You could make a lot of money gambling on sports and I will show you how. In today’s post, I’ll provide you with a strategic guide to help you be a successful sports gambler. Nothing too out-of-this-world science about it; just that the pros do some basic things you overlook yourself. What I plan to do is explain, step by step, how to give yourself the best shot at winning in sports betting. Now, it’s not guaranteed you’ll win every bet, but with this guide, you will win more often than not. I promise you won’t be disappointed. There’s no nonsense here, and I’m not holding anything back. This is all going to be about winning at sports gambling.
Let’s be clear, though. This isn’t about promoting gambling. It’s just to show you a method that lets anyone repeatedly outsmart the bookmakers. However, you may face limits or restrictions on your betting account after a while. It’s not illegal, and they will pay out, but it’s common for accounts to be restricted eventually. That’s just how it is when you unlock the winning formula.
So, what really matters more, a player’s form or the odds of their bet? The answer is quite simple. TV channels, pundits, and affiliates focus on form, while bookmakers earn from the odds they set, which also funds those channels and affiliates. This also applies to the events you bet on. Often, they direct you to events with poor value, so it becomes harder to win, instead of events where the odds favor you. I’ll lay out the 10 steps shortly, but first, understand that winning at sports betting isn’t about picking the winner. You need to find the right odds and allow variance to work for you.
If you’re confused, consider this simple example: If something has a 50% chance of happening, its odds are set accordingly. Any bet placed at odds higher than this is where your profit margin lies. While not every bet will win, betting on odds above their true value means you’ll win over time if you take advantage of these odds. The problem is finding these odds because bookmakers usually offer odds below their true value. What this means is that you get less favorable chances. Now, this is where this guide comes in to get you started on the path.
How to Be a Successful Sports Gambler
1. Treat Sports Gambling as Business
Even if you want to take this passively, you need to make it your own business. This mindset is what sets you apart from casual sports gamblers who just spend money here and there. You even need a business plan where you jot down your methods and what you want to do. Your plan does not really matter. After all, everyone has different goals and opportunities, but you always need a plan. Consider where you want to be in three months, six months, or a year. This is something banks would ask if you were looking to fund a business, so you should definitely do it for yourself.
Your betting funds should be kept separate from your personal money, just like a regular business. Once you start making a decent income, you can pay yourself a salary, but wait until you make a profit. Plan for the future, consider the legal aspects, and stay competitive. If you find yourself in a place where betting is illegal, that complicates things, but always keep the legal side in mind to avoid trouble and collect your winnings.
You’ll need some starting capital, possibly some software, advice, or information. Consider how you’ll get these resources and focus on your return on investment. How will you make money now and in the future? There’s a saying that the more you learn, the more you earn. So, figure out how you can continue to improve and climb the ranks to be the best at what you do. Just to glorify this point, I explained how sports betting can replace your 9-5 job—make sure to read this article.
2. Figure Out Your Bankroll
So, what’s the second step you need to take to become a successful sports gambler, and how do you set yourself up for success? You need to figure out your bankroll. I recommend starting with at least a $1,000 bankroll. The reason for at least $1,000 is simple. Anything less, and it’s tough to make significant money. It’ll take much longer to see substantial gains, especially if you are disciplined and know how to manage your bets. Unfortunately, a few hundred dollars won’t cut it if we are talking about significant earnings. So, you will need about $1,000 set aside for sports gambling. This should be money you can afford to lose, not funds needed for bills or other expenses. If you have at least $1,000 ready and it’s money you can risk, then you are ready for the next step.
It doesn’t stop here—how much are you going to bet and make sure it matches up with how much money you have set aside for betting? If you are serious about this and want to do it right, I recommend betting only 1-3% of your total money. So, if you have $1,000 ready for betting, your bets should be between $10 and $30. Now, you may think betting $10 to $30 isn’t going to make you a lot of money if you only have $1,000. But small wins add up over time, and we are only interested in using small money to make more money.
Suppose your sports gambling pool is $10,000. Then, you’d be betting between $100 and $300. But I know there are people out there who have $1,000 and are betting $100 on a single game. Is it smart? Well, it depends on the person, but it’s too risky. You could lose everything after just a few losses. We have to manage this money as wise men. If you stick to betting $10 to $30 with a $1,000 bankroll and make 10 units in a month, you should be looking at $100 to $300 in winnings. That’s a good return on investment, especially in sports gambling or any investment like the stock market.
