The beauty of sports betting is the ability to make a profit without having to rely on luck. There is only one, but several ways to beat the bookies at their own game.
This includes things such as knowledge, research, bonus hunting and using a sure bet strategy. In this article, we will take a brief look at all of this, adding up to a total of 5 tips that can help you become a profitable sports bettor.
1. Do Your Research
One way to beat the bookies is to become more knowledgeable than them. After all, the compiled odds that you see at betting sites are just measures of probability set by people whose job is to make calculated guesses about the outcome of a match.
These people are usually responsible for their own sport which they are passionate about. They follow it carefully and stay up to date about players, previous match results, current form, levels of morale, etc. Anything that could affect the results of a match.
While odds compilers tend to be skilled at what they do, they are still just humans that can make mistakes. If you are as passionate about a sport and do the same kind of research as these guys, you could easily find the mistakes and take advantage of them. It is a time-consuming task though.
2. Use Odds That Have Positive ROI
This tip goes hand in hand with doing your research as becoming skilled in sports betting goes beyond just being knowledgeable and having a good feeling about who will win a match. The only thing that matters in the long run is that the bets that you place have a positive return.
This means that you have to make your own probabilities of a match and compare these with the odds that are available at the bookies.
For instance, if your research tells you that team A has a 70% probability to win and Team B a 30% probability, this would convert to 1.43 and 3.33 in decimal odds respectively.
To make a profit in the long run, the odds offered by the bookmaker would have to be higher than these for the bet to be profitable, according to your own forecast. If you place a bet with lower odds, you’re either going against your own prediction or placing a bet that will lose money in the long run.
A helpful tool to aid you when making these types of calculations is a probability to odds converter.
3. Place Sure Bets
The most convenient way of making a profit from sports betting is placing sure bets. It’s also a bullet-proof strategy if you do everything correctly. The idea of sure betting, also known as arbitrage betting is simple. You use two different betting sites to bet on two opposing outcomes.
If the odds between these betting sites vary enough and you stake the right amount of money on each outcome, you will make a profit no matter what the result of the match is. Here’s an example:
Betting site 1
Odds of team A to win: 1.20
Odds of team B to win: 5.90
Betting site 2
Odds of team A to win: 1.15
Odds of team B to win: 6.40
If you place a bet of $84 on team A to win at betting site 1 and a bet of $16 on team B to win at betting site 2, you would make a profit of $1 no matter the team that wins.
I won’t go into the detailed math behind this as it is not necessary. You see, by using a sure bet calculator, you can easily enter the odds of two betting sites and be informed if the bet is a sure bet or not. If it is, you would also see how much you have to stake on the two sites in order to make a profit.
While this strategy is easy to use, it does require you to have a lot of accounts set up with betting sites in order to find the odds discrepancies that you want.
When placing your bets, it is also important that you don’t have a box saying “accept odds changes” ticked as if the odds change while placing your bet, the entire strategy may fail.
4. Take Advantage of Bonus Offers
The vast majority of betting sites offer a welcome bonus to new players and many bookies also have reoccurring promotions that can be used.
While all of these offers come with their own terms and conditions that can vary greatly from one site to another, more or less all of them will boost your long-term chances of becoming profitable.
It is quite simple really. Whether the bonus gives you extra money as you make a deposit, or you unlock a free bet after completing certain goals, you will receive an added value. An added value always means an increased chance of making money.
This is why using multiple betting sites in order to always bet with a bonus is a legit strategy among profiteers. It can be very efficient.
However, what is important when you decide to bonus hunt is to be fully aware of the terms and conditions that the bonuses come with and be ok with them.
For instance, it is common to find a wagering requirement that tells you to stake the bonus a certain number of times. The minimum odds for the wagering to count could be as low as 1.40 or as high as 2.00.
5. Use Betting Sites With Fast Withdrawals
This tip is mainly for people who are interested in sure betting or bonus hunting and are on a limited budget. This is simply because both of these strategies involve using many betting sites which you constantly have to switch between.
If you don’t have enough money to make deposits on several sites or just don’t want to, you need to be able to withdraw quickly from the sites you use. Otherwise, you won’t have any money to bet with when a good opportunity arises.
According to gamblingbaba.com, three legit sites that tend to pay out within a few hours include LeoVegas, Unibet and Comeon. All of which have excellent sportsbooks and great reputations. If you take the time doing some research, you can certainly find many more sites that pay out fast as well.
If you want fast withdrawals, an important thing to keep in mind is the payment method you use. Here, e-wallets like Skrill and Neteller are what you’re looking for since these have no transaction time. As soon as the bookie has confirmed your withdrawal request, the money is received.
You must also be wary of the verification process that will take place at some point. To avoid an unnecessary wait, it’s good to get this process out of the way as soon as possible. Have a chat with the support at the sites you are to use and provide them with the documents they need (proof of ID, etc).