the end of the season and are listed at +150, it might be a great time to hedge your bet.

By hedging your bet, that is, betting on the Jaguars ‘not winning’ the Super Bowl, you essentially ensure you get a profit regardless of what team eventually emerges as champions. The decision to hedge a bet or not really comes down to your appetite for risk since hedging minimizes your risk by reducing your return.

 

Shop around for lines

This is not a strategy that helps you win more bets. Instead, it is a strategy for getting the maximum value on all your bets. If you bet frequently, getting the best value on your bets is crucial, and the effective way to do this is to shop around for lines. This involves checking out the odds offered for the same game across multiple sportsbooks in order to get more value.

To illustrate, take, for instance, a game between the Rams and the Jaguars in which you intend to bet on the Jaguars. Sportsbook A offers a moneyline bet on the Jaguars at +120, while Sportsbook B has the Jaguars listed at +130. By simply making your bet with Sportsbook B, you will earn $10 more profit if the Jaguars win the game.

 

Final Thoughts

Sports betting can be tricky if you don’t know precisely what you are doing. However, with the strategies listed in this article, you can improve your chances of placing winning bets.