There’s no sports competition you can’t bet on these days. From the EPL and the UCL to basketball and baseball, if it’s sports-related, chances are you can wager on it online. There’s one problem, though. Are you assured of getting value from your bets?
Successful sports bettors don’t bet on just about any game. They spend hours scouring the Internet for quality games. And when they spot them, they do more research to find betting sites with the best odds. By the time they wager, they usually know they will receive excellent value for their money.
Value betting is a concept you could also grasp and increase your betting profits. So, take a few minutes to read this article and learn more about odds and how to find the best ones for every game.
Three Types of Odds
Many bookies no longer display bets in one format alone. They allow you to switch from fractions to decimals and American odds at your convenience. But what do these odds mean? For starters, the odds indicate the same potential payout regardless of their formats.
- Decimals
Decimals are the most popular types of odds you’ll find online, at least for players who live outside of the US. They show the exact figure you’ll receive when you bet. For example, let’s say you wager €10 on a football game with odds 2.00. If you win, the bookmaker credits €20 (2 x €10) on your account.
- Fractions
Fractional odds are the opposite of decimals and are most common in the UK. They are particularly popular for horse racing bets. And although they look intimidating, they are simple to understand. Here’s an illustration.
On bookie A, Leicester City have odds 5/1 to beat Chelsea at a Champions League game. That means for every €1 you spend on the Foxes, you get €5 in return.
On Bookie B, Liverpool have odds 1/10 to beat Leeds. If you bet €10 on the reds, you’ll get €1 as a profit (€10/10). However, you’ll also get your €10 back, leaving you with €11 in your account.
- American Odds
American odds are mostly dominant in the US and are based on a $100 bet. When betting on an underdog team, the odds feature a positive (+) symbol. By contrast; the odds feature a negative (-) symbol when betting on the favourite team.
Let’s use this illustration. The in-form Los Angeles Lakers face the struggling Golden State Warriors. A bookie could give the Lakers odds -200 because they are the favourites. But that means you must bet $200 to win $100. By contrast, the same bookie could set odds +150 for the Warriors. That means you’ll win $150 if you bet $100.
Finding Value Odds
Regardless of how bookies format their odds, they always feature a game with high-quality odds. They don’t do it intentionally. Again, quality odds are not published on betting sites by mistake. Instead, you find them through research.
Let’s say you love football and watch EPL games every weekend. You decide to bet on a match between the struggling Manchester United when they face a solid Liverpool at Old Trafford. Each bookmaker has Liverpool as the favourites with Manchester attracting odds 1/8 or better.
But knowing United are good at holding big teams to draws on home ground, you are confident they will win or draw.
Being an experienced bettor, you also use an odds comparison tool like bookmakers.net to find a betting site with the best odds. You end up betting €100 on Manchester to win or draw at odds 1/3. Regardless of whether Manchester wins or draws, you will end up winning €300.
Of course, it’s much more challenging to find value odds when betting on teams and leagues you are unfamiliar with. That’s why experts advise you specialize in betting on a few leagues and sports you know a lot about.
Data-based Decisions
Finding value odds isn’t a straightforward endeavour. To succeed, you need a wealth of data about a particular game. You also must analyze the information thoroughly. Only then can you find wagers with quality odds worth betting on.
For many professionals, finding games with valuable betting opportunities takes multiple hours. But when they find a match with value odds, make the best of it by betting the maximum they can afford. Over time, professional punters wager fewer times but make more money betting on games with quality odds.
Fortunately, it doesn’t take much to know which data to use to find value odds. As we mentioned, it’s easier to find value odds from sports you love. You probably already know the sport works, players and teams.
When you have the right information, you could spend fewer than two hours analyzing games and finding quality odds.
Single vs Multi Bets
Finding quality odds is one part of the betting process. Maximizing your wins is the other. As we mentioned, professional bettors maximize their profits by betting a considerable amount of money on value bets.
However, there are numerous ways to maximize your wins that don’t involve upping your bet. One the one hand, you can combine several wagers into one to form an accumulator bet. Of course, you want to add up wagers with high-quality odds. That way, you earn the maximum amount possible from your bet.
The alternative is to find value odds from over/under, goal/goal, bookings, and correct score predictions. Predicting the correct score, for example, can earn you up to ten times your bet. It’s not easy but if you analyze a game and find a pattern in how a team scores, bet on the game.
To Conclude
All sports bets revolve around odds. For you to make money, you need to find games with high odds of winning. But because these games have relatively low returns on many betting sites, you must grasp the concept of value betting. Being able to find high-quality odds can elevate you from a casual punter to a successful professional bettor.
Your article gave me a lot of inspiration, I hope you can explain your point of view in more detail, because I have some doubts, thank you.