Sports betting is big business these days. The explosion of online sports betting sites and changes in regulations in many countries have made it possible to bet on more sports than ever before. You can also bet in ever more sophisticated ways, from betting on match handicaps to live betting.
This has led many sports fans, particularly in the UK where sports betting already had deep roots, to dabble in betting on their favorite sports and teams, searching for the best odds to be found on the best sports betting sites the UK has to offer. For most people, a casual and occasional bet is a diverting way to add to their sports entertainment. Yet some sports betting customers entertain the idea that perhaps they can profit from their sports betting. Is it possible?
The answer to that question is a cautious yes. It is possible to earn from online betting, but anyone who thinks that it is a shortcut to riches should immediately reconsider. Betting on sports is hard work, just as hard as making a living as a stock trader or launching a business. In fact, betting on sports is probably harder than both of those activities, given that most people who go into sports betting don’t have resources like a major financial company or a business-support loan to start them off!
At some point, however, the aspiring sports-betting professional will ask themself which sport is the best to focus on. It isn’t possible to be a successful sports better by scattering your bets across half a dozen sports; specialization is crucial. But where to start?
Assuming that you understand the risks of sports betting and the level of work involved, there are other tools that can help. A solid understanding of the maths of betting is important, as well as a grasp of money management and the ability to stay calm even when things are going badly.
Starting with a sport that you know well isn’t a bad idea. This will, at least, provide you with a shortcut in terms of knowing most of the teams, players, and competitions involved. But it can also be counter-productive—watching a sport for pleasure is not the same as betting on it, and oftentimes the fact that you have strong opinions on a sport you know well can work against the kind of calm, cool, and collected analysis that you need to apply if you want to profit from sports betting.
Some sports are tougher than others to bet on. Generally speaking, these are the sports that involve animals, such as horse racing and greyhound racing. Horse racing in particular is notoriously difficult to crack. You will often face fields of ten or more horses, all at varying stages of fitness and with varying preferences in terms of going, distance, race pace, and so on. The number of factors you have to weigh up is enormous, while much of the information is unavailable.
Generally speaking, it is a good idea to focus on markets with as small a number of options as possible. That’s because the more contenders there are in a competition, the easier bookmakers find it to add margins to their markets. With a 16-runner horse racing handicap, there’s plenty of room to get away with poor prices, but they have less room for maneuvering in events such as tennis matches, where there are only two outcomes possible, or those team sports markets where the draw is not an option, such as Draw No Bet in football or limited overs cricket games.
Finally, it is also important to consider your access to information. You should choose a sport where you can watch as much footage as possible, and have access to sports news sources. For that reason, it also helps if you enjoy the sport in question, as you’re going to be watching hours of footage every week! Take time to figure out which sport and which markets suit you best, do your research, and you will stand a better chance of making your sports betting a success.
