Making money betting on sports can be tough, but there are a lot of sports bettors who consistently win. There are even quite a few professional bettors who make a good living in sports betting. The key to success is finding a winning sports betting strategy.
There are strategies available for beginner, intermediate, and high-level sports bettors. Regardless of how much experience you have, the important thing to remember is that you need a strategy to win on a consistent basis.
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Basic sports betting strategy:
- Bankroll management
- Bet sober/don’t tilt
- Do your homework
- Line shopping
None of these are secrets by any means. But following them can help you win money betting on sports. Bettors who don’t follow any of these strategies are often referred to as “squares.” These are the type of bettors that sportsbooks make the most money off of.
Thankfully, these basic sports betting strategies that are easy enough for even novice bettors to understand. Let’s take a closer look at the four strategies from the video.
#1 Money Management/Bankroll Management
When you are betting on sports you should always have a set amount of money you plan to bet with. This money, referred to as your “bankroll”, is disposable income you can afford to lose. Like with any type of gambling, you never want to bet on sports with money you cannot afford to lose.
Set aside a certain amount you can use for your bankroll for the week, the month, or the season. A general bankroll management sports betting tip is to only make bets with 1%-5% of your bankroll.
For example, let’s say your bankroll for the football season was KSh 100,000 and you want to bet on 5 football matches every week. Here is an example of how to find your perfect bet size.
- Total bankroll: KSh 100,000
- Bankroll per week: (KSh 100,000/18) = KSh 5,555
- Total game units: (KSh 5,555/5) = KSh 1,111
In this scenario, your average stake should be KSh 1,111. Therefore, we would recommend spending a unit size of KSh 1,000-KSh 1,500 per game with a KSh 100,000 football bankroll.
A common mistake is for a sports bettor that is on a losing streak to increase their bet size to try and win back their money. This is called chasing your losses and is the wrong mindset. You will often end up losing even more money.
The best to avoid this is by learning to stick with your limits. This will help minimize your losses when you are on a cold streak.
#2 Bet Sober and Don’t Go on Tilt
Although betting while sober seems like common sense, you’d be surprised how many people bet on sports under the influence. Many land-based casinos and betting venues even offer free alcoholic drinks while you are gambling to encourage you to drink.
Betting while under the influence will impair your judgment. It should be avoided if you want to become a winning sports bettor.
The second part of this tip is “don’t go on tilt.” Going on tilt or “tilting” is a commonly used term with poker players. It refers to players who let their emotions take over, often leading to bad decisions.
If you are angry about something, such as a couple of bad beats, you shouldn’t be placing any more bets. Take a break, go for a walk, and get your mind clear before you start making more sports betting picks.
#3 Do Your Homework
This is maybe the most important sports betting strategy. You will always want to do your research before placing your bets. Going with your hunch may work some of the time, but it will not lead to consistent winning over time.
In order to profit from sports betting, you will need to research and do your homework for each pick. Look at stats, find trends, create sports betting systems, and analyze past games. Do everything you can possibly do to ensure you have value in your pick before you place your wager.
#4 Shop Lines at Multiple Books
A very big step to becoming a winning sports bettor is to make sure you are shopping for the best lines. Before making a bet, you should check different sportsbooks and find which book is offering the best line for you. You will need an account at multiple sportsbooks to do this.
Online Sports Betting Lines
Every betting market will have basic lines, such as the money line or the outright tournament bet. And while the sport may vary, the general concept is that bookmakers will offer odds on an underdog and a favorite in every game. They also like to tempt bettors with some additional, more intriguing lines, such as betting on which individual performer in a team sport will rise above the rest. For example, in a cricket match, sportsbooks offer lines on which player will be the man of the match.
Here are several of the wagering opportunities that you will encounter at the top athletics betting portals in Kenya.
| Moneyline | Over/Under | Prop Bets | Parlays | Point Spread |
| Outrights | Handicapping | In-Play | Futures | Tote |
How to Research a Sports Bet
Researching your sports betting picks is an essential part of any winning strategy. No matter how good you think you are, you can’t just eyeball every game and pick who you think is going to win.
