Legalized sports betting is sweeping across the United States. Ever since the United States Supreme Court cleared the way for states to make sports betting legal in 2018, more than $125 billion has been bet at various sportsbooks.
Sports betting continues to grow and gain interest from veteran sports bettors and regular sports fans looking to up their participation in sports.
If you’re new to sports betting, you’ll get overwhelmed by the options available between sportsbooks and trying to figure out the best sports betting strategy.
It’s time to get rid of the overwhelm and get down to business. Read on to learn the best sports betting strategies and how you can choose the best sportsbook.
Understand Sports Betting Laws
The legalities of sports betting are a little murky. That’s because not all states legalized sports betting yet. Some states only allow in-person betting, while others allow online and mobile sports betting.
There may be other differences in the types of sports bets, too. Horse racing is legal in most states, but some states don’t allow off-track betting.
Your first job is to make sure you’re placing sports bets legally in your state. This guide tells you where sports betting is legal and the type of sports betting you can participate in.
Finding Sportsbooks
Sportsbooks have to be a part of your sports betting strategy. They offer different odds, and that impacts your payouts.
Sportsbooks don’t always offer the same set of sports or racetracks to bet on. Consider the types of sports that you want to bet on now and later on.
You might want to bet on NHL games because hockey is your favorite sport. Your interest could expand into soccer, baseball, or basketball.
You can assume that all sportsbooks cover NFL, college football, and basketball games because those sports bring in the most sports betting revenue.
If you like other forms of gambling, like slots and poker, then you’ll want to find a sportsbook that has other gaming options.
Read reviews that cover the top online casino ratings. You’ll quickly learn which casinos and sportsbooks are worth your consideration.
Reading Sports Betting Odds
You’ll see American odds on sports betting sites, which is also called the moneyline. These are two sets of numbers.
The negative number is the favorite, and the team with the positive number is the underdog. The negative number shows how much to bet if you want to win $100.
A team with a -150 means that you have to wager $150 to get $100 back.
The positive number tells you how much a $100 bet will give you if you win. A team that has +220 will give you $220 for a $100 bet.
Sportsbooks also use decimal odds. You’ll just multiply your wager by the number to determine how much you’ll win back.
Fractional odds work similarly to decimal odds.
Set a Bankroll
Your bankroll determines the sports betting strategies you’ll use. The bankroll is your sports betting budget.
The bankroll also prevents you from going overboard if your sports betting strategies don’t work out the way you planned.
This should be disposable money that you don’t mind losing. Don’t ever put yourself in a position where you have to win a sports bet to pay the bills.
Progressive Strategies in Sports Betting
Progressive strategies are popular in other areas of gambling. They’re used often with slot machines because you don’t have to think much about your bet before hitting the button.
A progressive strategy is simply a set amount of money that you’ll bet every time. Sports bettors base this on a percentage of their bankroll.
In a positive progressive strategy, you increase your bet when you win and lower the amount when you lose. Negative progressive strategies take the opposite approach.
Low-Risk Betting
The best sports betting strategy takes your aversion to risk into account. Do you like to put money on the underdog hoping that one will come through?
You might prefer to bet on the favorite since you’ll win more often.
In baseball terms, it’s like being the difference between a reliable base-hitter or the occasional home run hitter.
Bet on the favorites, you’ll win often, but not a lot of money. Bet on the long shots, and you’ll find that you won’t win often, but you’ll win big when you do.
Pari-Mutuel Betting Strategies
If you plan to bet on horse racing, you’ll notice that the odds change. That’s because they use pari-mutuel betting.
With most sports, the odds don’t fluctuate a lot between the time odds get set and game time. These are fixed-odds bets.
Pari-mutuel betting is based on the amount of money pooled together for an outcome. You’ll see this most often in horse racing.
Bettors place bets on horses. The monies get pooled together and distributed to the winners.
Someone can come in and place a lot of money on a horse. That increases the money in the pool and lowers the odds.
The best sports betting strategy for pari-mutuel betting is to wait until the last possible minute to place your bet. That way, you don’t get caught off guard if your 8-1 bet goes off at 2-1.
Tracking Sports Betting Strategies
When you learn how to start sports betting, you should test out the sports betting strategies here. This will help you learn.
Keep a journal of your sports bets. This tells you which one is the best sports betting strategy for you.
Pick the Best Sports Betting Strategy
Now that you know how to start sports betting, you can pick the best sports betting strategy. Sign up with a sportsbook with the best odds and set your bankroll.
Try out some of the sports betting strategies and track your results. You’ll have a favorite strategy that’s the best one for you.
Do you need tips to invest your winnings from sports betting? Head over to the Finance section of the blog.
