Improve your football betting skills
Football is not just the beautiful game; it’s also the world’s most popular sport, with 2.65 billion people participating on a regular basis and billions more following their favourite teams on television or at the stadium.
Unsurprisingly, this passion for the game has made it one of the best sports to bet on, with up to seventy percent of the $1 trillion global sports betting market being taken up with football.
That means there are plenty of opportunities for the football bettor to make money as shown on sportingpedia. So how can you improve your chances of making a profit?
Getting an edge
Most people who bet on football don’t put a lot of thought into it. They tend to stick with the same bookmaker and follow the same methods. Maybe they always bet on their favourite team, or try to profit by backing the home team, but whatever their approach, they tend to bet without a strategy, and that is a sure route to losing money.
To be successful at football betting, you need to have an edge. There are many ways to find that edge. For a start, it is worth looking around to find the best bookmakers, offering the most competitive odds and the widest range of football betting markets. Newer football betting services, such as MrGreen Football can often be more flexible and punter-friendly than the older sites. Next, you need to find your edge, and that is where the concept of value can help.
Value Betting – how to find high reward for low risk
Value betting can sound complicated, but the principle is one that we’re all familiar with in our daily lives. The next time you go shopping, you will have a rough idea of how much you expect to pay for each item. If the price is too high, you won’t buy it, and if you’re a really shrewd shopper, you will visit several shops looking for the cheapest price.
That is essentially what value bettors do. They know what odds they are looking for on each team and they will only bet if the odds are better than their expectation. So rather than focusing on which team they prefer, they focus on the odds. A value bettor is prepared to bet on any team if the price is right, knowing that if every bet they make is a value bet, they will maximising their potential rewards while minimizing their risk.
Value Betting Explained
Value betting is easy to understand, if you remember that odds are simply an expression of probability. For instance, odds of 2/1 or 3.0 both mean the same thing and imply that a bet has a 33 percent chance of being successful. Let’s say Manchester United is playing against Liverpool and your bookmaker has quoted odds of 2/1 that Manchester United will win. If you think their chances of winning are better than 33 percent, then you have found a value bet.
Study the Teams
So how can you maximise your chances of finding value? Well, knowledge is power and that definitely applies to football betting! The best way to find value, and to gain an edge on the competition, is to know your teams. Study the strengths and weaknesses of every team in your chosen league; get to know their tactics, their key players, and pay close attention to behind-the-scenes factors, such as injuries, morale and financial developments. If you know all there is to know about a team, then you will be in a strong position to spot whether they are underrated or overrated in any betting market.
Take Advantage of Welcome Bonuses
The modern football betting industry is extremely competitive, with new bookmakers entering the market all the time. That’s good news for football punters! Bookmakers and sportsbook operators are engaged in a constant fight to grab new customers and one of their most common tactics is to offer welcome bonuses to anyone who sets up an account.
These bonuses come in different forms. Typically, a new customer will get a bonus when they set up their account, or make their first deposit, and some bookmakers offer both kinds of bonuses! The bonuses are usually in the form of free bets, which you can use just like normal money, with the advantage that you won’t be risking any of your betting balance.
Of course, there are terms and conditions attached to the bonuses, which may include time limits and stake limits, but as long as you take the time to read the terms, welcome bonuses can be a great way to profit from your football knowledge, without risking your own money.
Conclusion
Successful football bettors always have a strategy which gives them an edge over less-disciplined competitors. By understanding the concept of value and incorporating it into your betting, as well as doing your homework and shopping around for the best welcome bonus offers, you can take your football betting skills to the next level.