Placing bets on a sports event is very easy once you learn the basics. After registering with an online bookmaker (e.g. www.bet365.com/), and depositing money in your account, all you have to do is select the match and the market on which you wish to bet (e.g. Arsenal to beat Manchester City). After this, all you have to do is to put the amount of money you want to bet, then validate your bet on the bet slip that can be seen on screen. That’s all you need to do.
If there is a return from your bet, then money will be sent to your account. The total sum in that account is the amount that you can withdraw, and that will generally be transferred to the payment method you selected when you registered your account. For more details, here are other steps to follow. At the bottom of this page, you will also find other articles about this subject.
How to bet online?
- Register with a bookmaker
- Deposit money into your player’s account
- Select a sporting event
- Choose the bet you wish to place
- Confirm the amount to bet in the bet slip
- Wait for the end of the event concerned (if cashing out your bet)
- Receive your winnings in case of a winning bet
- Withdraw your winnings if necessary
1. Register with a bookmaker
To be able to place sports bets online, you must of course first register with a bookmaker. A bookmaker – or sports betting site – is an entity that offers you the opportunity to bet money on sporting events.
There are several bookmakers in the U.K. today, all of which need to have a Gambling Commission (GC) license. For example, there are bet365, VBET, BetoBet, all of which have their virtues and flaws.
Once you have chosen the bookmaker that suits you (see our ranking of the best betting sites if necessary), go to its official website (www.bet365.com, www.1xbet.com …) then click on the “Register” button. Once you are there, a registration form will be proposed to you, which you will fill in while providing the requested documents. If you need more information, there is a review for each bookmaker in the list we provide.
2. Deposit money into your player’s account
Once you have opened and activated your player’s account with the bookmaker of your choice, the next step is to deposit money into it. Obviously, you won’t be able to bet online without money. To do this, go to the section for depositing money, often called “Deposit money”, which is located in the menu near your player icon. Once you have done this, you will be presented with a page containing different payment methods, such as debit/credit cards (credit cards aren’t allowed in the UK) or prepaid tickets. Choose the payment method that suits you, choose the amount you wish to deposit and then complete the transaction. When this step is completed, your player’s account at the bookmaker then records the amount that you are able to use to bet on the site.
3. Find the sporting event of your choice
Once your player’s account has been opened and funded, you can place your sports bets. To do this, the first step will certainly be to find the event from the list provided that you wish to place a bet on. To proceed is a straightforward task: on the drop-down menu, first select the sport concerned (e.g. football), the country (e.g. England) then the competition (e.g. Premier League). A new page will then open, with all the corresponding events (e.g. all the Premier League matches of the day). Simply click on the one you are interested in (e.g. Arsenal-Manchester City).
4. Choose the bet you wish to place
Now that you are on the “match” offer that concerns you, several markets are proposed to you for betting. At the top of the list, if we assume that you want to bet on football, there are the classic markets such as “Which team will win”, “Double chance” or “How many goals will be scored”, accompanied by more specific markets such as “Which player will score” or “In what quarter of an hour will the first goal be scored”. Find the bet you are interested in, then click on the corresponding odds to select it. As a reminder, the winnings you can get are determined by multiplying these odds by the amount of your bet (odds x bet = winnings). Always good to know before selecting your bet.
5. Confirm the amount to bet and the betting slip
After selecting the odds (and therefore the bet), you need to confirm all these details in the bet slip that is on the screen.. You will find the match and the odds you have chosen, as well as a space where you will enter the amount you wish to bet. Obviously, you cannot bet more money than what you have in your account. For example, if you want to bet £10, you should enter “10” in the box provided and then click “confirm”. This is easy to find on the bet slip but make sure that all the details are correct before confirming the bet..
6. Wait for the end of the event concerned
Now that your sports bet has now been placed with the bookmaker, all you have to do is to wait to see how the match progresses. Here, the best advice that we could give you would be to follow the match to see how the event is getting on, and to fully experience the emotions linked to your bet. It can be very exciting following your bets. Remember you can also cash out your bets before the event reaches its natural conclusion. For more information, see our article What is the Cash Out?
