One of the burning questions for anyone who loves to bet on sports at an online sportsbooks is whether you should turn to a professional sports handicappers for your picks. Going it on your own is free, but it could be costly if you lose more than you win. Turning a professional selections service for your picks can be costly, but it can also provide a much better return on your entire investment.
The first thing to take into consideration is your overall sports betting budget. You should never gamble with money you cannot afford to lose. A sports betting bankroll should consist of discretionary funds and the actual amount of your sports bets should correlate to stretching this budget over a designated length of time.
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For example, if you are setting your NFL budget for the upcoming season, your goal is stretch that bankroll over the course of at least 17 weeks to mirror the length of league’s regular season. Assuming more wins than losses along the way, you will still have some discretionary funds to use in the postseason right through the Super Bowl.
The next part of the process is designate a value for your unit bets. If you are a casual bettor, you might start with $5 per unit. If you have some extra money to burn, you can increase that amount accordingly. The amount of units bet on each game should always be a measure of confidence. Everyone of your picks is not an 8-unit play, so you need to determine your level of confidence and bet accordingly.
Two big takeaways from this process is stretching your bankroll to last all season and staying true to your unit plays. You should never increase the amount of your unit bet, but you should increase the total units bet to match your confidence in that particular wager.
Moving to the third step in the betting process is where the professional handicapper comes in. If you are betting five dollars a unit, chances are the amount of money you are paying for a sports selection package will cost you more than it is worth even when you win. Unless you plan to bet big and bet often, the economies of scale are not there to dedicate a substantial portion of your sports betting bankroll to buying picks.
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If you plan to bet heavy and bet often on a wide variety of sporting events, you could probably benefit from some professional help, especially if the actual winning percentage on your own is well below 50 percent.
You need to take the time to shop around for the right selection packages, but cheaper is definitely not better in this game. There are any number of hucksters out there that consider themselves to be professionals. You should only turn to trusted sources for information on any sports betting package options and you should only buy a sports betting package from an expert handicapper with a proven and well-documented record of success.
Even the best professional sports handicappers are shooting for winning percentage of 60 percent, which leaves quite a bit of room for error. You could catch a capper at the start of an extended losing streak, so you need to be committed to the long haul to achieve the best return on investment. Just like you need to set a confidence level for the bets you place on your own, you need to develop a confidence level for the picks you buy. There is some definite trial and error in this process. However, once you do lock-in on a professional who has delivered proven winning results in the past, you can divert your attention to other facets of your overall sports betting strategy such as finding the right online sportsbooks to do business with.