3. Open Multiple Sportsbooks
Odds, this is the fundamental of sports gambling—it’s the core of the whole thing. If you do not know how odds work, then you’re not really playing the game. It’s similar to how business works, where you always try to negotiate the best possible price. In betting, you have to constantly search for the best odds. This can be done through betting exchanges, for instance, where you can seek out higher returns. You have to remind yourself that every little bit adds up. For example, if you get odds of two and make a profit of 2%, moving to odds of 2.01 can increase your profit, although slightly. Every fraction of a point matters. You must find the best odds available. As such, you may need to open accounts with multiple betting sportsbooks to compare and choose the best odds to gain an advantage.
Sports gambling requires accounts with multiple sportsbooks, especially if it’s legal in your state. There’s really no reason not to sign up with every sportsbook available to you. The main thing to understand here is that, no matter your starting budget—be it $1,000, $10,000, or $100,000—once you start winning a lot, sportsbooks will limit how much you can bet. They can reduce your betting limits, and if you bet big amounts, you will find yourself suddenly only able to bet something like $200 when you are used to much larger bets. The explanation is that sportsbooks tend to limit or cut off winners to manage their risk.
So, what’s our strategy here? Spread your bets across multiple sportsbooks. Take advantage of every sportsbook you can access. Besides, signing up is as easy as turning on your phone and creating an account. Also, don’t forget to make the most of the match bonuses offered by these sportsbooks. However, tread carefully with offshore sportsbooks and their bonuses. Some of them often come with unfavorable conditions. For example, you may have to bet a certain amount before you can withdraw your initial deposit. I recommend legal sportsbooks such as FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars, BetRivers, and others, and definitely use their match bonuses.
4. Track Every Gamble That You Make
So, in our fourth step, we will focus on bet tracking. This can really help if you want to be a successful sports gambler. You have your bankroll ready, decided on your unit size, and signed up with all the sportsbooks you need. Now, you need an Excel sheet to help you track every single sports bet you place. Some people think, “Wow, there are quite a few steps to this. I thought I could just pick a game and see what happens.” Yes, you could do that, but chances are, you’ll end up losing like most people. That’s exactly why I’m making this post—to help you succeed. So, get yourself an Excel sheet. This sheet will record all your bets, including the odds, the type of bet, and whether you won or lost, and you’ll be able to track your progress daily.
This sheet should stay up-to-date every day. If you miss a day, it throws everything off. Proper tracking of your bets is the only way to truly measure how you are performing. For instance, let’s say you are up by 10 units after the first week. Then, suppose the next week isn’t as successful, and you are down a few units. Your Excel sheet comes in, where you can see that you are still up overall. It will stop the unnecessary panic and rash decisions based on a short-term loss.
5. Narrow Down the List of Games to Get on for the Day
We’re in step 5, where you have to narrow the list of games to gamble on. At this point, your finances are in order, and you have deposited money into your multiple sportsbooks. What comes next is that it’s time to pick games to bet on—this is also the research phase. You have to do your own research on the games. No, you don’t guess or flip a coin; you need to look into the games thoroughly. Given that there can be a ton of games on a busy day, the puzzle is to narrow down your options.
Obviously, this is a tough one. However, the strategy is to look at the full list of games. You can use a site like Vegas Insider for this. There are others there, but this one is one of the good ones. On Vegas Insider, you’ll find odds from different sportsbooks. You’ll see where they started and where they are now. Your goal is simple; find the biggest changes in odds. For example, if in the NBA the Lakers started at -6 and now the odds are at -10 across the board, that’s a huge change. Note down games with such notable differences. You won’t find this in every game, but there will be a few. This method will reduce your list to about 20%, or even less, of all the games available. Now, all you have left is a manageable number of sports games to analyze.
Fortunately, you don’t need to spend hours analyzing every single game. This method will streamline the process, so you have to focus on a smaller, more significant subset of games.
6. Look for the Biggest Discrepancies and Avoid Betting on Public Stuff
You are going to identify the biggest differences between the percentage of bets placed on a specific play and the percentage of money placed on the same play. So, look out for both the bet percentage and the money percentage. What you are looking for are situations where the money percentage is higher than the bet percentage.
For any games you note down, take a closer look to see which ones have a higher money percentage compared to their bet percentage. I’ll explain what this analysis means. For example, consider a game, like the Lakers game again, where the bet percentage is 70% and the money percentage is 30%. Now, a lot of people are betting on this matchup, but the actual money isn’t following in the same proportion. Therefore, the majority of smaller bets favor this outcome, and it’s a strong public preference.
Well, public opinion isn’t always wrong, but it tends to be wrong more often than right, which is why sportsbooks are still in business. When you encounter this scenario, it’s a sign not to bet on those games. These are not the ones you want to wager on. Instead, look for the opposite situation, where the bet percentage might be 30% but the money percentage is 70%. It means that even though there are fewer bets on the game, there’s a lot of money on it. Sometimes, it means that experienced sports gamblers or groups are placing large bets on this outcome, despite it not being popular among the general public.