7. Receive your winnings in case of a winning bet
Once the match is over, there are two scenarios. Either you have lost your bet, in which case nothing happens, and your remaining capital has been reduced by your bet (e.g.: -£10 if you had bet £10). Or you have won your bet. In this case, the sum won will be directly integrated into your capital (e.g.: +£23 if you won £23), and you can withdraw it right away. Please note that it may take a few minutes to receive the winnings in your pocket. You can also bet each/way which means that not all your stake will be lost if your selection is placed. This is also the case with system bets such as a Lucky 15.
8. Withdraw your winnings if necessary
Finally, if after your winning bet you wish to withdraw your winnings, the process is a straightforward one. Always in the menu located at the top of your screen (near your player icon), select the “Withdraw Money” tab, which will take you to a new specific page. On this page, the action is simple, put in the amount you wish to withdraw, then confirm the operation with the right button. Once you have done this, you have just won your first online bet and collected your winnings. A real treat!
So now you know the basics of how to make an online sports bet. Once again, the process is very simple, and the sites offered by licensed bookmakers in the UK are 100% secure. You can therefore bet without any fear! Good game to all!
How to make sports bets – Glossary
Sports Betting
A sports bet is a bet made on an event related to sport. It can be a bet made on a match of football, tennis, any other sport or on a given competition. On Basketball, for example, you can place a bet on the future NBA champions.
Bookmaker
A bookmaker, also known as a sports betting operator, is an organisation that offers you to bet money on many sporting events. They have websites and mobile apps available for users to set up their offers.
Odds
The odds is the centre of sports betting. It is a numerical indicator linked to a given bet (e.g. Liverpool to beat Chelsea) and determines the potential winnings of the bet when multiplied by the stake. For example, a bet of £10 is placed on the odds of 1.80 for the bet “Liverpool to beat Chelsea”, £18 will be received (a win of £8 plus your stake of £10 returned) if Liverpool win. Also, you should know that the odds are 100% related to the probability of the bets winning. The larger the odds, the less likely the bet will be to win. Above 2.50, the odds start to be considered high.
Market
A market is a term that can be replaced by “Bet”. In concrete terms, the bet “Liverpool to beat Chelsea” is also called “Market”. It is just a different use of the phrase.
Bet
A bet, in sports betting, is the amount that will be wagered on a given market. For example, if a player bets £100 on Liverpool winning against Chelsea, we will say that his stake is £100. This means, simply put, “Amount bet”.
Sports betting would be totally lost without the use of odds. They come in many different forms, but all have the same purpose. They determine not just how much you can win but also indicate the opinion the bookmaker you register with has of the chance of a selection winning. This article will look at how odds work with sections on
- How odds are calculated
- The different types of odds
How Odds are calculated
What is the probability of Liverpool winning the Champions League in the 2020/21 season? That’s a question that bookmakers need to calculate when they work out the odds for that competition.
With odds, they represent the probability of something happening. In our example, Liverpool are in with a good chance of making it to the quarter finals, and one of the contenders. Bayern Munich remain the favourites to win a second straight title. More about the different kind of odds soon. To compare odds visit our betting odds sections.
Odds are useful when you are unfamiliar with a sporting event. You might not know much at all about American Football for example. However, a quick look at the odds bookmakers offer on who will win the Super Bowl will tell you the most favoured teams and those with little chance of winning.
Bookmakers want to make a profit of course. They have experts who study the form and compile the odds for every event. It’s a tough job especially when it comes to in-play betting where the odds are constantly changing. The bookmakers will include a profit margin to ensure they make money from the prices offered.
For example, they could produce different odds on a coin toss ending in a head. The odds of a head or tail are 50/50. If the odds offered equal more than 100%, then the additional amount is their profit margin.
Of course, bookmakers can’t get it right all the time. There may well be times when the odds given are higher than you think they should be, and these are value bets.
