8 Things to Know Before You Start Betting On Sports Online

Sports betting is huge, but the market is filled with very casual and unknowledgeable bettors. This is understandable because for most people it’s a light-hearted way to boost the emotions of a game. And, that should always be the case, but that doesn’t mean we should be bad bettors out of laziness. With the help of the new UK betting sites 2023 and many experts’ opinions on betting, this guide will cover 8 things to know before getting started.

Understand the science of betting

Betting isn’t just a game of “who knows more about this sport”. It’s its own sport in and of itself in a way, and it requires you to get to grips with the basics of how it works. For example, being aware of all the betting types in a market, the opportunities that certain features present, and even things like the terms and conditions of promotions. Before you even decide which sport to bet on, understand the science of betting itself.

Don’t bet on what you don’t understand

Many people jump into betting because their friends do, or they think it will be easy money. However, sports betting is more interesting than roulette because there is some skill and knowledge involved. So, don’t throw this aspect of sports betting away by simply making uninformed bets on sports that you know nothing about. Well, you can, but don’t expect things to go very well because bookies have a lot of data and analysis backing up their strategy.

Be careful in thinking you do understand a sport when betting

A common mistake is that sports fans sign up to betting sites because they watch their sport religiously. But, being a huge fan of watching a sport doesn’t mean you’re going to be good at betting on it. In fact, it can sometimes be a trap. A false sense of confidence often leads to people not thoroughly strategising their betting, not researching enough, and getting the stake sizes wrong.

Don’t chase losses

One of the most important aspects of money, in all areas of life, is psychology. When investing, emotions can lead to mistakes. When shopping, biases and mood can lead to overspending. Betting is no different here.

One of the main things to be aware of is chasing losses. This means that when you lose a bet or two, you don’t immediately try and get your money back. Humans are proven to be risk-taking in losing situations and risk-averse in winning situations. Correct for these biases with a proper rule-based strategy and a serious approach to bankroll management.

Get your stake size right

On the back of that, a key part of bankroll management is getting your stake size right. Placing the same £20 stake on both a 100/1 accumulator and a 1/1 bet on the number of yellow cards would be fairly reckless. It’s similar to investment – a good practice is to have greater exposure to safer stocks like Microsoft than small-cap risky startups. You can also set rules on maximum weekly stakes, deposits, and so on.

Use a variety of bookies

One of the biggest mistakes when starting out with sports betting is to find a betting site that offered a sign-up promotion and then stick with it. When using a variety of bookies, however, there are numerous advantages. Not only do you get to benefit from more sign-up promotions (and more ongoing promotions), but different sites have their own advantages. One site might have better horse racing features (like broadcasting and betting types), while another may have better odds for soccer than another.

Use promotions to test out new strategies

Promotions shouldn’t just be a free bonus, but an opportunity to test out new strategies. This risk-free approach allows you to be more experimentative than you otherwise would be, and this can lead to discovering new approaches to betting. Just don’t get accustomed to the no-lose situations of free bets and deceive this into you thinking that a strategy is better than it really is.

Be cautious of tipsters

Finally, the topic of tipsters. We advise you to seek out plenty of research when betting, and this can include the opinions of others. However, following along with tipsters isn’t really a betting strategy, nor is paying for their tips a good idea. This is because not only does their strategy need to be successful, it needs to be so successful that it covers the cost of their tips. Usually, it’s better to listen to a variety of different opinions that inform your own strategy and bets.

Final Word

Ultimately, there is a balance to be had when sports betting. Don’t take it so seriously that you quit your job trying to make it full-time, but equally, don’t treat it as a casino where you aimlessly throw money away. In just a short amount of time, you can understand the mechanics of betting, form a strategy, and bet responsibly going forward.

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