After reading the title for this article, you might go and say, “isn’t most sports betting now done online?” This eliminates the precedence of physical bookmakers, or fondly called bookies for short.
However, there are still online sportsbooks or online bookies that work the same way as traditional ones. In the general sense, they do the same thing – collect and facilitate all bets on all sides of the game and payout winners afterwards.
However, did you know that there are several important things that the bookies are keeping secret from you? Some of this, they do not even want you to know!
This applies to almost all bookies, no matter what region or country you are in, or whatever sport you are betting on. So, whether it is an online sportsbook that caters to bettors internationally or Indian local betting sites with rupees, it is the same thing being talked about.
Here are some of the most kept secrets that bookies would not want you to know. Read on and be sure to pick up some useful knowledge along the way!
They don’t care if you win or not
If you are a newbie, you might have this concept that the bookies want you to lose. That, they are evil men rubbing their hands in the shadows every time you scratch your head after a loss. The truth is that they don’t care – not because they are heartless human beings, but because whether the bettor wins or loses rarely has an impact on their income.
In perhaps the simplest way of explaining it, the goal of a bookie is to balance out the number of bets on each side of the game. Then, after collecting the house edge or the “vig” – their profit – they use the money of the losers to pay the winners.
They are experts at marketing
Online sports betting has been a wild market in the past and with the rise of new online sportsbooks, everyone is fighting for the money of bettors. This is why you get to see the enticing marketing strategies of bookies from free plays, deposit bonuses, to promises of a higher payout than competitors are.
However, be careful. Not all offers are what it seems on the surface. Always make sure to read the fine print so you would know what you are getting yourself into.
They love parlay bets
There is one reason why someone would bet on a parlay: the promise of a profit is so huge. It can be so huge that sometimes, your $20 can become $550, or maybe even more.
The problem about this is that most parlay bets are nearly impossible to win consistently. This is what the bookies are using against you – by enticing you with a promise of a huge payout, but with a risk that may not be worth it.
Everyone loses – almost
If you hear someone who claims to win almost all of his bets – that person is either lying or is cheating his way to his wins. The truth is that you will lose, a lot, in sports betting.
The way to make huge money out of betting is to win big bets and big amounts of money in a bet. This way, your losses would not outweigh your wins.
Final thoughts
Despite all of the things discussed above, it is erroneous to think that a bookie is a “villain” to a bettor. However, they are not your “friend” either. What they are is simple – a person or group of people that handle your bets, collect them and pay you when you win.