The different types of odds
There is not one set way of producing odds. The two main ones are the fractional method and the decimal method. It is the fractional odds that have been with us longest, an example of one is 2/1. The second figure is the stake you make (£1) and the first is the amount you will win if your bet is successful. Therefore, a £1 stake wins £2, your stake will also be returned to you in normal circumstances. If using a free bet, then that may not be the situation.
In decimal form, the odds are written as 3.0, this means that the return you get will be three times higher than the stake made. Therefore, £1 gets you a return of £3.
It may be that a selection is so fancied to win it is what is called ‘odds on.’ If this is the case, then in fractional form, the first figure will be less than the second. For example, 1/2 means a bet of £2 will win you just £1. With decimal odds, an odds-on selection has a figure that is less than 2.0. For example, 1/2 in fractional odds is shown as 1.5 in decimal form. Every £1 staked will win you 50p.
There are also American odds that can be used. The (+) and (-) signs are important here. If a selection has odds of +200, this means a bet of $100 will make a profit of $200. That’s the equivalent of 2/1 and 3.0. With odds of -120, this means that $120 will have to be placed on your selection to win $100.
When you join an online sportsbook, you will be given the option of which form of odds you wish to use. Our advice is to use the one that you prefer and fully understand. Understanding odds is so important, hopefully this article has explained just how they work.
Calculating your stake
Your stake can be calculated according to two criteria:
The estimated profitability
This figure depends on the difference between your estimated odds and the odds that the bookmaker is offering. The greater the difference, the more the bet will be valuable and therefore profitable in the long term. Adjust your stake on a bet more or less based on this parameter.
The odds
Generally, it is quite a rare occurrence to have estimated odds that are much higher than those of the bookmaker. If the odds are equal or slightly higher (from 1 to 15%), stick to the same betting rule.
You can also make your own rules. However, keep a certain logic in your calculations. Here are some tips:
- Never exceed 10-12% of your funds on a single bet. Basically, for good long-term management, your average stake per bet should be between 1.5 and 2.5% of your funds.
- Try to keep a certain stability. In a good season, do not dramatically increase your bets; in bad times, keep a cool head and a steady hand.
- Never regret your bets. If your bets are well analysed and nicely estimated, they will be profitable in the long run. Upsets happen, it’s a fact of life.
- Accept the deviation. Some seasons can be very bad, others exceptional. Don’t just focus on the result.
If you still fail to win over a long period of time, reevaluate your method. A punter who is sure about what they are doing rather than being uncertain is already a good punter. The most important thing is to know what is a good bet and how to manage your sports betting funds.
“To live is to take a risk and make a sacrifice to achieve something more important. This is also the essence of gambling” said Yumeko Jabami in the series “Gambling School”. If we go back to the history of mankind, we can see that gambling has always been the centre of many activities. Since ancient times, gladiator fights were subject to a betting system, allowing spectators to bet money on a fighter.
Today, gambling has become an inseparable part of modern sports. Most regular sports fans in the UK are registered with one or more bookmakers such as bet365, VBET, 1xBet. However, getting winners on a regular basis is not an easy task for gamblers. Only a small percentage are getting big wins.
So is winning that difficult? The answer is obviously yes, otherwise sports betting sites would go out of business in no time. So what can you do to build up your winnings in the long term? In this article, we offer you the advice of our best betting experts who reveal their tips for getting winers. Even though there is no such thing as zero risk, these tips could make a real difference to your sports betting results.
How to win at sports betting?
- Establish a strategy
- Find the best odds
- Benefit from bonuses
- Be reasonable
- Read the views of experts
Establish a strategy
Betting, especially in sports, never gives you a 100% chance of winning. It is therefore necessary to establish a strategy before you start, which will be based on a number of factors.
Firstly, it is important to set a level to bet at which will impact the way you bet. For example, if you start with a base amount of £10 to £50, it is best to play at odds between 2 and 2.50 to compensate for slightly smaller bets, while if you start with a base amount of £100 to £200, the best tactic is to play at relatively low odds (between 1.30 and 1.60). Only gamble what you can afford to lose and always bet in a responsible manner. The risks involved are quite similar from one method to another, so it is important to rely solely on this as we will see later.
