Sportsbooking 101: An Economical Education

Get Started Betting on Sports – Slow & Steady Wins the Race

Sports betting is all the rage these days. It seems like everyone is doing it. And like most trends, everyone else is going to want to try it soon enough. If you fit into that category, pay close attention. This brief lesson in sports betting can save you a lot of money in the long run. I like to call it an ‘Economical Education in Sportsbooking’.

The idea here is to take a slow, steady, inexpensive approach to betting. The old ‘learn to crawl before you can walk’ theory. It’s really simple. Only bet what you know, place small bets, and stick to the most basic wagers. If that concept makes total sense to you, stop reading. You’ve already aced this course. If you’d like to dig a little deeper, by all means, keep reading.

Get Started Betting on Sports (w/o Losing Your Shirt)

There are three very simple recommendations here. Follow them, and you’re more likely to ease into sports betting, steadily increasing your knowledge and expertise, without losing your shirt. Here we go…

1. Pick one sport to bet on.

This should be an easy decision. Think about the sport you watch most. Not the one that’s on in the background while you’re doing other things, but the one you follow the most closely. Maybe you switch between channels to watch more than one game,, or keep up with extra games on your mobile devices. This is the sport you know the most about, and therefore the only one you should be betting on right now.

That inside knowledge you’ve been building on all this time will give you an edge in betting. If it’s a team sport (basketball, football, hockey, soccer, etc.), consider not just the teams, but the athletes themselves, and how they stack up against their opponents. Just be careful not to bet on any game in which your ‘favorite team’ is competing. It’s almost impossible to bet on these types of games without bias.

• Learn more about Easy Sports to Bet On

2. Start with small bets.

This should be self explanatory. Don’t go throwing a hundred dollars or more on your first bet. Start out small. If you have a couple hundred to play with, great. Set it aside. You should only be betting in increments of maybe $5 or $10 to start.

Don’t place a long line of bets either. One or two will do for now, until you get more experience under your belt. Eventually, you’ll be able to recognize all the valuable lines, and can confidently spend those extra hundreds betting on them. Until then, only make small bets that you believe are the most likely to win, based on your existing knowledge.

• Learn more about How Much to Bet

3. Stick to Moneylines for now.

There are so many types of wagers out there, just waiting for you to tap them onto your bet slip. Now is not the time for that. The most basic wager is the moneyline – a straight bet on who’s going to win a contest. There’s nothing more simple than picking a winner. Spreads, totals, live bets, parlays, round robins – they can wait.

• Learn more about Moneyline Betting