When your favorite team is playing, or the FIFA World Cup is on, you might rush to your friend’s house to watch the match because you feel you can only enjoy matches with your squad. At times, on your way, you may even go so far as to grab some popcorn for everyone. The atmosphere is charged with emotions as you arrive at your friend’s house. Shouts of frustration echo when VAR decisions don’t favor your friends, and cheers of triumph fill the room when Ronaldo scores an open goal: “Bro, it’s a goal!” your friend says to you in happiness, and you fake a smile because Ronaldo is not your favorite player. All you want to do is take a seat as you’re already exhausted from the rush to their house.
Five minutes into the match, a moment comes when the atmosphere calms down a bit. And as usual, you and your friends place bets on the match. Betting based on individual support or a whim in the middle of the match.
Do you think that sports betting is all about that? Obviously, no, since you are here. For the pros involved in the business, betting is their own 9 to 5 job, and they dedicate a significant portion of their day to finding the proper matches and placing the right bets based on the knowledge they acquire from never-ending learning and trial and error.
Don’t get excited yet because, as easy as it sounds, making a living out of sports betting is not a piece of cake. This blog post contains what the pros have to say to you. 1 odd or 3 odds?
So, which odds caught your eye earlier? Because here’s the deal: your chances of divulging some nifty sports betting strategies and techniques are looking pretty darn good. Why not jump in and start soaking up that knowledge? It’s your winning ticket to a more dope betting game. That bookmaker is going to beef you, though.
Look at how you and your friends did it during that match. Professional punters don’t do it that way. They don’t bet based on their mood or favorite player as you and your buddies did.
Professional punters let their past research and comprehensive betting history tell them when to bet.
They are disciplined even though it can be difficult, “at least initially be ruthlessly strict with yourself to make the behavior ingrained. If your dog shits on the carpet, you don’t just shrug and hope it doesn’t do it the next time. Train yourself, rub your nose in that shit so you don’t ever want to do it again. Getting rid of emotions is nearly impossible, so what is left is strict personal discipline and a plan to follow,” says Matthew Trenhaile, a former odds compiler.
Although bookies are usually after your life, you can still find “a little” good ones, and professional punters find those ones. This is a notable factor in professional sports betting. Pro punters look for bookies with solid licenses from the authorities as they are often the good ones that offer competitive odds and bonuses, the neatest user interfaces, and the most explicit terms. When they have found them, they create accounts on each of their top bookie selections, and when the right match approaches, they compare odds across them for the match to find the best one.
It doesn’t stop there; you must also do your own research and read reviews about your selected bookies, as even some licensed bookies can offer odds that are too good to be true. It’s a prevalent principle in the betting community that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Bettors are often advised to be cautious of bookmakers offering odds or bonuses that seem exceedingly generous, as these can sometimes come with hidden conditions or risks, such as holding up payouts or requesting verification information repeatedly in an effort to annoy you and drag down the process.
You hate even reading something as simple as Walmart receipts. Are they then the terms and conditions you would read? Betting does not care about that. You must learn to read and be attentive to detail in sports betting, as you must always read terms and conditions carefully and bet responsibly.
Matched betting is one of the most famous secret ingredients pro punters use, a clever tactic for a risk-free return. This is where those enticing free bets and bonuses discussed earlier come into play, and pro punters know just how to make them work in their favor. Time to break it down. As you already know, a game has multiple potential outcomes; pro punters take those outcomes and place bets on them on different platforms. They might also split them between a traditional betting platform and a betting exchange.
Consider this scenario: you receive a generous $170 free bet as a birthday gift from a bookmaker. You decide to use it to bet on Liverpool FC to lose (a lay bet) at odds of $2.5. To cover all bases, you dip into your own funds and place another bet on Liverpool FC to win (a back bet) at odds of $4.1. The result? You’ve effectively covered both sides of the market, ensuring a win because one of the outcomes will most likely happen. This was how pro bettor Oliver, lawyer, and finance writer, made £5,000 ($6,282) within three months, “...Getting to those levels (even £10,000) it will take some time, but I made £5000 within 3 months, so getting to £10,000 is probably realistic within a year or so” he says.
Now, why choose a betting exchange? Well, they offer better odds. These platforms allow users to set their own odds. Users can place bets directly against each other instead of with a bookie, giving pro punters more control. They can navigate the exchange, cherry-picking the most favorable odds for optimal returns. But, and it’s important “but,” using a betting exchange requires a deep understanding of odds and betting markets. It’s not for the faint-hearted but for the pros; it’s a strategic game where knowledge reigns supreme.
Pro sports bettors earn their money in various methods, and just one is through matched betting. Other top options include value betting and line shopping.
Would Bill Benter have stacked up over $1 billion in the past 30 years if he didn’t have super budgeting skills? Definitely not. In betting, the money you set aside for it is known as your bankroll. This should be an amount that, if you lose it, you should not be affected.
Now that you have one, the idea is to gradually grow and safeguard your bankroll.
Making choices that raise the possibility of profit while lowering the possibility of loss can help you do this. It’s fundamental to recognize that losing bets is a natural aspect of sports betting, and the objective is to consistently outscore your losses. To spread out your risk, you can use techniques such as spreading your bets or capping the size of your bets at a tiny portion of your bankroll.
You really want to crush this sports betting thing and become that pro. So, here’s the scoop: the essential gauge of success is typically winning over 53% of your bets after accounting for bookmaker charges (juice) — that sweet spot where your costs and income balance out. Even the pros don’t have a flawless record; they face losses. Billy Walters achieved something remarkable, though. He won 60% to 80% of the time, catapulting him to millionaire status.
Now, about other indicators of success in sports betting: a solid return on investment (ROI), bankroll growth, and effective capital management. Sure, there are more, but focus on these for now.
Speaking of ROI, consider a value betting system that brings in a 5% to 10% return on 1,000 bets — that’s deemed successful. This kind of performance puts you in the position to drag a seat with bookmakers, but, to be real, achieving an ROI greater than 5% can sometimes feel akin to fighting the government.
Alright, buckle up because the answer is a booming “Yes!” You can totally make a living off sports betting. But forget Arnold Schwarzenegger’s gear in Commando — no hand grenades or camouflage paint here. It’s all about arming yourself with the right strategies and tools, and it’s way more precise than the Hollywood action-packed film. Now, to bust a few myths. If you thought sports betting was a quick riches scheme or all about luck, think again. And it’s not about placing tons of bets; it’s about smart ones.
And guess what? You can beat bookmakers, yes, you heard that right — not with grenades, but with savvy value betting and other strategies. But hold on — making sports betting a full-time gig isn’t a walk in the park. Losing money, dealing with ups and downs, and mastering the psychology of it all need a disciplined approach.
But fear not! If you feel pro sports betting is not for you, there are plenty of other ways to ride the sports betting wave. Whether it is in sports trading, arbitrage, doling out tips, or even crafting stories about sports betting, remember that success in these areas still boils down to the same winning mix — knowledge, discipline, and a dash of strategic flair.
