When you ask yourself, what drives you to get involved with sports betting, the most obvious answer is of course the love for the sport. Many will place bets on their favourite teams, and hope to earn a quick buck here and there. However, the mathematical integration behind sports betting is very real, betting and gambling is in fact all mathematics. For you to understand the complete math involved behind sports betting, you will find yourself really benefiting along the way and excel in your ability to place and select bets. Basically, your entire attitude will change and you will come to select bets to gamble on in a whole new light and strategy.
This guide is to provide the basics and then maybe you can practice the theory with some serious betting on Sportsbet. It will be a whole new world for you after this by the way!
Sports betting basic knowledge
Obviously before we hit you with the heavy, it makes complete sense that we unload things with examples and explanations, so you can understand the concepts far more easily. So, just imagine first of all, that you and your friend have $200 each and there is a huge game in the NFL, with the New York Giants against the Dallas Cowboys. You both go to the nearest sportsbook and try to check up on the most up to date news orientated around the game itself. The wagering board presents some numbers to look like:
- 428 Cowboys+175
- 429 New York Giants -4 -200 38
This appears to you in an uneasy way to read, however the -4 means that the New York Giants are the favoured ones to make the win, and they must win by at least 5 points, for you to get your payout. The -200 is the Moneyline, representing that the New York Giants are 2/1 to win. The number in brackets at the end, suggests that the total number expected to score within the game and win buy. While that seems very strange, that such a series of numbers can be broken down in such a way, all bets will be written like this. It will be your job to break down the numbers and make it into information to help you select your bets. Make sense so far?
When you place a bet, make sure to look at the over and under number within the series of odds presented, which is the 38 in the sequence we have provided for the Cowboys and New York Giants. With your knowledge of the team, environment and potential injuries, you can deduce if you think the score of 38 is even possible or under what you expect. You can choose to bet on the total number of points scored within a game instead.
Before you place a bet, make sure you know the type of bet you want to think- do some thinking about it, in a logical manner, then know the number of the team playing against your favourite choice, and make a deducted decision on how much you are wishing to wager.
Tipping and sports betting
We are sure you are possibly wondering as to why you need to tip the staff behind the window, when you place your bet? Well, here is why. It is a general rule that you tip 5% of your winnings towards the staff who you place your bet with, just as a common courtesy. Especially if you are a regular, you will get treated very nicely, every time you go into the bookies for yourself. Notice the treatment change of when you do place a bet. Of course, we will say we told you so. As making sure your experience is fully pleasurable from the get-go, is just as important as placing bets by the way.
Back to the math, when placing a bet on the New York Giants for imagine, from the indication of the point spread, your actual bet is called the laying points. To actually win that bet, you will need a final score of 5 points in the lead or more. If the New York Giants win by four, then your bet is recouped and you will be returned the value. For the cowboys, if you were betting on the loser, they would need to lose by three points or less for the bet to be considered a winner. If the bookie has a pay of 11/10, and you have a budget of $100, you would not have enough, as you will need to bet $110, if you want to win $100. While this can seem rather confusing, the numbers from the bookies signify all these factors; and these bet types are considered significantly easy in comparison to others on the market available. Odds signify probability, and of course that means it’s a numeral value of the outcome. See 11/10 odd, that means it is very likely for a team to win by the degree that the Moneyline is indicating.
Sports bettors that are really invested within gambling will always consider many factors when it comes to placing bets on a team. They will refer to weather bulletins, injury possibilities alongside existing injuries-basically every outside factor you can imagine, that could conflict with the game. All wagering decisions are made through considering the full picture-beyond just a bias towards a certain team.
Sports betting odds
Sports betting odds are magical numbers which represent outcomes within a game. The magical number within betting is 52.4%, why? Because it represents the number required to break even. If you happen to make a winning from 54.2% of your bets, you will break even. This number comes from breaking even from a number of odds. The spread you will be getting most of the time is -110 or 11/10, meaning if you happen to bet on 21 games, you will need to win 11 to break completely even, and lose 10 of course. At beginning odds when you first join a bookmaker, they are at -105, so that would mean 51.2% to win even. I am sure you are starting to see how this really is a numbers game overall!
Professional sports betting
Some sports bettors do commit to sports betting as a living, but of course it is always a risky thing to do, as your end salary is never guaranteed, is it? These people who bet religiously, will have maths and numbers whizzing around in their heads most of the time, because that’s what betting consistently will have you do. Essentially it is a numbers game and you will need to get comfortable with doing maths within your head at a moment’s instant. It is some serious stuff and pretty stressful too.
Since we know that betting and breaking even needs to be done at 52.4%, you will need to make sure you hit 53% for a profit that is worthy. While that jump is not significant in number context, it is when you have the cash right in front of your hands, we will give you that!
Professional sports bettors will always work against the variance represented within the numbers, and ensure they are sustaining the numbers within their bankroll too. Managing your bankroll is just as important as doing the maths, as you will need to calculate the maximum you can bet before you lose more than you are able. By setting schedules and limits on your monthly budget, and keeping firm to it, betting will become far more sustainable. How do you ensure you stay sustainable? Assessing the risk before you even put a small wager on. A mathematical bettor will not know the number they could win, lose or be returned. So, for every bet that you make, you will need to ensure that you do this religiously each and every time.
There has been software developed where you can put the odds and money lines within the app, and figure out your risks based on budget etc. If maths is your problem and you cannot visualise the numbers, use one of these to support you along the way. You definitely will not regret it!
What is a good record for sports bettors?
If you are wanting to talk numbers, usually a professional will have a record of 52.4% or higher, as anything from breaking even and above, is a profit and that is all you can expect to gain from betting-profit, right? Usually, a 53% record is what stands out as being impressive and for that reason we would suggest that to be your goal, once you have achieved the breaking even statistic of course. Being consistent and regularly winning, is better than winning on bet large and then failing miserably for the rest.
Often bettors that begin, will feel discouraged from winning just $100 here and there, yet it is definitely a start if you consider the percentage of your total game wins from start to finish. Once you see the number dropping below 52.4% then re-evaluate how you are going about your strategy. As long as your conscious about the numbers, you are doing the right thing!