Basic Betting Strategies And How To Use Them

At Responsible Gambling, we support the principles of safer gambling, and we also want players to approach sports betting wisely. In this article you will learn about the most common betting strategies and how to use them. This article might be useful for those who’ve already learned the basic concepts of sports betting and now want to dig deeper.

Betting strategies are tools that aim to make sports betting as profitable as possible whilst at the same time minimising the risk. You can use them to manage your budget more efficiently and minimize possible financial losses. However, always keep in mind that gambling should not be your main source of income. It's just a great way to spend your spare time. Now, let's look at the most popular betting strategies.

Starting With A Free Bet

Many betting operators offer their new customers various welcome bonuses. One of these bonuses is a free bet. Feel free to use it. If you're lucky enough to win, you’ll have a profit which you can use for further bets without having risked your own cash. If you lose, well, you'll have lost nothing.

Low Odds Betting

This strategy is all about choosing clear favorites and betting on them. The odds you’re looking for here are about 1.10-1.20, which would be like putting your money on Bayern Munich defeating Wolfsburg, Real Madrid beating Elche CF, and so on.

The other way of playing this strategy is placing live bets whilst choosing the most likely outcomes. The most popular example is placing a bet on 'total over 0,5 goals' after the first 20-25 minutes of a soccer match which is currently goalless.

Some players use this strategy to play all in. This could become a lucrative source of income if you are on a winning streak. However, this is risky because you can also lose all your money from a single bet.

Home Win Or Draw Strategy

Bets of this kind , also known as 'Double Chance' or '1x' bets, allow you to choose an underdog to win or draw at home whilst playing against a favourite.  

The thing is that you’ve got to choose the kind of clash in which the teams are pretty evenly matched. In other words, betting on Leeds United winning or drawing against Manchester City would not be smart. What you’re looking for is a match where the home side is not a big outsider, like Leicester City (currently ranked 20th in the Premier League standings) against Everton (16th).

Don't jump into this kind of bet blindly though. Check out the latest news, stats, injuries and even the team formation for that match before putting your money down.

Early Cashout

With Early Cash Out you have the chance to get out early should you feel the bet you placed is beginning to look like a big mistake. For example, you bet on Liverpool scoring 3 or more goals against West Ham, and the score is 1:0 by the 80th minute of the game. That would be a good moment to use an early withdrawal option when you've decided you don’t want to lose all the money you’ve bet.

Live Betting On Over 1.5 Goals

This is one of the most popular betting strategies for soccer. The thing is that the pre-match odds of over 1.5 goals are pretty low. But when the match is underway, odds begin to increase almost with every minute the match remains goalless. It's a good idea to watch the game live to have an advantage, and wait for the right moment.

If the score is 0:0 from 35th to 55th minute, then this is when the odds are fair enough. The safest and most profitable moment to place a bet is in the first half while the odds are 1.50 or higher.

Choose Your League

The best way to succeed in sports betting is to become an expert. Of course, you can’t know everything about all sports, so choose one sport (or even league) that you like the most and start studying it.

Try choosing a league with numerous live TV games, well-known players and extensive media coverage. For example, it would be much easier for you to follow the Spanish La Liga or English Premier League than the Bulgarian First Professional Football League.

Money Chase

This strategy is all about winning streaks and here’s how it works. Let's say you place $10 on Borussia Dortmund to defeat Stuttgart and make, say, a $2 profit. Starting a money chase means taking this $2 and using it to continue playing thus protecting your own capital. A  best practice to keep the chase going is to concentrate on the low odds to keep winning as many bets as possible in a row.

Betting On Draws

Draws are a pretty rare choice for bettors, as they usually prefer to put their money on a winning side. However, going for a draw might sometimes be a good idea, as the odds are usually pretty high.

You needn’t place those kinds of bets blindly. Try finding the teams which seem to have equal pre-match chances.

Check out the Asian Handicap odds. If you see that the handicap is set to zero (0), then it means the bookmaker considers these teams equal, and the chances of a draw are high.

Betting On Late Goals

Late goal punts are another extremely popular strategy for soccer and to be successful you should  try looking for matches with a clear favorite (those with winning odds lower than 1.30), and put several single bets on them. These bets are usually known as ‘Last goal will be in minutes 76-90’. Statistically, about 60% of these bets win.

Example: Manchester United v Liverpool is not the kind of game you’re looking for here. Try placing bets on Arsenal v Nottingham Forest and Chelsea v Aston Villa.

Betting On Live Games

There are lots of gamblers out there who do not place pre-match bets at all, preferring the in-play action only. Betting live can be fun, as the odds change quickly, and there’s a chance you will catch the right moment. Nowadays, many betting operators offer live streams, and if you want to try betting live, this feature really is essential. The most important thing about live betting is that you actually watch the game.

Be patient, monitor the odds while the match is ongoing and try to find the right moment. A simple example: you did your homework and learned that a certain team scores 90% of its goals from a corner kick. So, it would be a good moment for a live bet on this team scoring when it is awarded a corner during a match.

Play Responsibly

This is actually the most important betting strategy, and really is a must for all gamblers. Always remember to play safe and do not exceed your limits. Sports betting should be nothing but fun and entertainment for you.

Conclusion

There are lots of other advanced betting strategies out there which you might find useful as your experience grows. By the way, following this guide doesn't preclude you from using other tactics you come across or think up on your own. The most important thing is to approach gambling wisely, combining different strategies and using your brain. Don’t let emotions cloud your judgement. Having a plan when gambling will make it much more enjoyable.