In your strategy, it is also important to not try to place accumulator bets that have too many selections. The more selections added will produce a higher return if your bet is a winning one. However, the higher the odds, the less chance of your bet being successful. Don’t be fooled by the photos of winners on Twitter and other social media, showing winnings in excess of £10,000 in a ten-match combination, this only represents a very small ratio of punters. So stay cautious.
Furthermore, when taking a bet considered “risky” (total odds above 4.00), one of the priorities will be to secure your bet on lower odds, to ensure that you at least do not lose money. Even if there is no such thing as zero risk, there are some odds that come very close, and these are the ones that can keep you going if you fail. In other words, if you make a crazy bet, place another more reasonable bet at the same time, whose potential winnings will cover your losses on the other side. This is a basic principle for many punters.
Finally, if there is one mistake that should be avoided at all costs, it is to try to diversify by trying several sports at the same time. In fact, to be considered as an expert in a particular sport requires years of experience and knowledge, so it is almost impossible to obtain the same level in several sports. It is therefore essential to stay focused on your favourite sport to predict better on a bet. You don’t try to bet on the NBA if you don’t know what a three-point shot is!
Find the best odds
The odds of a selection are the very foundation of sports betting. It represents both a potential gain and a mathematical calculation. Above all it gives you an idea of the chance of success of a bet. For example, during an NBA game, if you don’t know much about this sport (so what are you doing here? We advise you to stay in your specialist field!), you will only need to look at the team with the better odds to have an idea of one that is favoured to win the match.
The search for the odds is therefore one of the top priorities for a bettor. You have to find the right balance between too low and too risky odds. Odds between 1.40 and 1.60 are usually the best for quality/security balance, and simply combining three of them gives a fairly low-risk total, with the total odds ranging from 2.74 to 4.10. This means that you can win £17 to £30 (£27 to £40 minus the £10 stake) with a very low risk rate. This kind of “small” combination should not be neglected.
Also, learn to distinguish good deals among the high odds. Bookmakers don’t necessarily take the psychological factor into account when setting the odds, and some important aspects of the match may be overlooked. For example, if PSG are offered at 2.30 against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, compared to 2.90 for Los Merengues, but at the last minute the Parisians are without some top players, betting on PSG may no longer be evident, and Real’s odds would become interesting to bet on with potentially greater gains. Spot the advantageous odds, yes, but keep a great aspect of analysis behind.
Benefit from welcome bonuses
To succeed in sports betting, you should not miss out on the welcome bonuses either. When you register with almost all bookmakers, you can indeed get a generous welcome offer, ranging from 100 to 200 euros of free or refunded bets. These offers, although they require the creation of an account, allow you to take more risks at the start, by ensuring a safety net in case of failure. For the more cautious, betting this money on fairly low odds will also make it possible to obtain a sure gain, which will remain good to take. For more information, you can check the bonus section on our site.
Be reasonable
Fourth point: stay cautious. Even though betting is fun, it can sometimes provoke drunken sensations, because it involves the one most precious thing for a man other than life: money. This is why you have to restrain yourself before becoming an addict. As you will find in the registration details of each site, betting can be addictive in the same way as tobacco or alcohol, and it can get a player into debt.
Recently, bookmakers have even set betting limits and deposit limits when a player opens an account, so that the player manages to limit his or her gambling and does not exceed a certain amount.
It is therefore important to play sparingly and not to bet too much compared to your capital. Generally, it is better to avoid exceeding a bet of more than 8% of your allocated fund. In concrete terms, if you set your limit at £200, it is essential not to bet more than £16 on a single ticket. Otherwise, the risks involved would then become too high.
Turn to specialists
Finally, one last piece of advice: form a group of bettors. In addition to following the advice of our Sportytrader specialists, who regularly place many winning bets, you can also join forces with other bettors who specialise in sport other than your own.
If your favourite sport is football, for example, and you have a friend who is an NBA fanatic and pulls all-nighters watching the Raptors, Bulls or Celtics, a colleague for whom rugby is a family tradition and an acquaintance who specialises in tennis, don’t hesitate to turn to them. Often, consulting several opinions in order to confirm your feelings will save you time and money. This is why we have developed our sports betting tips service. Is everything understood? So have a good game, and may luck always be on your side!