Even the sharpest of sports bettors use statistics and research consistently to shape their picks and their winning strategy. You should keep an open mind and not decide on your wagers before you do your research. This leaves you open to more opportunities, so you (hopefully) won’t miss value bets.
Here is a step-by-step approach to researching your next sports bet:
1. Read up on the Big Picture
Start with major stats and big-picture items and then slowly work your way down to the little details. This top-down approach will help you get a better view of the big picture.
2. Find the Statistics
Once you get all of this information, you need to start looking at team statistics. This might be their record, offensive and defensive stats, special teams, recent point totals, and coaching trends.
After you look at the team stats, it’s time to start looking at individual players and matchups. Key matchups can often decide the outcome of the game.
Finding Key Matchups to Exploit
For instance, let’s say you are betting on an upcoming NBA game. Let’s say a team has poor perimeter defense and is visiting a team with great three-point shooting at home. In this scenario, you should bet on the home team to exploit this matchup.
3. Build Your Predictions
Once you’ve collected stats and information, you can start building out your prediction of the game. We recommend breaking down the game into small chunks and looking at each individually.
For example, instead of looking at the entire game, you could break it down into quarters. Figure out what you think is going to happen in each quarter and how many points each side is going to score.
When you complete this for all four quarters, you can put it all together for your total game prediction. Then, you can shop around to see what bets you want to make.
4. Bet With or Against the Public
“Fading” is a term that means you are betting against what the majority of the public thinks will happen. So, if a ton of money is pouring in on a specific team, you can fade them by betting on their opponent.
Betting against the public can also be viewed as betting on the underdog. If you are betting on the favorite, then you are technically betting with the public. Betting on an underdog can lead to huge wins, but the favorite is the favorite for a reason.
5. Research Live Betting Options
Live betting allows players to take advantage of the latest odds as the game unfolds. This type of betting is usually fast-paced and can take some practice to master.
If you want to engage in live betting, then you need to adjust your strategy for the challenges of this style of wagering. Here are some issues to keep in mind:
- Find a good live betting interface: You need a site that can run smoothly and update automatically if you want to take advantage of the latest odds.
- Know which bets you want to make ahead of time: Specific odds will be updated as the game unfolds. But you should know which types of bets you want to look for ahead of time, so you do not get overwhelmed by the betting options.
- Take advantage of player-friendly betting features: The best sportsbooks offer players plenty of tools to help them wager. Features such as the “better odds Button” can help you ensure that you are only ever wagering on the best possible odds for a particular bet.
Common Sports Betting Mistakes
Now you know our top tips, it’s time to examine some of the biggest mistakes sports bettors make. Pay attention, because being familiar with these pitfalls may help you avoid them!
Forgetting to check betting slips:
The most painful way that you could ever lose a bet is by forgetting to check your betting slip. When you bet online, you might accidentally click the wrong bet or accidentally press the wrong game. Check your betting slip carefully before you submit it, with particular attention to the bet itself and the stake value.
Losing value on accumulators:
Sportsbooks often shave a little value off, figuring you won’t notice because the payout already looks a lot bigger on a smaller bet. This cut is calculated automatically by the sportsbook based on all bets having odds of (-110). The key to getting the true odds, therefore, is to incorporate one bet that is not (-110). Make sure that you put in a smart bet. Don’t throw in a bet you hate just to get the slightly better payout odds.
Using bad stats:
It goes without saying, but using stats and historical data to make your predictions is a smart move. There is nothing more neutral than cold, hard facts. However, your stats should be good quality, accurate, and up to date. There is a lot of misinformation on the internet, so be sure to research with reliable sources.
Trusting in systems:
Everyone is always looking for a system to beat the sportsbooks. While we won’t rule out that there aren’t some mathematical systems out there that do work, we will say that most systems people peddle are garbage. Be wary of systems and never lose sight of strict, logical bankroll management.
Having unrealistic expectations:
The best sports bettors in the world don’t win anywhere near 70% or 80% of their bets. It’s a lot closer to just below 60%. You can certainly make a lot of money sports betting, but it’s going to be a slow grind. It will be up and down, but hopefully, in the long term, it turns into a nice, steady profit. Forget the mental image of doubling your money or going nuts on every single day that you bet. It’s a slow crawl (or at least it should be). Anything outside of this is unsustainable.
