Betting on sports adds excitement to any game or event you have action on, but nobody bets to lose. The best way to capitalize on that added excitement that sports betting brings to the table is by cashing a winner. Unfortunately, that is not always easy to do with most recreational bettors struggling just to win half of the bets placed.
What Makes an Online Sportsbook a Top-Rated Site?
You always have to keep in mind that even the best professional handicappers in the sports betting industry are only right around 60 percent of the time. Since most are also professional gamblers, they know how to create a lucrative return on their efforts by tweaking the total units on each bet they place. The more confident the pick, the higher the units bet. When you combine the ability to win 60 percent of your bets with the ability to win an even higher percentage of your bigger unit plays, the overall money won starts to add up.
One of the easiest ways to improve your handicapping skills is to buy your picks from the experts. Many selection packages will tell you what to bet on with a recommended unit play. However, you still have to be willing to lose big when they are wrong. Add in the cost of buying the picks and you could end up worse off than when you started. Always remember, there are no guarantees when buying picks and there is no such thing as a lock when it comes to betting on sports.
As a recreational sports bettor, these are way to improve your own handicapping skills as a means to improving your overall winning percentage. The first step in the process is to fully examine how you are making your sports picks right now. Are you heavily influenced by what you read and hear in the media? Do you tend to bet on teams that you want to win? Are you simply going with the public consensus for your sports betting picks?
These are all pitfalls and traps that are a big contributing factor to your overall winning percentage for one common reason. Everything above takes a highly subjective path to picking winners. You need to start basing your picks on the right factual data that can have a legitimate impact on the outcome of any game you bet on.
You should be focusing on the strengths and weaknesses on each side of a matchup. If the No. 30th-ranked defensive team in the NBA in points allowed is playing the highest scoring team in the league, they could have a really tough time covering the spread or keeping the game from going OVER the total line. Successful betting on sports comes down to creating a mental image of how you see a game playing out and then bet accordingly. This will take some extra time breaking things down on your part, but adding a few more winners while eliminating a few losing bets will have a dramatic impact on your betting bankroll over an extended period of time.
Become a smarter bettor – Professional Handicappers and Online Sportsbooks
Another good way to improve your handicapping skills is to focus your efforts on the sports (and teams) you follow the most. Just because football is not on the board at your favorite online sportsbook does not mean you should start betting hockey games if you have limited knowledge of that sport. Only betting on the things that you like and follow the most takes everything else out of play. You will be much better off increasing the number of bets you place on the sports you know and follow closely, than taking a stab at betting a sport because you got a hot tip on a particular game.
