From the outside, many probably think that sports betting is based on whether you’re wearing your lucky pants that day or whether the match has happened to fall on Friday 13th. But, as anyone even remotely interested in betting on sports knows, there is actually a lot of scientific theory, as The Independent argues, that goes into ensuring bets are made to achieve the greatest possible outcome: making money. There are many different ways in which those who bet on sports choose their bets, whether this is the teams playing and their history, the amount of money they want to spend, or whether they even add in some more mathematical theories in order to logically aim to win. But casino strategies can actually be fairly influential in informing sports betting – just as much as information from tipsters and those in the know.
Understanding Probability
A flipped coin has a 50/50 chance of landing on heads or tails, but that doesn’t mean there will be 50 times out of 100 that it does this. Much like the odds at which you might win a full house in poker don’t mean you won’t get one. Probability and the understanding of how statistics and past performance can be used in sports betting as much as it is used in casino strategies. Probability is crucial in succeeding on the more complex bets. Team histories, players’ performance and a plethora of statistical information available – including betting tips – can help analyse the probability of a win or a loss – just as understanding the poker hands’ odds of appearing and how often red or black may be landed on in roulette. Researching potential outcomes and the likelihood of these happening is important. By understanding the odds of an event, you can make a more informed and logical decision on which way you will bet for the event. Horse racing is a good example when it comes to odds, as those horses with higher odds are statistically due to perform worse. Though as anyone who has even had the smallest flutter on the Grand National knows, horses often stray from statistics and outside chances often do better.
The Martingale Strategy
The martingale strategy is one of a number of casino strategies that can be applied to sports betting and can help ascertain which bets to make and how far to continue, especially when you hit losses. The strategy, based on roulette, as Betway shows, focuses on how much to bet and how long to continue the streak. The strategy is simple: double your bet after a loss. So, if you bet £5 and lost it, you would then bet £10. If you win this, you win back what you lost, while making winnings too. The strategy can be risky, especially if a win is hard to come by, but on the right kind of bets, this can ensure losses are mitigated against. Roulette works well with the martingale strategy as the odds can be stripped down to a colour, evens or odds, or a number, which can change whether or not the strategy may be suited. Logic states that if you use the martingale strategy on a red/black bet for a number of rounds, eventually your called colour will be landed on, thus winning back all your losses. In sports betting, this equates to betting on a team to succeed that has a good enough chance of winning the games they are in. When they do eventually win, they will recoup their losses.
Bankroll Management
Bankroll management is also another important strategy from the casino that can be applied to sports betting. Bankroll management strategy essentially refers to capping a certain amount of money to be used playing poker, or indeed any other casino game, and sports betting. So if you have £500 as your bankroll for a certain set of bets – you never exceed this. Your loss is managed if you happen to lose, and if you win you can increase the bankroll for next time. The strategy ensures you never lose more money than you can afford to lose. Bankroll management is lauded by the poker elite as being a key reason for their success. By ensuring a tight grasp was maintained over their finances and how much left they had, they were never in a position where a risky manoeuvre wouldn’t pay off, even if they lost. If you’re choosing to bet on a series of rugby fixtures in the season, your bankroll could refer to the entirety of the season or could be divided up per game. If you win, you increase your bankroll – or save it for the next season. The strategy could help mitigate losses, and can be extremely beneficial when combined with the martingale strategy.
Sports betting attracts many kinds of people – but the one thing that all those who are successful in it have in common is the strategy they live by. Strategies encompass both qualitative information on teams and their past wins, and also quantitative statistics. Casino games are a key way in which these strategies can be played out and utilised in order to improve your chances when sports betting.
