There are thousands of betting strategies out there but sports betting is pretty simple: you wager money on the chance that something will happen during a game or event. Sportsbooks set odds on these occurrences based on their probability and you can then place bets on either side, the favorite or underdog. The favorite has a higher probability of winning so your return is smaller while the underdog has a lower probability so your return is larger.
Regardless of your betting strategy, it’s important to start with a budget and only bet what you can afford to lose. This is the most important tip and feeds into our next one, which is to always keep track of your bets and wins/losses (a standard spreadsheet works just fine). This practice will help you understand your return on investment and will ensure that you don’t blow all of your hard-earned cash on a single bet.
If you’re looking for value in your bets, it can help to specialize in a particular sport or team and research them thoroughly. The more you understand about a certain team or contest, the more accurate your predictions will be. This is because you’ll know which statistics or information to prioritize and which to ignore.
Another great way to find value in your bets is through props, which are specific wagers within a game. For example, FanDuel offers a wide range of player and team props on their major markets. These include over/under totals like Scherzer’s strikeouts or first team to score a touchdown, which have varying prices depending on the likelihood of them occurring.