7. Place Your Bets and Relax
Go ahead and set up your plays, of course, with confidence. Once that’s done, take a moment to relax and do whatever helps you unwind. Do not allow the stress of the games to get to you; they can be stressful if you allow it. While relaxing, keep these three key things in mind:
- Discipline
- Consistency
- Avoid tilting (no matter what happens)
Discipline here simply means sticking to your planned unit size and bankroll and not risking too much money. This is closely related to avoiding tilting, which happens if you lose several bets in a row and then decide to risk a large portion of your bankroll to recover those losses. That’s not the system that will make you a successful sports gambler.
You need that discipline. Try to also work through the tough times. Eventually, you’ll find your way back to the top. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you can put all your money on a so-called “sure thing” or the “game of the year.” Those sure bets don’t exist. Every game has an equal chance of winning or losing, so treat them all the same and do not expect any game to be a guaranteed win.
8. Be Consistent
Top-tier sports gamblers may not say how many times they lose, but, of course, they do. It’s consistency that brings out the good stories. Everyday sports gambling needs consistency if you want to win, and possibly streak, and stay on track. If you skip a day, even if it was a day you could have had a perfect score, it messes up your entire month. Just like that, one missed day can throw off your whole month. So, think of this as a second job—something you need to prioritize. Consistency means you need to commit to this daily. If not, you’ll find yourself struggling through the month, messing up your tracking in Excel, and feeling lost. Stay disciplined as well, and avoid rash decisions. If you start to make impulsive bets, you’ll watch your bankroll vanish.
9. Betting Bank and Management
Now, I know many of you might be really focused on this topic. I want to point out that we, as a group, don’t have to worry too much because we always try to do our best. In European football gambling, for example, you can place a large bet on a Premier League game with no issues, but in smaller league games, you may only be able to bet a smaller amount. So, there is a difference in betting strategies depending on the game. If you want to progress from point A to point Z, you have to first move from A to B. This is where setting up a betting bank and managing it comes in.
Decide on your target earnings and plan backward from the number of bets you expect to place. Take into account the odds – a factor I explained to be very important in sports gambling. For odds around 2, which is a 50/50 chance, bet a small percentage of your bank, like 2 or 4%. However, if you place a high volume of bets, say a thousand a month, you want to limit this to just 1% of your bank. And for longer odds, like 10-1 or 20-1, consider even fewer bets, maybe just 0.5 percent of your bank.
As for the strategy based on the strength or value of bets, you should focus on the value. If you find a bet with odds significantly better than the risk, then it is worth a larger bet. But if the advantage is just slight, you have to be careful. Your betting size can also vary based on how strongly you feel about a bet, but always consider the potential for losing streaks and your financial situation. Even bets that seem like sure things can be lost, which is part of the risk of sports gambling.
As for adjusting your betting plan, decide when to change your stake sizes. If you start with a certain bankroll, you need to know when to adjust your bets based on the growth of your bankroll. I suggest doing this periodically, like weekly or monthly, to keep things simple and avoid betting odd amounts.
10. Cash Out Your Winnings at the Right Time
But before you cash out your winnings, you need to think like a pro gambler. Of course, this guide is primarily about setting you up to be a successful sports gambler. At some point, you’ll have to take your profit. It’s a trading strategy, right? Let’s say you place a bet with odds of 2.00 (evens), and you want to cash out early. The bookmaker may offer less than the full potential payout, say 1.70 on your bet, meaning you’d receive $170 instead of $200. This is how bookmakers make their profits. It only looks like a bad deal at first glance.
However, there are savvy people out there, especially in markets like Australia, who manipulate betting odds. They may select several long-shot horses, not because they believe in these horses but to influence the bookmakers. They place large bets, which causes the odds to shift dramatically. For example, odds could drop from 20-1 down to 5-1. These manipulators then lay bets against these horses at more favorable odds on betting exchanges. The result is that they have successfully exploited the artificially shortened odds for profit.
Consider a scenario where you have to bet $1,000 at 10 to 1 odds. If the odds shorten to 5 to 1 later and you believe the true odds should be 7 to 1, you would want to lock in some profit. If you adjust your position, you can guarantee yourself a profit, irrespective of the outcome. This is a form of trading, and it requires a systemic approach to gambling, considering both the buy and sell options based on how you predict the odds will move.
Odds slippage is another factor to consider. If you receive offers of 2.05 odds and then the odds drop to 2.03, you may still take the bet if you believe the true odds are closer to 2.00 to secure a small edge. Betting on dynamic odds is similar to trading on the stock exchange. You buy in, hoping the value will increase, and then decide when it’s optimal to sell or cash out based on your predictions of future movements. For this method to work, you have to understand market dynamics and be able to anticipate changes in odds or value.
