How To Study Sports Betting
The present study identified a comprehensive list of what in-play betting features are currently being offered on online gambling websites as well as other information concerning in-play sports. Sports gambling definitely isn’t something that you jump right into and immediately conquer. Instead, it requires you to put long hours into the matter. You’re most likely not going to win right away. Therefore, you want to study general sports betting.
Ever walk into a casino sports book and feel like you’re looking at the mission control of an alien spaceship? It can be an overwhelming experience as a first-time bettor, especially if you don’t know what the numbers on the digital boards mean. All you know is that you’re confident this team is going to beat that team and you’d like to lay down some money on it.
- Money Management/Bankroll Management. When you are betting on sports you should always set.
- The study found that illegal sports betting is driven largely by confusion about online operators. More than half (55%) of consumers who placed most of their wagers with illegal operators believed they bet.
Well, that’s called betting the moneyline.
Like any hobby, sports betting is one of those activities with its own language, set of best practices, and house rules. Rookies have to learn what all of this entails, often from a friend who is already confident in their knowledge. Once you learn a handful of sports betting tips for beginners, you’ll feel confident placing a bet on a legal sports gambling app like the one from BetMGM or strolling up to a cashier to wager on a game or team you like.
Similar to our guide to NFL betting tips, we wanted to put together a little piece that explains some of the basic things you need to know about sports betting before putting your hard earned cash on a game.
How does a spread work?
In games like football and basketball you’ll see two teams listed. For example, on opening night of the NFL season this year, the Kansas City Chiefs are -9.5 vs the Houston Texans. What this means, is that if you want to bet the Chiefs, they need to beat the Texans by 10 points or more in order for you to win. If the Chiefs win by 7, then you didn’t “cover the spread” and that would be a loss. On the opposite side, you can bet the Texans +9.5, which means you would win if the Texans lose by 9 points or less, or win the game outright.
What’s a moneyline bet?
In baseball, you will see bets like this: New York Yankees -200 vs Toronto Blue Jays +175. What this means is that you are betting the moneyline, which is just betting a team to straight up win. However, the more likely a team is to win, the more expensive the bet is. In this example, you need to put up $200 to win $100 on the Yankees. But if you bet $100 on the Blue Jays in this bet, and they win, you will win $175. Betting favorites on the moneyline can be expensive!
What is the “juice”?
When you bet a game with a spread, you’ll notice that most of your bets will say -110 or -120. That means that you need to risk $110 in order to win $100. This is called the “juice” or the “vig”. This is essentially how the casinos make their money.
What’s a parlay bet?
A parlay is a bet where you group together a bunch of bets, but must win all of them in order to cash the ticket. These bets can be fun, and depending how many bets you put in, can offer a huge payoff with very little cash to risk. Below is a table that shows general odds on parlays if you are betting regular -110 spreads. This chart is based on risking $100. Remember though, while four teams may hit for you in your five team parlay, that one loss makes the entire bet a loser. So choose carefully!
Have multiple places to bet
The odds on bets are not necessarily the same from sportsbook to sportsbook. The Chiefs in the example above may be a 9.5 point favorite on one book, but only a 9 point favorite on the other. That’s a pretty important thing, as if you bet the Chiefs -9.5 and they win by 9, you lose your bet. But if you bet them at the other book at -9, then you would have pushed, and gotten your money back. Always look at multiple sites and get the best line possible!
Stay within your means
We are betting on these games to be entertained. If you go on a losing streak, it happens to everyone. Don’t get out of control and start doubling up, trying to get your losses back. Bet the games to have some extra fun, but don’t go over your head!
Where should I bet?
Find reputable books to bet on, ones that are approved by your state. The great thing about these books, is they are always looking to get new customers, and offer some great promotions – like this $600 risk free bet from BetMGM! Before signing up, make sure you do a quick google search on that specific site, there are usually some great deposit bonuses available that will get you some extra money to place on some bets
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The fairer sex may have an unfair advantage in terms of sports betting.
A new study shows women sports bettors outperform men in several measurements of the activity.
Surprised?
888 Holdings, the company behind 888 Casino, 888 Sportsbook and 888 Poker in New Jersey, completed a study of individual sports betting results in the state.
Breaking those results down along gender lines reveals some interesting information and trends.
The significance of the study depends on perspective, but there are some takeaways that are appropriate regardless of one’s gender.
At 888 Sportsbook, women win more, men typically lose
The bottom line of the study is that based on NJ sports betting data 888 pulled since January, women see a return on investment of 19.79% on their placed bets.
Their male counterparts, however, saw an average loss of 4.6%.
That’s a significant difference.
