Contents:
Secret #1: Most Players Lose
Secret #2: Bookies Are Well-armed
Secret #3: The Bookie Always Wins
Secret #4: Be Choosy About Your Niche
Secret #5: Live Betting Is the Most Player-Unfriendly
Secret #6: Release Financial Stress
Secret #7: Be Aware of Scammers
Bonus: Other Useful Sports Betting Secrets
Like any endeavor, sports betting has secrets — knowledge that only seasoned players are aware of. There is time, and often money, to be spent discovering these facts. If you're a novice at the venture or exploring options like sports betting New Zealand, being aware of these underlying facts will spare you illusions and enable you to cope with your expectations.
And if you treat betting as a recreation — great. Just remember, you're paying for enjoyment, not chasing immediate riches.
Let's begin before I do. One essential disclaimer: there is no perfect system or guaranteed way of winning. Sports are imprecise. Even the "surest" games get reversed in total surprises.
If you think most gamblers win, then you probably haven't bet very much. Don't listen to anybody who tells you bookies are sitting with bags of money waiting to be nicked. Fact: the bookmaker is in control. They set traps, employ pools of analysts, and make a profit through margin. Bookies aren't charities — their business is to make money.
Ironically enough, gamblers do give — unwittingly or otherwise. Some take the opportunity to increase game-watching enjoyment. Some feel they are cleverly beating the bookie since losses are quickly forgotten, while wins are remembered. Newbies hardly keep an eye on their betting statistics.
Knowledge is power when it comes to betting. Bookmakers use proprietary software not made available to the public to scan events. They also share resources with outfits like Betradar, which offers total live data and statistics. One individual bettor can't outwit this very well-armed opponent, especially when the bookmaker has professional analysts and even includes successful punters in their team sometimes.
To grasp how bookmakers always come out on top, you need to know what bookmaker's margin is. When odds are built, a commission is built in — in such a manner that the bookmaker will gain some profit regardless of the outcome. A "fair" margin is 2–3%, but it usually ranges from 7–10% or more.
Bookmakers set ideal conditions so their risk is almost zero, and margins guarantee sure profit. When bets are placing on a particular result, the bookie raises odds on the opposite in an attempt to get more bets and balance the books.
Even before a match is being played, the player is already losing — and if the margin is above 10%, the bookmaker is just stealing from his clients. Avoid such websites.
Choose a niche in betting. Don't write about various sports. Start with one sport and then aim for one or two tournaments. You need more detailed information than the bookmaker to succeed on a consistent basis.
Bookmakers are not able to monitor all the leagues in detail. Tournaments are mostly included only to expand the list, generally with copied odds from competitors. If you follow a less-followed league and have a perception from watching matches that bookmakers miss, you have an edge. Local facts can also yield good tips — for example, the Algerian national league is barely covered in the Eastern European region.
It is not hard to be an expert in the English Premier League, but that will not benefit you much. It is simple to master a low-profile tournament due to fewer opponents and less control by bookmakers.
Live bets are placed in real-time, usually in a hurry and without adequate analysis. That leads to bad decisions.
For most — particularly new players — live betting feels similar to playing on a slot machine: fast results and instant payouts. Bookmakers even persuade quick payouts so that players will bet more frequently on the same game.
Here, emotions are the better part of you. In a losing spell, players are anxious to "win it back." In a winning spell, they feel that fate is on their side and play on. Few learn to quit in time. Judgment is impaired, a reality check away from making sensible decisions.
Wager only with disposable money. You will make bad choices and squander your bankroll fast if you are stressed out over betting hard-earned money.
It's probable that some people are great at predicting outcomes but just don't wager. You may even find your predictions are better when you don't have money on them. Without the emotional stress of a wager, your predictions are usually more accurate — even at times being on the nose.
When you need to win money badly, though, it becomes harder and harder to stay objective and play as well as you can.
The world of betting is full of scams. Fraudsters can’t make honest profits, so they deceive others. Forget about fixed matches — they aren’t online. Don’t trust anyone who offers to “boost” your account — scammers just risk your money or vanish with it. We’ll cover more scams in future articles, but for now: stay cautious and don’t trust your money to strangers.
We’ve covered just a few key secrets, but here are some more practical tips to keep in mind:
Betting's a pastime, not a lifestyle. Don't let it control your life. You have friends and loved ones who depend on you. Even if you win, don't go full-on into it — stay in control.