5 Smart Sports Betting Strategies

Author ImageAuthor: | Last Updated: October 2022
Being a Handicapper in Sports Betting

More people than ever are trying their luck at betting on their favorite sports. One of the best habits new bettors can learn is how to use smart sports betting strategies.

The right betting system can help you drastically improve your odds of making winning wagers. Of course, picking the right sports betting strategy can be easier said than done.

Thankfully our experts are here to help. We have created a list of the best smart money sports betting strategies that you should try. Keeping to find out which systems you should try at the best online sportsbooks today.

Smart Sports Betting Sites

A smart sports betting strategy will help you win more often. However, if you really want to maximize your chances of winning then you need a great sportsbook. There are a ton of great betting sites available online.

Of course, there are also sportsbooks online that fail to live up to expectations. Knowing the difference can be a huge factor in your ability to make money betting on sports. Our sports betting experts are here to make sure that you can easily find a great betting site.

All of the Sites Above Are Awesome Places to Bet on Sports

They have competitive odds on dozens of sports and offer a ton of rewards to their most active members. Our recommended sportsbooks make it easier for new members to sign up for an account as well.

The sportsbooks above also make it easier to find odds on all your favorite sports. They have great user interfaces that allow you to quickly and easily place your wagers.

Our recommended sites also have awesome banking methods so managing your bankroll is a breeze. You can even use their large selection of sports betting bonuses to get extra funds to bet with.

Smart Sports Betting Strategies

No sports betting strategy is guaranteed to win 100% of the time. However, these smart sports betting tips will help you end up in the winner’s circle more often.

Bet on One Team or Player

Most people are fans of more than one sport. As a result, many novice bettors want to wager on multiple games or sporting events. This can be disastrous for many inexperienced bettors who do not understand the risk they are taking.

It takes time and dedication to be a great sports bettor. You need to closely watch every sport, team, and player that you decide to bet on if you want to win consistently. The more games you bet on, the harder this is to do.

Sportsbooks know that betting on multiple games increases your chance of losing money. That is one reason why many operators have started to heavily advertise multi-game parlay bets. These wagers are hard to win, and many inexperienced bettors are drawn in by the extreme odds they offer.

Instead, you should focus on studying one team or player. This will allow you to learn more about them and give you better insight into how you should bet.

Placing fewer bets will also help to preserve your bankroll. This in turn will allow you to bet for longer periods. Your bankroll will last even longer if you are able to place more winning bets by focusing on one team.

Shop for the Best Odds

Another smart sports betting habit all players should adopt is shopping for the best lines. It may not be exciting but finding the best sports betting lines is crucial to being a successful bettor.

The right betting lines can help you win more money with each wager. In some instances, it could also mean the difference between winning and losing your bet altogether.

For Example:Let’s say that you bet on the Baltimore Ravens to cover their point spread for this week. Baltimore wins by a field goal in an OT thriller thanks to Justin Tucker. Whether you won or not will depend on the line that you bet.

If the sportsbook you used had the Ravens -2.5, then they covered, and your bet was a winner. However, if you bet Baltimore at -3.5, then you lost. Finding the site with the better odds, in this case, the -2.5 line, would have meant the difference between winning and losing your bet.

This applies to all sports too, not just the NFL. Finding the best odds can also help you win more money. Betting on an underdog at +300 pays more than wagering on the same team at +250.

Read Expert Sports Betting Picks

Mobile Sports BettingMost serious sports fans know more than enough information about their favorite teams. However, new bettors are often ignorant about the ins and outs of every other team in the league. This can be a problem when it comes to sports betting.

After all, you should consider every factor you can when placing your bets. If you do not know enough about the other team, you could be missing vital information. There is an easy way to fix this problem.

Reading sports betting predictions from experts is a great way to improve your knowledge about upcoming games. Experts are able to see aspects of the game that you may have missed. This can also help you stay up-to-date on key injuries, scheme issues, and more.

Another bonus from reading expert predictions is that they can help you find betting markets. They can find specific prop bets and other betting lines that offer a ton of value.

You need to be careful about which experts you trust, though. Not everyone on the internet is as skilled as they may claim to be. For examples of great expert betting advice, check out our sports betting section.

Avoid Parlays

Oftentimes, smart sports betting strategies are mostly about avoiding bad mistakes. One of the best examples of this is parlay bets. Simply put, parlays are bad bets, and the sportsbooks know it.

Parlays may seem like a good bet on the surface. After all, it seems like every year a bettor or two hits on a giant parlay and wins a ton of money.

But these few wins here and there come out of thousands, if not millions, of parlay bettors. Rarely, if ever, do losing parlays receive the same attention as the winning ones.

In truth, parlay bets are a lot like playing the lottery. Sportsbooks know that bettors will be drawn in by the potential for a huge win. Operators are able to capitalize on this as parlays offer a huge house edge for sportsbooks.

There are plenty of other great ways to bet on sports that do not involve parlays. You can use moneylines, point spreads, and even futures wagers to bet on your favorite teams. Teasers even allow you to combine multiple wagers, but they have much better odds of hitting compared to a standard parlay bet.

Fade the Public

The final smart money sports betting system on our list is to fade the public. This simple strategy is one of the first steps to becoming a sharps bettor.

First and foremost, what does it mean to fade the public?

Essentially, this system relies on betting against what the majority of other bettors think will happen. This strategy works because sportsbooks want an even amount of money on both outcomes.

Let’s say that too many bettors are wagering on a favorite to win a boxing match. Oddsmakers need to find a way to encourage bettors to wager on the underdog. To do this, they adjust the betting odds that they are offering.

This means that instead of getting a boxer at +150 odds, you could now get them at +180 or +200. As we discussed earlier, this can mean a huge difference in the amount of money you win. This also goes the other way, with favorites getting better odds if too many people bet on the underdog.

This tactic that operators use pulls the odds away from where they should be. Smart sports betting veterans can use this to their advantage.

The bigger the spread, the harder it is for the favorite to cover. These changes also affect the moneyline, which means you could get better value by betting against the public there as well. This is one reason why some bettors choose to wait until the public has moved the line before placing their bets.

Summary

Sports betting is a lot of fun, but you need a smart sports betting system if you want to succeed. The methods above are all great ways to improve your chances of winning your wagers. For more help, check out this essential sports betting guide for beginners.

Also, check out our other sports blogs to learn more about who you should be betting on.

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About the Author

Shaun Stack is a senior writer at GamblingSites.org. His gambling articles have appeared in the Daily Herald, Space Coast Daily, and NJ 101.5. He’s a football betting expert, a Survivor fan, and a skilled blackjack gambler. Shaun is a native of Kansas City but now lives in Pennsylvania and follows the Pittsburgh Steelers religiously.