Most people who bet on sports aren’t winning bettors. It’s a fact. Many of these bettors are using their money to fund their addiction to sports, a behavior that’s making them broke and unhappy. It doesn’t have to be this way. You can make money betting on sports, but only if you understand how the bookmakers work and know what to look for. This article will help you do just that.
One of the biggest mistakes beginning sports bettors make is betting on their favorite teams or games. This creates an emotional attachment to the outcome of a bet and makes it difficult to see the value in a particular result. In addition, bettors are often influenced by the amount of money that other bettors have placed on a specific team or outcome. This is known as public money, and it has a direct impact on odds. By identifying and betting against public money, bettors can find better prices on certain outcomes and unlock higher returns.
The best way to identify value is to compare implied probability (a percentage that reflects how likely a bet is to win) to the actual odds you get from the betting site. You can do this by converting your estimated chances of a certain outcome to odds using an online calculator. This will give you an indication of whether or not a bet offers value.
Another key factor in finding value is to follow line movement. The lines at sportsbooks are constantly moving based on a variety of factors, but the most common is the popularity of a particular team or game. When a popular team or game is heavily bet, the odds will move in order to attract more action and balance the books. This creates value on the under-appreciated side of a bet, and is an opportunity that bettors should take advantage of.
Sportsbooks have big teams that spend years analyzing events and creating the most efficient odds. Unfortunately, most casual bettors, referred to as the “public,” don’t use these tools. This is a huge mistake, because +EV bets can add up to significant profits over the long term.
If you are serious about making money betting on sports, you need to treat it like a business. That means budgeting for your wagers, tracking your results, and learning from your mistakes. It also means staying away from the pitfalls that can kill your bankroll, including over-betting and overspending. And it’s important to remember that gambling isn’t just about picking winners and losers; it’s about making a profit and being happy with the outcome of your bets.