2020 has been a year like no other, and our favorite sports didn’t miss out on the weirdness. Who would’ve guessed that two neglected teams in Major League Baseball, the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers, would play the World Series?
Well, if you suspected those teams would make it and put money on one or both of them as a sports gambler, you could have won big! Don’t worry if you had no clue like most of us. Late October isn’t too late to get in on the MLB action.
If you’re new to gambling and wondering how to win gambling on sports, you’re in the right place. Whether you go for MLB, the NFL, or another league, these hot tips will teach you how to win bets.
1. Bet on What You Know
As a beginning sports gambler, it’s a good idea to bet on the sport you know the most about. It’s also smart to hold off betting if you aren’t familiar with a team and their stats.
Yet, if you’re interested in a certain game but not sure you know enough, you can do research on sports sites to place an informed bet. There are also sports gambling sites that do the predicting for you using both machine learning and seasoned professionals. Sports media hosts also often do gambling segments on their TV and radio shows.
Don’t take others’ predictions as gospel, or you could end up resentful with a light wallet. Use all of these sources together to inform your bets.
2. Manage Your Money as a Sports Gambler
In every sports league, each game offers a chance for tides to change. Betting all you can afford for a season on one game is taking a huge chance. You could win big, or you could be done gambling as soon as you started.
To avoid ruining the season for yourself, decide how much you can gamble and stick to that amount. Split that amount up between games: For example, if you’re starting just now and have $120 to spend, you could split it into $20 over the six remaining games in the World Series.
If you need more cash to spare, some sportsbooks have starter offers that match new members’ deposits, like this one from US Odds. These offers are great deals because they give you money to play with that doesn’t affect your bank accounts.
3. Know How To Read Point Spreads
For gamblers, every game has a favorite team and an underdog team. These titles are used in point spreads, which give you opportunities to bet on how much a team will or lose by. Understanding point spreads is essential for success in sports betting.
Imagine the Colts are the favorite in an NFL game, meaning the house predicts that the chances are they’ll win over the underdog—let’s say the Bengals.
The Colts as a favorite “give” points: Let’s say they’re an eight-point favorite (shown as -8) over the Bengals. This means that you’re betting that they’ll win by at least eight points.
If the Colts win by over eight points, you win the bet. If they win by eight points, it’s called a “push,” and you get the money you bet back. You’re not betting that they’ll win the game alone—If they win by seven or fewer points or lose the game, you’ll have to kiss your money goodbye.
On the other hand, underdogs “get” points: Let’s say the Bengals are eight-point underdogs (+8).
They have to win or lose by under eight points for you to win. You would get your money back in this case too if they lost by exactly eight points.
Basketball uses point spreads as well, while lower-scoring games have similar measures.
4. What’s the Juice?
When you gamble with a sportsbook, the house takes a cut of every bet. This cut is called the juice. Vigorish is a less common term for that cut, sometimes abbreviated “vig.”
The juice is posted next to point spreads in football and basketball and appears by other sports’ respective predictions.
Say you see -110 next to the Colts and -110 next to the Bengals. This means the house takes 10% of your bet if you win. If you win, you make $10 on every $11 you risk.
5. Learning To Bet on the Moneyline
Another way how to gamble on sports is on the moneyline. The moneyline considers who wins and who loses. As with point spreads, favorites give while underdogs gain: Say it’s -200/+200 for the Colts/Bengals game, and you put down $100.
If you bet on the favorite (Colts) and win, you get $200. If they lose, you lose $200. Betting on the underdog (Bengals) is a little less risky because they’re expected to lose. You can only lose the $100 you put down, but you get $200 if you win.
Moneylines are often used for lower-scoring sports like soccer, hockey, and baseball.
6. Don’t Fall Prey To the Sunk Cost Fallacy
Imagine you did bet $100 on the moneyline for the -200 Colts, and they lost. You had to give up $200, and you’re really bummed about it.
You might be tempted to keep betting to get that $200 back. You came this far already, so you should keep going, right?
Think again—It’s more probable that you lose more money. If you follow this logic too long, you could end up bankrupt.
This sunk cost fallacy in gambling is more common than you think, and you don’t want to be in that group. Stick to betting no more than the amount of money you decided on when the season started and any signup bonuses you get from sportsbooks.
Keep up With the Times and Refresh Your Life
Now that you know how to be a smart sports gambler, you can put money down on the best teams with confidence.
If you want to feel that good about the rest of your life, take a look around the site for more helpful sports and lifestyle articles. We also have all the news you need to keep up with current events in these crazy times, so start reading today!
