Sports Betting and What Works?

Sports betting, a sportsbook for betting on sports, one of the oldest trades known to man has always seemed quite daunting to many, especially when looking at the huge choice today offered by so many sportsbooks out there. Let's break it down, the idea is simply to predict the correct outcome and wager/bet whatever set amount the gambler sees fit against the odds set by the bookie or sports betting operator for the said event.

It's pretty simple but breaking down the choice a player has in placing a bet is the tricky part. 

Some steps to getting it right:

Bet on events you know

It's quite simple really, don't bet on sports you know nothing about, the idea behind a bet is placing a wager on things you know and understand. You believe the bet is going to win hence why you choose the set outcome. Many players look at prices as the indication of whether a bet is worth it but placing a bet on an outcome you know nothing about is throwing you money in the wind. It's not just about the price but understanding whether that price makes sense. Surprisingly enough many sportsbooks don't actually know actually have it right all the time and will place odds on sites that dont always add up, this is actually more common than ones thinks and should be considered when wagering on events that aren't mainstream like Premier League and La Liga.

Focus on the events you know and the ones you believe are going to win in your favour, or not? An interesting concept in betting is the exchange option and should always be considered when wagering on a single event and not a multiple or parlay! (We will get to those later) Why does the LAY concept of a betting exchange work? This works because in a three way bet one does not need to guess the correct outcome but simply the outcome they believe won't happen. A very interesting concept which seems to have been taken to market by Betfair the exchange giant now one with Paddy Power. The idea behind it is simple, one simply backs the outcome they believe will happen or Lays the one they don't regardless of how many possible outcomes exist in the bet or market.

This has proven to be a very successful betting form with a stock market theme to pricing as in an exchange it is the players of bet takers providing both liquidity and also setting the price on betting markets simply based on supply and demand. I would certainly recommend this form of betting to any players interested in the large single one off bets given prices or odds are very hard to beat and often offer more flexibility on a single bet than those on normal sports books.

Multiples or Parlay Bets

Multiples or parlay bets are where the more traditional sportsbooks win compared to those in the exchanges as explained above. A normally sportsbook differs given you are betting against the house. In an exchange you are betting against other players and the choice of bets depends on the liquidity in the market or to put it simply the bets being issued or taken by the players on the site. The issue here is the choice to play multiples, given the risk is higher and there is no house to bet against exchanges can't offer the multiple bet unless you move to the sportsbook section but then dont compete as much for players as the more traditional just sportsbook operators which can offer gigantic odds on long multiples or parlay bets. Playing a multiple can lead to some serious wins but the odds speak for themselves given each odd played in the multiple multiplies by the next and so on depending how big the players risk appetite is. There have been big wins with multiple bets with a famous bet by a maltese player on nineteen football games having been won with a one euro stake and payout of around eight hundred thousand euros as i recall. Some great odds having been played there. Multiple or parlay bets do differ greatly however depending on the sportsbook you choose as many bookies or sportsbooks reduce their risk by reducing the amount of games you can bet on with many hovering around the fourteen event mark. There are the big risk takers like WilliamHill who did infact take and pay out the record bet mentioned above however they are far and few and depending on the type of betting you want to do need to keep this in mind when choosing your sportsbook. Other bookies sometimes limit what events can be mixed or have winning caps in place which are not clear till after reading the terms and conditions and can greatly affect your winnings. For example placing a bet with huge odds on ten footballs when the maximum outcome is one hundred thousand euros just doesn't make sense as the bookie or sportsbook will only be liable to pay up to the amount stated in their terms and the additional odds you play simply reduce your probability of winning. Keep these things in mind when wanting to play multiple bets and choose the right bookie to suit your needs.

Another thing to consider when choosing a sportsbook or bookie is the events they offer and what limits there are in place for multiple events depending on your country of origin. This often affects smaller countries or leagues as many lower end leagues and sports are known for fraud and collusion and many bookies will avoid offering those matches or allowing them in multiple bets given they will certainly lose the edge to a player and no bookie will accept that.

Bonuses, Bonuses and Bonuses

One major factor when deciding on which bookie or sportsbook you are going to play on is always going to be the bonuses and these differ massively from bookie to bookie. The standard bonus offer for such events seems to be fixated on two things, either a welcome cash match of one hundred percent of the amount your deposit into that bookie or a free bet to get players signed up and either familiar with the site or simply have you add your contact details so bookies can then make offers to you and build up your trust in their brand over time. Either way this can make a very big difference to your first experience with a bookie and will very often determine when you sign up or not. Keep in mind however many bookies do have tough terms on welcome bonuses and often will not allow certain amounts of wins or restrict the minimum playable odds a player can bet on with their bonus money. It's important for a player to look into this before committing to a sign up or welcome bonus offer as the event you might have had in mind might not be playable with that welcome bonus and you end up playing on an event you don't know and are less likely to win your bet.

Esports? Is it real?

Esports is the newest market on the scene of the betting industry with many companies or bookies looking to attract new types of gamblers but at what cost? The biggest issue with Esports betting is the ability for a bookie or sportsbook to understand the markets within and work against fraud and collusion in esports betting. With so many players online and major events happening in short succession it's hard to track legitimate competitions and major events largest enough to be regulated. This means that bookies or sportsbooks will offer less events not to risk such bets being taken advantage off. In a low steaks events it can sometimes be more cost effective for a player to lose but win a big bet then the event itself. This trends however applies to all sporting events but affects the newer ones more which leads to less operators or bookies offering these events save for the larger world class events, Either way with some major games on the horizon there are currently a number of opportunities for esports fans to bet on Esport and support their favorite players in major esports events.

Betting Conclusion

So when it comes to making a bet on events you are familiar with, myself having been a punter for many years I can say my favorite events are tennis, decent odds with favorites weighing in often and plenty of market cap to go around. Many bookies or sportsbooks do cap such bets but in very decent value and offer good return on such events where the outcome is divided in either of two scenarios on match bets. Football though interesting is very interesting however does not always offer the best outcomes mainly due to the draw and bookies know this so they cap alternative bets to reduce their risk, keep these terms in mind when choosing your long term betting operator.