Best Betting Strategies – Top Expert Tips

Betting on sports can seem complicated at times with an overwhelming number of different bet types available to players, not to mention a huge selection of sports, markets and lines to bet on. The top sports bettors are professionals who maintain their discipline by using the best betting strategies and sticking to certain principles and approaches to achieve their success.

While you may not be looking to turn your sports betting hobby into a career, there are still things you can do to have more success with your bets. In this complete guide to the best betting strategies, we will start with some basic sports betting tips and then outline some advanced strategies for you to consider.

• Basic Sports Betting Tips
• List of Our Best Betting Tactics
• Best Betting Tactics – More General Tips
• Tips for Betting on Specific Sport Disciplines

Basic Sports Betting Tips

While every good sports bettor will do things their own way, there are undoubtedly a number of basic sports betting tips that anyone can implement to increase their chances of success.

Bankroll Management

The first thing to consider is how to manage your money. Always decide on a budget for your play, whether that is by wager or daily, weekly or monthly spend and don’t go over this amount even if you are sure your next bet will be a winner. It may seem tempting to use a credit card to access more money for your wagering but that could be a quick way to slide into debt.

Be consistent with your betting, with the general consensus being you should wager only 1-3% of your entire budget with each bet. Going all in on a sure thing might work, but could also rip through your entire bankroll.

Understand Odds and Markets

Players simply have to know how betting odds work before you even think about placing a wager. Become familiar with the way American (moneyline) odds work as these are the default setting on top online sportsbooks in the USA. For example, a 50/50 bet has a probability of 50% chance of happening and carries +100 odds. That means if you place a wager of $100 on this event you will get $100 back in winnings if the bet is successful, as well as receive your $100 stake back.

Odds of -300 represent a more likely outcome and would require a wager of $300 to land just $100 if successful. With +250 odds this is less likely to take place and would return $250 if you wager $100. You will need to know these like the back of your hand. Similarly, you need to understand the different types of bets, with these three most common options:

• Moneylines: Simple option for beginners to bet on the straight-up winner of a match. Usually short odds.
• Point Spreads: More advanced bet where you consider the margin of victory, in terms of points. Longer odds.
• Totals (Over/Under): You predict whether the combined score in points will be over or under a certain figure.

Let Yourself Be Guided

You can find a host of statistics and data about sports online which can power your betting approach. You’ll find almost anything about the top leagues such as the NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA and soccer divisions like the English Premier League which can help you identify savvy bets and secure profit. Using stats and data will help you feel more confident about your betting and arm you with the information to needle out value from sportsbooks.

Similarly, you might want to think about following experts who give out regular tips. You can subscribe to a reliable service – usually for a small fee – that can take the legwork out of betting and provide you with insight you wouldn’t have otherwise. If you’re not sure about this maybe start with small wagers to see how successful their tips are first before committing larger sums. You can also follow experts on social media, while major sports betting sites will often carry top bets and tips as well as predictions on upcoming games and events.

Don’t Chase Your Losses

This is a general tip for all gamblers not just sports bettors, but it applies all the same – never chase your losses. Players who have the mindset that just one more bet will help recover a bad run usually get themselves further into trouble.

Stay in Control

Try not to let your emotions get the best of you when betting as you will always be at your best when you are cool, calm and methodical rather than riding high or low. Don’t decide to gamble in response to something negative happening in your life and we wholeheartedly recommend that you don’t drink alcohol when you play online. Elite players don’t allow their sporting allegiances to get in the way of their bets either.

List of Our Best Betting Tactics

In this section we are going to examine two of the best betting strategies and best betting tactics that players can employ to improve their chances of success.

Paroli

One of the best betting systems out there, the Paroli system is also known as the 1-3-2-6 system and works by increasing or decreasing your stake depending on the last result. It is also used for casino games like roulette and works best when applied to even-money bets. To begin with you need to decide how much one unit will refer to, in this example we will say $10.

You will place your first wager of $10 x 1 = $10 and if that wins you progress to the next number in the sequence $10 x 3 = $30 and if that wins you progress again to $10 x 2 = $20 and if that wins you progress again to $10 x 6 = $60. However, if at any point your wager loses you revert to the beginning of the sequence and start again.

The advantages of the Paroli system are that it is simple and easy for players to learn, which favors newcomers. It isn’t complicated and once you get the hang of it you can just follow the sequence.

Fibonacci

The Fibonacci betting sequence was named after an Italian mathematician from the Republic of Pisa also known as Leonardo Bonacci. The system sees you increase the size of your wager every time you lose with the intention of recovering your losses by placing this bigger bet to gain back what you’ve lost and add some profit.

The sequence is 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144 etc. and every time you lose a bet you will progress by one number up the sequence betting that amount of units, while every time you win a bet you will move two numbers back in the sequence towards the beginning.

Again, here you need to follow the sequence and decide on an amount to act as one unit, in this example we will say $10 too. To start you place a first wager of $10 x 1 = $10. If the bet loses you progress up the sequence of numbers to $10 x 1 = $10 and if that loses you go to $10 x 2 = $20 and if that loses you go to $10 x 3 = $30 and if that loses you go to $10 x 5 = $50 and so forth. However, if at any point your bet wins you push back by two numbers in the sequence.

This sports gambling strategy is also best suited to even-money bets and once you get the hang of it is fairly straightforward to follow but may require a fairly large bankroll in order for you to weather losing streaks.

Best Betting Tactics – General Tips

Now we are going to include various sports gambling strategies you can apply to your approach that may yield positive results.

Live Betting

Live betting has grown in popularity in recent years as it allows players to make wagers and watch the action unfold in real-time in front of them. They also allow you to use your judgment to pick up on actions as they are happening and react before sportsbooks have had time to update their odds.

Early Cashout

Early cashout is a relatively new feature to the world of sports betting that allows you to cash out of a bet before the game or event has finished. Essentially you decide to settle the bet before it ends, with the odds offered less than what you would get if the result ended that way but provide the insurance of guaranteeing you the money and avoids the risk of a late upset.

Become an Expert on a League

The best sports bettors tend to specialize in a specific sport or league which allows them to put their expansive knowledge of the subject to the test. If you want to make bets on the English Premier League you should be watching as many games as possible, following all the coverage and keeping yourself updated on issues such as the form and fitness of players. This will help you to find more value in your betting and pick lines that others might miss. Going up against sportsbooks is difficult but by sticking to the sports you know best you are in good stead.

Tips for Betting on Specific Sport Disciplines

In this section we have outlined some of the best betting strategies and tactics for you to utilize depending on which sport you prefer to bet on:

• NBA: Often going against the grain can be of benefit as usually whichever team is generally favored will see their odds get inflated close to kick-off. Assess the situation and go for value before tip-off.
• NFL: Try to analyze why events took place the previous week before betting on the current week’s action to tease out trends like players in form, home advantage and more.
• MLB: Opt for over-under bets, particularly those on games with big lines (ideally +/- 7.5 runs) as these high-scoring games often see upsets from the underdog which can be great value for bettors.
• Golf: Cashing out on futures bets is a great approach to take if your chosen golfer is winning a tournament but you are not sure they will be able to hold on for glory over the whole weekend.