A growing number of people are turning to the internet to bet on sports. If you plan on getting in on the online sports betting action, there are a few things you should know before you do.
Today, sports betting may serve as one of the most popular forms of global gambling entertainment. Still, it’s not the first thing that you think about when someone mentions online gambling.
When you hear the words online gambling, you most likely think about online casinos. However, a few interesting numbers might give you a different perspective on the industry.
In 2018, the United States Supreme Court made a landmark decision that allows legal sports betting. Since then, consumers have spent more than $2 billion on sports books bets in the United States. Now, 18 states that cover 30% of the population have legalized sports book markets.
While these numbers may prove interesting, you’re most likely more concerned about your place in the exciting world of online sports. With this in mind, keep reading to learn ten key things about the sports betting industry.
1. The Sports Betting Industry Doesn’t Win by Picking a Winning Team
The sports book industry doesn’t make a ton of money by figuring out how to get you to bet on the losing team. In truth, they don’t mind whether you bet one way or the other. However, they do like to keep their clients balanced on either side of the game.
When a sports book keeps their books balanced, they’re guaranteed to earn a profit. The half that wins will receive their payout from the half that loses.
The house, however, will make their money from a betting fee. The betting fee is called the vig. Vig is short for vigorish.
2. Home Versus Away: Know the Difference
When betting on sports, it’s important to evaluate teams and betting lines. Here, it helps to consider how far a team has to travel. For example, a team that’s playing a home game will most likely perform better than the team traveling from the opposite coast.
Travel time can play a big part in the outcome of the game. Accordingly, many bookies take team travel into account when setting lines.
3. The House Always Wins
You’ve already learned how sports books make money. However, it’s not always possible for sports books to balance wagers perfectly.
What they can do is provide action for many events during the year. If they manage their books properly, their losses and wins balance out over time.
For example, if a bookmaker sets good lines and adjusts the lines as needed, they’ll earn a profit. They’ll also need to bankroll their sports book with enough funding. Eventually, they’ll generate a long-term profit.
4. The Line Is a Moving Target
Bookmakers move their lines based on the anticipated outcome of a game. However, they’ll also move the line based on how much they think players will, and do, bet.
In most instances, the lines are pretty accurate. Still, it’s important to understand that sports books are more interested in balancing their client list rather than who wins the game.
If too many bettors wager on one side of the game, the sports book will move their line accordingly. The idea is to get more players to bet on the other side of the game. Games with the most bets have tighter lines for this reason.
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5. Know How to Watch the Money Lines
When you make a money line bet, the sports book will include the vig in the cost of your bet. However, you might find it helpful to keep an eye on the money line for more than assessing the vig.
A money line bet ignores the point spread. It’s a straight bet on who will win.
It may seem like you can win more wagers by betting on heavily favored money line teams. However, you may get more value out of your wagers by betting on underdogs who have a good chance of winning.
6. Money Lines Aren’t All That Complicated
If you want to get into sports betting, you probably know a thing or two about sports. However, it can prove confusing to understand how to read lines. Still, once you figure it out, it’s easy to tell the difference between favored teams and underdogs.
Usually, you’ll see the favored team next to a minus and a number on a normal line. Meanwhile, the underdog will have a plus and a number next to their name.
In some instances, a sports book may only assign a value to the favored team. In either case, the sports book will list the home team second.
If you bet on the underdog, you’ll get the points. If you bet on the favored team, the sports book will give you points.
In other words, they’ll add or deduct those points from the final score of the game. If you bet on the favorite, for instance, they’ll need to win by more than the deducted points.
7. The Home Team Advantage Is Real
Teams win more often when they play at home. For this reason, many sports books favor the home team.
Accordingly, they’ll adjust the line against the closest home teams. However, this fact can help you to evaluate lines and games.
In fact, you can gain an advantage by comparing lines from different sports books. This practice will help you to find the best lines around.
However, you can sometimes use home team bias to find value in the lines. This tactic is especially beneficial if you like to bet on visiting underdogs.
8. You Don’t Have to Bet on the Pros to Win Big
Many sports books concentrate on games with the most action. In most cases, these are professional games, such as NFL and NBA events.
However, you can find opportunities by betting on games with less action. For example, you may want to take a look at NCAA basketball and football.
Professional leagues have the best match-ups regularly. However, there are a lot of small conferences.
In some cases, you can outperform bookmakers who accept small conference wagers by doing heavy research. In this way, you can find teams that offer a real opportunity with games and lines that have value.
9. Keep an Eye on the Weather Forecast
There are a lot of things that compel a sports book to move its line. One of those things is the weather. If you’re betting on an outdoor event, the weather can change the outcome of the game.
Often, the sports book will set the line days before the game. However, the weather report can change the outcome of an event. When the weather changes, the sports books will adjust the lines for this reason.
Here, however, it’s important to realize that some teams play better in bad weather. If you know who can play a great game in bad weather, you may find opportunities to rake in some cash.
10. Sometimes It’s About the Position, Not the Team
In most instances, you’ll bet on a sport such as football, basketball, soccer or baseball. However, sometimes positions are more important than the game.
For example, the starting pitcher or quarterback can make a big difference in the outcome of a game. Accordingly, it would help if you weighed these positions more so than others when betting on baseball or football.
For instance, a strong pitcher can keep their team in the game longer. They can also protect a lead better than their lesser-skilled teammates.
Conversely, a poor quarterback can lose the game with a bad throw. They can also send a game in the wrong direction by allowing an interception.
Getting in on the Action
If you’re new to sports betting, the first thing you want to consider is managing your bankroll. It’s up to you how much you want to risk on a game. However, it’s a good idea only to bet what you can afford to lose.
In addition, it’s important to think of the long game when it comes to betting. Many people would like to make a huge bet and win a giant windfall. In most instances, however, this strategy doesn’t work out.
There are good days and bad days when it comes to making sports bets. Resultantly, you may do better by taking a flat-betting approach.
In other words, it’s a good idea to only bet 1% to 5% of your bankroll per game. Imagine that you have a bankroll of $100. In that case, you’d bet up to five dollars per game.
In this way, you can protect yourself from losing your entire bankroll during a bad stretch. However, this technique is also a good way to set yourself up for a nice return during a good run.
Learn More About the Vast Universe of Gaming
Now you know ten key things about the sports betting industry. However, it may surprise you to learn how much goes on in the world of gambling. Fortunately, you come to the right place to learn more about one of the world’s favorite forms of entertainment.
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