Whether you’re a brand new novice to online sports betting or a tried and true veteran that has seen it all, there’s one thing all online sports bettors should know. If you want to be successful no matter what sport you’re betting on, then there are a handful of tips that you should never ignore.
You know, those kinds of helpful tips that your parents gave you when you were young, like, ‘Look both ways before you cross the street’ or, ‘tie your shoes before you trip.’ Well, just like the helpful tips that dear old mum gave you, here are a trio of timeless online sports betting tips that you should never ignore.
The Heart of the Matter
The first online sports betting tip that you should ignore is the one tip that you simply can’t afford not to – and the one that is most likely to get both, experienced and brand new bettors alike, in trouble and that’s making bets with your ‘heart.’
I don’t know how else to say it except, that you should never, ever, under any circumstance, bet on your favorite sports team. While I can’t emphasize it enough as I have seen countless bettors make wagers on their favorite teams based on their ‘love’ of that franchise and not the specifics of the game they’re playing in.
For example, let’s say you’re a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan and your team is hosting the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 12 after falling to the Birds in Philly 30-17 in Week 6. Now, because of your love for the Cowboys, you’ve already decided that Dallas is going to win and extract some revenge for their earlier loss to the Eagles.
Now, let’s say that Dallas is a slight, 2-point home favorite as oddsmakers and analysts everywhere know that Philadelphia is the better team that particular season. However, because of your ‘love’ for the Cowboys, you’re dogged in your belief that Dallas is going to get the home win and ATS cover despite entering the game with a modest 5-6 record to Philly’s 8-3 SU mark.
So, you throw down a $100 and back the Boys to win, but they get man-handled by a clearly superior Philadelphia team again and now you’re both, pissed and out of $110 bucks.
Well, in this scenario, the bettor was clearly influenced by their love of a particular team, thereby removing all common sense for making the initial wager, which, ironically, never had a chance of panning out. If you want to both, keep your sanity and remove the chance to lose wagers you should have never made in the first place, avoid betting on your favorite team.
Research
There are several factors that can impact your betting action severely. First, players always need to do some research to find the best online sportsbooks available, or at least a service that suits their needs. Secondly, they need to get informed no matter what. Not doing your sports betting research is kind of like driving a car with blinders on and is a tip that you can’t afford to ignore. For example, just a few days ago at the 2017 French Open, I had a tennis playing friend on the phone and we were discussing the quarterfinal match between 19-year-old Latvian Jelena Ostapenko and former World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in the quarterfinals.
While my tennis colleague immediately said he was picking the higher profile Wozniacki to win and advance to the semifinals, I knew better – because I had already done the research on the upcoming match.
When I informed my buddy that Ostapenko had already beaten Woz three times in three career meetings and that I believed that dominance would result in her fourth straight win over ‘Sunshine’ he sounded both, surprised at the head-to-head facts, yet not surprised enough to not change his pick on their quarterfinal match.
Of course, Ostapenko went on to beat Wozniacki 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to advance to the semifinal round just as I had predicted, but that’s not the point. The main thing is that, had I not done some research – and shared it with my friend – he would have potentially lost some bankroll bucks simply because he didn’t know that the nearly unknown Ostapenko owned the well-known Wozniacki. It doesn’t matter what sport you’re betting on, if you’re not willing to do a bit of research, then you’re never going to maximize your chances for online sports betting success.
Stick to What You Know Best!
Sticking to what you know best as an online sports bettor is a timeless tip that you should never, ever ignore under any circumstance. For example, let’s say you’re an NFL ‘lifer’ that knows more about the game than most gridiron fans combined and you’re also an avid NBA junkie that knows more about jump shots than jump starts.
However, let’s say that you’re also not a really big on MLB baseball and you rarely keep up with mixed martial arts. Well, it doesn’t take a NASA rocket scientist to know that you need to place the vast majority of your online sports betting bucks on NBA hoops and NFL pigskin action as opposed to betting on the next upcoming UFC card or some meaningless midseason MLB matchup.
Stick to the sports you know best and it will help you avoid ugly losses that only happen because you don’t know a particular sport as well as the ones you specialize in. Don’t feel the need to make wagers on sports that you don’t know particularly well. Stick to betting on what you know best and you’ll increase your chances of winning far more often than not!
