It’s true a lot of people bet on sports just for fun and entertainment purposes, but there are even more people who are actually looking for a way to beat the system to make some good money on the side. There are also the professional bettors who bet on sports full time as a business model and make their living from this. So whether you are looking to make some extra money on the side or go all the way pro, you can get something from this post.
Anyone serious about betting understands that it takes time and dedication to beat the market and end up in the money consistently. Learning more about a sport and gathering up enough funds to invest in betting is just the starting pointing of your journey to make money beating the bookmakers.
After you put everything together, studied all the games you want to invest in and have your game plan all set, you need to have a carefully calculated staking method to survive and stay in the game for the long run.
Staking method for betting
Making money is the main focus of our betting experience but to succeed on the long run you need to know how to limit your losses when you don’t win. Noone can win 100 percent of the time, even the most successful bettors place losing bets. The trick is to use the right staking method that will manage your money in the most efficient way.
You could create the perfect model with better results than anyone else but if you don’t use the right staking method, you will eliminate any edge you have. There are countless staking methods that most bettors will be aware of. We will discuss in more details different staking methods in a different article.
The value of information
Bookmakers will effectively buy information from bettors by offering odds and then make adjustments to the market depending on how valuable that information is. Professional bettors can make money by predicting the outcome of a match based on skill, but they can also do it by using information no one else has – the most successful bettors will obviously use a combination of both.
Whether it is a soccer player being injured, an NFL quarterback being suspended for disciplinary reasons or a sudden change in weather or playing conditions, knowing about something before anyone else and acting on it will affect how profitable a bet can be.
Focus
While any edge you have requires the right staking method to maximise its profitability, it is pointless having the right staking method if you can’t predict the outcome of an event and calculate whether your potential bet has positive expected value.
Instead of trying to bet on anything and everything, you will be better of focussing your attention on one particular sport. Sometimes niche markets like corners betting offer better value because there is a lack of bookmaker knowledge, but there is still money to be made with an NFL betting strategy or by betting on the Over/Under market in soccer.
What sport should you bet on?
If you want to make consist profit in this market, you need to find an edge over the bookmaker in any sport you can. However, some sports might be easier than others when it comes to forging a career from betting.
Know yourself and what you are amazing at and stick to it. Don’t chase after events you don’t understand or know what to do. Stick to what you know and what you are awesome at. This is what gives you the extra edge to win.
Measure betting success
The most efficient way to measure if your betting exploits can be deemed a success is to compare them against the closing line (the most adjusted, and therefore accurate, odds available before an event takes place).
Testing the results of your strategy against a bookmaker’s closing line over a long period of time eliminates the influence luck could have. Similarly to testing the credibility of a tipster, analysing your own results is essential if you want to become a professional bettor.
Find the right bookmaker
Becoming an expert in a particular sport, developing a successful strategy and ensuring you use the correct staking method to maximize returns whilst limiting your potential risk might be the hard part, but finding the right bookmaker can be just as difficult.
If you want to make enough money from betting to earn a living, you need to use a bookmaker that consistently offers the best odds. Being able to bet as much as you want is also important, so using a bookmaker that offers the highest limits online makes sense. Finally, you need to bet somewhere that welcomes winners and won’t restrict or ban anyone that makes money from betting.
Find out how to calculate betting margins so you can work out how your bookmaker compares to other bookmakers.
In addition to the advice above about how to become a professional bettor, there are some basic rules that all bettors should try and stick to. Don’t let emotion get in the way of betting, don’t get fooled by randomness or controlled by optimism bias. Finally, “Never bet money you can’t afford to lose.”
Curated from www.pinnacle.com
