These sports betting strategies will improve your results.
Key Points
– There are tried and true sports betting strategies that work for any bettors.
– Some sports betting strategies require a solid foundation of betting knowledge.
Sports Betting Strategies That Improve Results
While betting on sports is a form of gambling, it’s a lot different than just buying a lotto ticket because it’s not entirely random. There are different factors that go into team and individual player betting odds. Experienced, or “sharp” bettors, know how to find value and outsmart sportsbooks on a somewhat regular basis.
Still, even the best sports bettors are only likely to win 55 to 60 percent of their bets. Over a long period of time, however, that can work out to a massive profit. Most, if not all, experienced bettors have some sort of system that they use to maximize their profits and minimize losses.
Here’s a look at five different sports betting strategies that you should employ if you’re looking to have more success betting on sports.
Focus Strictly on One Team or League
If you’re new to sports betting, it’s best to stick to what you know. You might be familiar with F1, golf, basketball, etc. However, if hockey is your favorite sport and the one you know the most about, then you should probably limit your bets to the NHL. You could even focus on just one or two teams in the league.
Yes, you can get lucky and win bets here and there without knowing too much about a sport or its teams, but serious bettors trying to win money need some background knowledge. Bettors should know a bit about the sport and be comfortable doing research before placing wagers on games.
Digging in deep on only one or two teams in a given league is a lot more manageable than researching teams in sports leagues of which you aren’t familiar.
Proper Bankroll Management
Another important consideration if you actually want to profit from sports betting is bankroll management. Rather than making random bets at different monetary values, you should first establish your standard betting unit. This should be a value you’re comfortable with losing.
For less experienced and recreational bettors, that amount might be $1 to $5. High rollers may bet $100 to $1000 per game or event. Ideally, your betting unit should be less than 5 percent of your entire bankroll.
Effective bankroll management helps mitigate losses from inevitable cold streaks associated with sports betting. There are some sports betting strategies that involve increasing your subsequent bet value with each loss, but these are particularly disastrous during lengthy losing streaks. Stick with a realistic betting unit and keep your betting bankroll separate from your day-to-day money.
Sports Betting Strategies – Ride Winning Streaks
Just as sports betting can be incredibly streaky, so can the teams and players on which you wager. It’s critical to understand this as it can help guide you to select potential winners with more consistency. For example, if a team has won five games in a row on the road but are still the underdogs, there might be some value there in betting the underdog and earning a decent profit.
Similarly, if an NHL player has scored in five consecutive games, you might be inclined to place a bet on that player to score an anytime goal. Athletes go through hot and cold streaks all season, so be sure to keep track of team and individual player performance.
Hedge Your Bets
Hedging your bets isn’t necessarily a great way to maximize your profits, but it can help ensure you at least win some money in certain situations. Imagine you’ve placed a futures bet of $100 on the Miami Dolphins at +5000 to win the Super Bowl.
The Dolphins, despite those unfavorable odds, reach the Super Bowl and are paying out even money against the San Francisco 49ers.
If the Dolphins win, you earn $5,000. Yet, you would win nothing if the 49ers won. If you had the money, you could place a $2,500 wager on the 49ers at +100 on the moneyline to ensure you win $2,500 regardless of the outcome of the game. Here is how it would work:
- Miami wins – You win $5,000 from the original futures bet, but lose the $2,500 moneyline bet on the 49ers.
- San Francisco wins – You lose the Miami futures bet, but win $2,500 via your bet on the Niners. Either way, you’ve added money to your bankroll.
Bettors can also hedge when betting parlays. It’s best if the games are spaced out throughout a day or week. For instance, if you’ve got five of six bets on a parlay right, you can place a single bet on the opposite outcome in the final game. This way, you’re sure to win some money regardless of the result of that last game.
Unique Sports Betting Strategies – The 1-3-2-6 System
There are several specific sports betting systems that bettors use to try and maximize profits, but the 1-3-2-6 system is a great strategy to minimize your losses. You’re also guaranteed to win money if you win two or four bets in a row. You can win a considerable amount if you go on a winning streak of more than four bets.
To start, establish a comfortable betting unit ($5, for example) and use that in your first wager, hence the “1” in the 1-3-2-6. If you win that bet, wager three units on your next bet ($15) and two ($10), and six ($30) units on subsequent bets, assuming you keep winning. Whenever you lose a bet, return to the start with just one betting unit.
While this strategy is more popular in roulette and other casino games, it can be just as useful and effective in sports betting. However, you should restrict your bets to individual events as opposed to parlays and look for two-way bets with +100 odds.
The 1-3-2-6 system is preferable to others, including the Martingale and Negative Progression systems, as it’s incredibly easy to understand and is suitable for both beginners and experienced bettors alike. It’s an especially effective strategy for recreational bettors with smaller bankrolls. However, you should still limit betting to sports that you know.