The betting industry has been with us for a long time. Now in the 21st century, players have the desire to register with a site and get winners. There has also been no shortage of bookmakers who look to consistently make profits.
How betting works looks to be a simple question to answer. A set of odds is laid out for an event, a gambler places a bet on the selection they think will be a winning one and makes a certain stake. Then there is the wait to see what happens to your stake depends on the result of the event. It’s a lot more complicated than that though. This article will look at the following areas of interest.
- How odds are calculated
- Win Singles
- Multiple Bets
- System Bets
- Ante-Post Betting
- Exchanges
The calculation of Odds
When you sign-up with an online bookmaker, you will see that there are different ways in which odds can be represented. The two main ones are decimal and fractional. A £1 bet on a selection that has odds of 2.0 will see you receive a return of £2 if your bet is a winning one. In terms of fractional odds, rather than it being 2.0, the odds will be 1/1 (known as evens), this will see you stake £1, win £1, get your stake back and have a return of £2. The odds are related to the probability of something happening. The best example to use here is the toss of a coin. There are only two alternatives (heads or tails), so both have a 50% chance of winning so the same odds would be given for each possible result.
However, the bookmaker would like to make a profit of course. They could give different odds on there being a head to the coin toss ending in a tail. If they do this, the combined percentage can be above 100. The additional number over 100 ensures the bookmaker can make a profit and this is known as their profit margin.
Types of Bet
As well as discovering the odds, new members will find that there are many different types of bets and the gambling industry seems to be introducing new ones all the time. The most basic bet is a win single, for example you can bet £10 on Liverpool to beat Arsenal in the English Premier League at odds of 1.5 (1/2). If they win, then your £10 stake sees a return of £15. However, if the game is drawn or Arsenal get the win, you lose your £10 stake so better luck next time.
To try and win some more cash, you can place a win double. This could see you stake £10 on Liverpool beating Arsenal and Manchester City defeating Tottenham Hotspur at odds of 1.33 (1/3). If the first bet wins, you have £15 going onto the City game and if they also win, you get a return of £20 (the £15 bet winning another £5).
You can continue to add selections but doing so is risky. The winnings increase but so do the odds of your bet being successful. The higher the odds, the less chance of you getting a win become. There are ways of placing bets with a lot of selections and increasing your chances of getting a return.
Each-way betting helps here (as it also does for single bets). You are now placing two bets in one, the first for a win and the second for your selection to be placed. If you place an each-way double, then you will still get a return if only one wins and the other gets placed. Each-way betting is also helpful when placing bets on events such as a golf tournament where you can receive a return if your selection is placed in the first four or five, perhaps even more.
System bets are ideal when involving a lot of selections. For example, say you have three teams you want to bet on. There’s a bet called a patent that involves three singles, three doubles and a treble. This can bring about a big win if all three selections win but also give you a return if less than three of your selections are winners. You can keep adding selections for example one with five can be used as a Lucky 31.
Ante- Post Betting
Most of the time you will be placing bets on selections whose events will be taking place on the same day or in the same week. However, bookmakers that you register with will also offer odds on events that might not be taking place for a few years. If you want to place a bet on France to win the 2022 World Cup, then that’s not a problem. The odds offered will be changing as the weeks go by. It may well be that the odds you take will be a lot better than those when the tournament takes place. Then again, they might be worse, that’s the risk of ante-post betting.
Betting Exchanges
This is dealt with in a lot more depth elsewhere in our comprehensive guide to betting. How is it different? Well, rather than the usual bettors v bookmaker situation, with exchange betting it’s bettor v bettor with the bookmaker making their money from commission charges.
As you can see the question of how betting works is far more complex than it sounds. This comprehensive guide to betting on the Sportytrader site will take you through the different elements of betting greatly increasing your knowledge and chances to get wins.
