Why it’s not easy to make a profit from a sportsbook
Sportsbooks are only able to stay in business by making sure that more people lose their bets than they win. This is done through something called a betting margin or ‘vig’ that essentially means that the odds are tilted in a sportsbook’s favor.
There is nothing wrong with a sportsbook doing this. After all, it’s the betting margin that keeps the sportsbook in business and gives you somewhere to put your bets down.
What makes sportsbooks worth visiting is the fact that there’s every chance that you can occasionally win your bets and make a profit. So we’ve compiled the following list of some things that you can try to enjoy a little more success when betting on sport.
Be realistic
First of all, you should know that everyone loses their sports bets now and then. It’s part of what makes sports betting so enjoyable. After all, betting on sport would quickly get boring if you knew that you were going to win all of the time.
This is why we’d always recommend that you be realistic about sports betting. Don’t fall into the trap of seeing sports betting as a way of making money. Instead, treat betting on sports as you would any other form of entertainment. This means that you can take the occasional loss and not have it ruin your enjoyment of the big game.
Managing your money
You can only make a profit in business by managing your money carefully. The same is true when it comes to betting on sport. This means that the last thing you should do is to put down a risky bet with a large betting stake. Instead, a cautious approach will always pay off best.
All seasoned betting fans will know that they should only ever wager with stakes that they don’t mind losing. This is because it’s inevitable that you are going to get hit with a loss sooner or later. As such, you’re not going to be able to make a profit if your bankroll has just been wiped out by a loss. So set yourself a sensible budget and wager with small stakes for a smart way to bet on sports.
Betting on the favorites
Profit from sports betting can only be made by winning your bets. Which bets have the strongest chances of winning? When you’re betting on the favorites. Sure you might not get massive returns as the odds are low, but some returns are better than no returns at all.
Remember that any returns made from your sports bets might add up to something worthwhile over the long run. Plus there are betting strategies like the 1.01 strategy that are based on those bets that have little chance of losing. Just remember that there is no such thing as a sure thing in sports betting, and even the strongest favorite will lose every now and then!
Using the best betting lines
So what happens when there’s a sporting event with two equally weighted teams and you want to make a reasonable profit? This is where you may want to see what betting lines are available for the sporting encounter. After all, there might not be too much value in just betting on the money line for each game.
The good news is that most sportsbooks will serve up hundreds of different betting lines for each elite sporting event. This means that you can shop around for bets like points spread, player props and totals to see which one gives you the best chance of winning while getting a fair return.
Understanding expected value
Many experienced bettors have found success with an expected value (EV) betting strategy. This is a long-term strategy that sees you seeking out ‘value bets’ from sportsbooks. Value bets refer to when you feel that a sportsbook has got its odds wrong and is offering you better value than you should normally get.
Let’s take an example. A sportsbook gave the Denver Broncos odds of +500 to beat the New Orleans Saints. While you felt that the Broncos were underdogs, you thought that they had a better chance of winning and that the odds should be somewhere around +300.
The above example would be a value bet and while it has a fair amount of losing it could be worth a shot. This is because many bettors use something called ‘implied probability’ which aims to use these value bets over the long term to give you the best chance of getting something back from your bets on average.
Researching your bets
There’s truly no excuse for not doing your research into your sports bets. After all, it’s only by doing your homework that you’ll get the best idea of what’s most likely to happen in a sporting encounter.
Your job is essentially to make better predictions than the sportsbooks. You can only do this by making extensive analysis of statistics regarding things like past form and having a detailed understanding of how recent sporting news could affect the big game.
Plus even if you’ve made some sound predictions, there’s nothing to say that you are going to actually win your bets. After all, there are so many variables in a sporting event and truly anything can happen. This is why you shouldn’t rely on sports betting for making a profit and instead just enjoy your bets as a form of entertainment.
Conclusion - Is sports betting profitable? Sometimes!
We’ve shown that there is no simple answer to the question, ‘Is sports betting profitable?’ While anyone can easily make a quick profit from a single bet, it’s something else to be able to make consistent profits from sports bets. After all, there are so many variables that go into a sporting encounter and no one can predict the future.
Despite this, we’ve found a few methods that can help you avoid making some dumb mistakes when betting on sport. By doing your homework, betting with small stakes and using some smart strategies, you’ll stand a much better chance of getting something back from your bets. So be sure to check into this guide so that you’re always enjoying the smartest ways of betting on sports!