Not only are women recouping their amount wagered plus seeing a return of nearly 20%, but men are typically losing their bets.
It’s immaterial to mention any physiological difference giving women an advantage, so the only other possibilities are cultural, psychological, or strategical differences.
The first possibility likely plays a part but doesn’t provide a complete explanation. For that, we need to dig a bit deeper.
The trick? Betting with the head instead of the heart
How boys and girls are socialized in US society may actually give women an advantage when it comes to sports betting.
Among girls, making an emotional connection to professional sports franchises isn’t considered as much of a norm. Of course, it is not necessarily impossible for women to be emotionally invested in a sport. But most don’t connect on any visceral level.
Because of that, those girls are more likely to grow into women who don’t have as strong an attachment to certain teams.
That means, when money is on the line, women make decisions with their heads and not their hearts.
For smart bettors, any money placed on a sports bet is expendable income.
Socialization of girls in our society teaches them to value other things above participating in sports betting. So they could more regularly make choices to spend most of that expendable income on other things besides a sports bet.
Sports Betting How To Guide
That decreased amount of money to invest in sports betting could force women to be more selective about what bets they take.
But the 888 study shows that younger women are actually better than their aunts, older sisters, and mothers at sports betting.
Here’s a closer look at the data from 888:
Average ROI for sports betting
Age | Women | Men | Age Group Avg |
---|---|---|---|
18-24 | -34.12% | 0.14% | -16.99% |
25-34 | 127.06% | -8.47% | 59.30% |
35-44 | 129.60% | 0.88% | 65.24% |
45-54 | -61.72% | 16.90% | -22.41% |
55-64 | 6.13% | -24.96% | -9.42% |
65+ | -82.16% | -12.09% | -47.13% |
Total | 19.79% | -4.60% | 7.60% |
Right in the sweet spot of the age breakdown
Breaking down the results of the 888 study by both age and gender creates a new narrative. The best sports bettors in the sample were women who were born in the 1970s and 1980s.
Women between the ages of 35 and 44 claimed the highest return on investment at 129.6%. Women aged 25-34 weren’t far off at 127.06%.
Interestingly enough, the next age bracket for women ranked the worst. Women aged 45-54 saw a loss of 61.72% on their placed bets.
Conversely, that was the best-performing age group for men. The return on investment for men ages 45-54 was 16.9%.
It’s hard to pinpoint why women born in those decades outperform others by such a high margin. Other data strengthens the narrative, however.
Women perhaps more than just superior sports bettors
888’s study also analyzed the numbers from NJ online casino games. Unsurprisingly, women againoutperformed men in general in those games and online poker.
On average, women saw losses of 24% in online casino games and 36% in online poker. Men registered at 47% and 41.6% on average in the same.
Average ROI for online casino
Age | Women | Men | Age Group Avg |
---|---|---|---|
18-24 | 30.13% | -67.34% | -18.61% |
25-34 | -12.17% | -23.80% | -17.99% |
35-44 | -42.05% | -42.94% | -42.50% |
45-54 | -31.18% | -53.46% | -42.32% |
55-64 | -12.07% | -20.58% | -16.33% |
65+ | -77.08% | -73.88% | -75.48% |
Total | -24.07% | -47% | -35.54% |
Average ROI for online poker
Age | Women | Men | Age Group Avg |
---|---|---|---|
18-24 | -18.63% | -46.48% | -32.56% |
25-34 | -48.09% | -45.82% | -46.96% |
35-44 | -65.53% | -44.45% | -54.99% |
45-54 | -55.38% | -39.62% | -47.50% |
55-64 | -3.16% | -35.92% | -19.54% |
65+ | -38.36% | -37.82% | -38.09% |
Total | -38% | -41.69% | -39.84% |
There is a bit of variation when it comes to the age breakdown, however. Women aged 18-24 performed the best in online casino games. Women 55-64 lost the least in online poker.
For the men’s side, the 25-34 group was best at casino games and the same 55-64 group was best at online poker.
Too soon to say women are better than gambling
For as much as the 888 study suggests women are better gamblers, at least in this sample, there are important things to remember.
How To Bet On Sports Successfully
The data reveals trends in one group of people at one time in one geographic region. It isn’t sufficient to make a blanket statement like women are better at gambling than men.
Making that statement would require a much larger study, done across decades and accounting for a number of factors.
It’s not that the data in this study is useless; it’s just that it’s not sufficient to make such judgments.
How To Do Research For Sports Betting
Based on the study, however, there’s no reason women should approach sports betting with any less confidence than men.
And on the flip side, it can’t hurt men to ask women their opinions before placing bets. It might just save you a few bucks.