It could easily be written that a good bet is one that produces a profit. That would make this a rather short article though, so let’s look at the subject in a bit more detail, shall we? Because as you will read, there are a lot of factors that make for a good bet. The main aim of course is to ensure we don’t make mistakes and place a bad bet. We’ll be looking at the following areas.
- Research
- Reading terms and conditions
- Longevity
- The Odds
- Promotions
Research
When you are placing a bet, there’s a lot to consider if you want it to be a good one. You need to do some research before placing the bet or It may become anything but a good bet. Say, you don’t do any research and just place some money on Arsenal to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers at home.
If doing some research, you will find plenty of reasons why going for Arsenal to get the win is a good bet. It may be that Arsenal have a very strong home record and have a full-strength squad. More research may indicate that Wolverhampton Wanderers aren’t so good on their travels, have been in poor form of late and key players are out injured.
Not doing that research could have disastrous results. What if you place money on a team and then discover afterwards that they have been losing a lot of late and have their top striker injured. That’s a bad bet so make sure some research is carried out to ensure a good bet is made. This is particularly important when betting on sporting leagues that are unfamiliar to you. A bit of research will boost your knowledge and make it more likely you will place a good bet.
Reading Terms and Conditions
You may think you’ve just placed a good bet, but it may be one that’s not even valid. There are so many terms and conditions to follow at online bookmakers. Not reading them can be costly. You may have a free bet that is valid for seven days, but you don’t know that. The expiry date and the bet disappear without being used. Make sure you read the terms and conditions to ensure your bet is a good one that will be acceptable under the bookmakers’ rules.
Longevity
Betting is a form of entertainment so placing a bet that will last a while is a good one to make. Placing a bet on a 100m athletics race or a greyhound race is ok but it’s over in a matter of seconds. It won’t be long before you know whether your bet is going to be a winning one or a loser.
Making a wager that has some longevity to it is a lot better. A bet on a golf tournament for example, can keep you entertained for four days. It’s even better when you indulge in some ante-post betting. A bet on the 2022 World Cup can be made with online bookmakers, you can follow your selection over the next two years. More about ante-post betting later in this article.
Many gamblers love to place a bet on the first goalscorer in a football match. What if someone scores in the first minute and it’s not your selection? A bet on the anytime or last goalscorer market is a good bet to make. They can both cover the whole game so you will be on the edge of your seat hoping your selection will score.
The Odds
Every selection you will place a bet on will have been allocated certain odds by the online bookmaker. It is a good idea to look at several betting sites before placing your bet and you can access those odds on our site.
Placing a bet on a selection that has odds of 1.5 (1/2) and then finding out you could have gone to another bookmaker and received 1.57 (4/7) is rather frustrating. Getting the best odds possible is a good bet.
In-play betting is a major part of any online bookmakers. In the past, this kind of betting just wasn’t available. Now it is and there are ample opportunities available on several sports. The odds will fluctuate throughout the game, depending on what is happening. Your selection may see its pre-match odds improve as the game progresses. In football, those odds of 1.5 (1/2) will become longer if the game stays goalless. After 20 minutes, they might now be 1.66 (4/6) but if you still believe they will win the match, then going for those odds may well prove to be a good bet. You can get even better odds if they just happen to go a goal down early in the game.
The same applies in all other sports. A tennis player may be 4-4 in the first set or go a break down early on. Better odds will be available and if your faith is still there, go for those better odds. That can especially apply in women’s tennis where breaks of serve are more common.
You may well believe that a bet you fancy making is available at better odds than they should be. If you are lucky enough to take odds of say 8.0 (7/1) on a selection you think should be a lot shorter. Then if your bet makes a profit, then that’s a really good bet.
That’s likely to happen most with ante-post betting. A country could be 10.0 (9/1) to win the next World Cup. However, you may believe they have a much better chance of being successful, so place that bet now. If your hunch is right, they could well go on to win the cup and at odds a lot lower than you took. Just imagine them getting through to the final and being 1.8 (4/5) to win and there you are with a betting slip with odds of 10.0 on it. Now that’s a good bet.