Top 3 Winning Strategies of a Successful Gambler
Without any stories, let’s look at some strategies successful sports gamblers put in place to win.
1. Double Chance or Draw No Bet
You could get better odds or more value by betting on a double chance or draw no bet by figuring it out yourself. Let’s look at a simple example. Suppose a football match where you can bet on either a draw or the away team to win, and both options offer odds of 4. If you placed separate bets on both outcomes, your combined odds would effectively be 2. This is because if you put 50 on the draw at odds of 4 and another 50 on the away win at the same odds, you’d end up with a return of 200, making your odds 2. Yes, this pays more than the combined odds you might find directly for these bets, which could be slightly less, like 1.98, or slightly more, like 2.02. It’s the same bet, but with potentially better returns.
You can bet on a team to win in football but it’s typically the same as betting on them with a -0.5 handicap. What I’m saying is that bookmakers sometimes offer different odds for what is basically the same bet. For example, if you check a betting platform like Pinnacle for the odds on a -0.5 bet and compare it to the odds for the same team to win in the 1×2 market, you’ll often find a difference. So, try to compare to find the best odds available.
You also need to know when to place your sports bet. If all bookmakers offer the same odds, there’s no rush to bet. For example, if ten bookmakers all offer odds of 2, it’s possible that only one will offer slightly better odds, like 2.01 or 2.02. However, if only a few bookmakers offer these better odds, you should take advantage of them as soon as possible. There’s a strategy known as ‘iceberging’, similar to what’s used in stock trading. This applies to sports betting too, but that’s a topic for another time.
2. Odds Theft or Arbitrage Betting
One of the options that will help you become a successful sports gambler is odds theft or arbitrage betting. Here, you bet on all possible outcomes to make sure you win, no matter what. The issue here is that your betting accounts might get shut down quickly if the bookies realize you are into arbitrage betting because they’re not in the business of losing money to odds thieves. It’s just something to keep in mind. You may end up needing someone else’s sports betting account; it could be your parent’s or sibling’s, to keep playing.
Let’s look at how you can make the most out of each betting account. It’s important to try and understand how the bookmakers set their odds. Betting on smaller leagues can be tricky because there’s less money involved, and bookies are more likely to notice unusual betting patterns. Also, if they are checking their profits and losses for those games, they might start investigating. So, betting on less popular sports or leagues might get your account flagged faster.
You could even use bots to place lots of bets, especially on Asian betting exchanges, but it’s not going to fly with European bookmakers. They have systems to stop them, especially if you place too many sports bets. So, play smart about it. Keep your number of bets and the amount you bet lower to keep your account open longer.
3. Value Betting
You could also use value betting to get a bigger return compared to arbitrage betting. Arbitrage bettors tend to focus on small gains, which isn’t really my preference. I’m not against arbitrage betting, as it can help you make some income and progress from one point to another, but I believe value betting offers more. So, let’s talk about value betting.
What makes it different? Let’s consider a coin toss where the odds of landing heads or tails are even. If one bookmaker offers odds of 1.95 for heads and another offers 2.1 for tails, an arbitrage bettor would bet on both to secure a small profit regardless of the outcome. A value bettor, however, would only bet on the 2.1 odds, ignoring the 1.95.
You’ll need to identify bookmakers with a deep understanding of the sport, such as Pinnacle. You can somewhat trust their judgment on various sports. Use their lines and compare them with what you know to find and beat the $100 book price. For instance, if two tennis players both have odds of 1.95, you’d know there’s room for those odds to adjust. The goal is to beat the book price on betting exchanges, especially when there’s high liquidity.
In top league football, for example, if Manchester United is listed at 2.00 on Betfair with a £500,000 bet on the game, and you find odds of 2.05, you’re finding value by beating the true odds. Pay close attention to the in-play odds, which can change rapidly. Bookmakers adjust these odds not just based on their calculations but also on the game’s flow, offering opportunities for value betting. If you come across significant team news, like Haaland not playing for Manchester City, you can use this information to your advantage before the odds adjust.
Conclusion
I’ve given all it takes to be a successful sports gambler. If you follow exactly what you have just learned here, you will set yourself up to win more than you lose. However, if you get easily swayed by emotions, then this gambling business is not for you. Emotions don’t really have a place in the business of sports betting. You either win or lose, and you shouldn’t soak yourself in it too much. Instead, focus on the bigger picture, and know that with the right discipline, you’ll come out ahead in the long run. You also need to be disciplined, especially if you find yourself prone to chasing losses or struggling to stick to the rules. As for continuous analysis and improving your method based on past outcomes, always look closely at not just your own performance but also that of those around you, including suppliers and bookmakers.
