New to this whole sports betting thing? Well, fear not! Sports analytics and data website Dimers.com has you covered with 10 of the most important lessons for wannabe handicappers. Following some of these simple principles could help you navigate your way to online sports betting stardom, leaving Vegas in your wake.
Careful, it’s a jungle out there – good luck!
1. Be patient
Hard luck stories and strong lessons from losing are a common theme amongst the very few gamblers who ultimately go on to make a career out of it and become very successful. Very few professional gamblers build success from their very first bet, it takes times and knowledge to learn the ropes and be able to identify when and where to strike. An awesome free service like Quick Picks at Dimers.com can help you on your way.
2. Use predictive analytics models
You can have the best computer program or sports predictions algorithm in the world but if you don’t know how to harness its power and manage your bankroll you won’t get very far. This is why the Dimers edge identifier is such a valuable piece of technology (and it’s free!). They crunch the numbers on games, simulate them thousands of times and then match their probabilities against the sportsbook odds (essentially probabilities too) and when they differ – they’ve found you an edge. Even if you don’t necessarily want to follow their picks you can use them to validate your own, at the very least.
3. Consume information
Many years ago, long before the internet, a famous and very successful gambler employed Las Vegas airport cleaning crew to gather used newspapers from all of the incoming flights from various parts of the country. Then, a team of dedicated ‘readers’ would analyze all of that information to identify opportunities. Why? Well, he knew most of the linemakers and general public would not have access to any of that information themselves! Heard the saying, “knowledge is power”? Surround yourself with sharp minds and read up on statistics, math and use predictive analytics to help you process as much information as you can.
4. Find an edge vs. the sportsbooks
There are so many different ways to define an ‘edge’ but the easiest and most relevant example for this article is to relate it to the odds you are prepared to take when throwing down your hard-earned money. Would you pay $600 for a TV knowing you could get the very same one next door for $500? Of course you wouldn’t! This is why you need to shop across multiple online sportsbooks for the best lines and the best odds.
Example: A $10 bet on a team at odds of +300 gets you a $30 profit, yet that same $10 on the same team but at a different book, this time at +400 odds, gets you a $40 profit. See why it’s important? It’s only $10 but, hey, it’s better in your pocket than theirs right?
5. Exploit your edge
This is not to be confused with bigger odds = a bigger wager, as you will go broke really fast that way! The premise here is that when your numbers, or expected outcomes, are different to those of the sportsbooks’, the odds available will likely be much better than the true chance of that outcome occurring. In this case it can often pay to bet a slightly higher stake than normal, because sticking to this type of philosophy over the long run will mean you give yourself a greater chance of being profitable.
6. Small fish are sweet
For all their work and success, professional bettors win at a strike-rate of between 55% and 57%. To ‘just’ be profitable at the standard odds of -110 they need to be hitting at a minimum winning percentage of 52.4%. In short, the ability to optimize your bankroll (and exploit your edge) should enable you to generate consistent profits if you can strike at better than 52 wins from every 100 bets. Sounds easy enough…
7. Strap yourself in for a ride
While most professional bettors that consistently win may generate that profit over a 12-month period, it doesn’t mean they don’t have plenty of losing days, weeks and even months along the way! Small margins + good bankroll management = long term success.
8. Be prepared to adapt
The insight and knowledge that came from collecting and reading all those small-town newspapers from Las Vegas airport evaporated almost overnight when the internet arrived, but did that mean the opportunity to win at sports betting went up in smoke with it? Of course not! That is just one very small example of how almost everything evolves, but evolution isn’t always a bad thing and no matter what systems you use to help you with your sports betting, you and they need to move with the times in order to stay on top.
9. Be honest with yourself
There’s no point being in denial about your sports betting and gambling results, as this is how problems can start. If you have had a bad day, look back over it, see if you can identify where it all went wrong – but, whatever you do, don’t just pretend it never happened!
10. You can be a long-term winner
It’s not easy, but if you can follow these steps you’ll give yourself a decent chance of being profitable over the long haul. At the end of the day, though, sports betting is meant to be fun, so as long as you stick to your limits and don’t chase your losses, you should be fine… oh and you’ll have a blast along the way!