With horse and greyhound racing, look to bet on an online bookmaker that offers the Best Odds Guaranteed promotion. Here’s how it works: You take a price on a horse before the race, say at 2.5 (6/4), then it drifts out in the market to 3.0 (2/1), but there you are stuck with the smaller price and lo and behold, it wins. A good bet in these circumstances is betting with a site that has Best Odds Guaranteed, as you will be paid out at those higher odds. All of which brings us onto the offers made by online bookmakers.
Promotions
Online bookmakers offer a string of promotions, especially welcome offers. It’s a competitive market, so that’s a way of enticing new customers. Make sure that you stay aware of what promotions are available. Those that offer enhanced odds or some acca insurance are to be taken advantage of. Using them to boost your wager can lead to a good bet if successful.
So, you can see there are many ways in which a wager can become a good bet. Put some thought into any bet you make. Get the best odds, go for a bet that lasts for a while and keep an eye out for promotions that could increase your winnings.
To manage your sports betting funds, you should :
- Determine your monthly budget
- Evaluate your funds units
- Evaluate the confidence index of your bets
- Analyse the matches in depth
By respecting these four key points, you will surely manage your funds better with the bookmakers. More importantly, follow Sportytrader’s expert advice!
Sports betting: How to manage your funds?
Here are the detailed points to respect in order to manage your funds for sports betting. Be careful as this is important to ensure reliable bets are made.
Determine your monthly budget
Obviously, as a first step, you have to decide how much money you would like to use on sports betting. To do this, and since we address that a funds is in fact a capital, it is advisable to determine your budget allocated to online betting each month.
There is no specific number for a monthly budget of sports betting in general. Depending on your available income, it varies from person to person, and it should never put your living expenses at risk.
As gambling addiction is a disease, you should avoid falling into the trap. Determine your budget according to your resources and never exceed it. To help you do this, don’t forget that you can set your own monthly deposit limits with the bookmakers so there is no risk of spending beyond your means. Do not gamble money you cannot afford to lose.
As far as the amount of your funds is concerned, we advise you never to allocate more than 4-7% of your monthly income to sports betting. Although this ratio may vary according to your betting profile, it is often sufficient to start collecting considerable winnings from bookmakers.
How to calculate your sports betting funds?
Calculation of a moderate funds = 0.04 x net monthly income
Example: 0.04 x 1800 = £72
In short, a budget of £70 per month is therefore reasonable, when the net salary is £1800.
Calculation of a higher funds = 0.07 x net monthly income
Example : 0.07 x 1800 = £126
In short, a budget of £130 per month is acceptable when the net salary is £1800.
Evaluate your funds units
After evaluating your funds, another step will be vital is to evaluate your funds units. In other words, this means to divide your budget into units, so that you know at the moment how much money to place on a sports bet.
Generally, the total funds is estimated as 100 units, which are used gradually over weeks. If your funds is, for example, 150£ per month, each unit will be worth £1.50.
It is up to you to decide how many units you want to use for your bet. Generally, it is recommended that you use no more than 5 units for a bet, in order to avoid bankruptcy. In the example given here, the maximum stake per bet will therefore be £7.50, while the minimum bet will be £1.50. It’s to be determined in particular according to the confidence index of your bet.
Evaluate the confidence index of your bets
When your funds is determined, and the amount of your units is known, you are ready to go to the bookmakers to bet. To know the amount to bet, you have to determine the risk, which is indicated by the confidence index.
| Confidence rating | Number of units to bet |
| 1 out of 5 – Very High risk bet | 1 |
| 2 out of 5 – High risk bet | 2 |
| 3 out of 5 – Moderate bet | 3 |
| 4 out of 5 – Possible winning bet | 4 |
| 5 out of 5 – Good chance of being winning bet | 5 |
Using the table above, you can determine how much money is wise to place on your bet. To take the example of a funds of £150, i.e. £1.50 per unit, a bet with a confidence of 4 out of 5 could therefore see a bet of £6 placed, i.e. four units of £1.50.
Analyse the match in depth
Finally, the last key point is to analyse the event concerning your bet.
As we have just mentioned, in order to manage your funds properly, you will need to evaluate the confidence index of each bet. To do this, you will need to analyse in depth the context of the match concerned, whether it be the statistics, the psychological character or the strengths of each side of the field. Here are some points to look at systematically in order to determine the confidence index, let’s take a football match as an example:.
- Consult the current form of the teams
- Analyse the number of players
- Check to see if there will be any major absentees
- Take into account the importance of the match
- Take into account the rivalry between the teams
- Wait for the team line-up
- Follow the recent news of the two clubs
- Consult Sportytrader’s prediction
By analysing all these points before betting, you will be able to determine an index of confidence that best fits the reality, and thus avoid betting too much on one bet. A reliable method to optimise the management of your funds. Is everything included? Then it’s up to you!
In sports betting, managing your funds well is essential. The most important thing is not so much as to be right or wrong, but to know why, how and how much to bet. By following a certain pattern and putting in a little effort, any sports fan can become a winning bettor.
Why to bet?
Just like knowing how much to bet, knowing why to bet is important before going ahead and placing the wager which hopefully will be a winning one. It is necessary to ask yourself this question. Why should I bet on this event? There are many answers, all personal. They vary according to your personality. There are three types of players:
The Sunday player
This player bets mainly to have fun and to enjoy the sporting events. They are often a long-term loser, but remains sharp and able to limit their losses. These losses do not have much impact on them enjoying the event.
The winning player
The winning player is often a sports enthusiast with a well-developed strategy. This type of player does not see sports betting as a game, but as a sport in which the bookmaker is an opponent. There are however very few winning players in sports betting.
The compulsive gambler
A compulsive gambler is often ignorant. This type of bettor is able to make short-term profits, but will always have a desire to bet more. The compulsive gambler is sometimes competent, but has no funds management skills and can lose large sums over a long or short period of time.
A compulsive loser never defines themselves in that way as they often cannot realise this is the case. They believe themselves to be in one of the first two categories!
In a future article, we will try to help you optimise your chances of winning in the long term, in order to be in the second category.
Fixed odds:
Once your bet has been placed, you will benefit in any case from the odds indicated in your betting slip at the time you validated it.
Cancelled match:
If an event you bet on is subsequently cancelled, your stake is refunded.
Football: bookmaker rules
If a match is abandoned by the referee (perhaps due to the weather conditions), your bet is usually considered to be void and your stake will be returned. However, this does not apply if the required time period has already been reached. For example, a bet on events in the first half will be settled if the match isn’t abandoned until sometime in the second half.
Change of venue
If there is a change of venue, your bet will remain in play. This will not be the case if the match is now to be played at the venue of the team originally due to be the away team.
Cup match:
If you bet on a cup match, you bet on the result of the match at the end of 90 minutes. Ezra time will not be included. If you want to bet on the end result including extra time you can bet on a team to qualify..
Tennis: bookmaker rules
What happens in case of a retirement by a player from a tennis match? Some bookmakers decide to keep the bet, others refund the bets, others consider that the bet is valid if more than one set has been played. Again, it is always important to check the rules of the sportsbook for each sport.
NBA: bookmaker rules
Bookmakers generally apply the same rules: the result at the end of regulation time, including overtime, is taken into account.
NFL: bookmaker rules
Again, bookmakers generally take into account the result at the end of regulation time, including overtime.
Hockey and NHL: bookmaker rules
There are differences among the rules set by individual bookmakers. Some online sportsbooks take into account the result after extra time, while others take the score before extra time as valid. Check the rules applied by your bookmaker before placing your bet.
Cricket: bookmaker rules
Bookmakers’ rules vary.
Dead Heat Rule
Unless otherwise stated by your bookmaker, the dead heat rule applies when several participants finish tied and this has not been foreseen in the proposed bet.
The profit is calculated as follows:
Profit = (stake / number of winning bets) * odds – stake
For example, two participants finish in a tie, you have made a £10 bet at odds of 3 on one of the two winning selections and the dead heat rule applies.
Your profit is £5: 10/2*3-10 = £5