“Are there any factors to consider when making a sports bet?”
Sports betting is a popular form of recreation accepted and engaged in by millions of bettors who
place their money on games occasionally.
Thanks to this popularity it rapidly garnered, it is so easy for bettors like you to find any
information you require about making bets, bookmakers who are eager to take your wagers, and
other resources you require for assistance.
However, to answer your question, there are factors to consider when making a sports bet, and
knowing what they are will help you make more informed decisions during your wager and also
avoid certain slip ups other bettors make.
10 Factors To Consider When Making A Sports Bet
- The Odds
- Choose A Bookmaker With Good Odds
- Examine The League’s Overall Statistics
- Current Form
- Record the Last Three Matches
- Head to Head Records
- Bet More on Leagues than Cup Tournaments
- Overall Team Quality
- Tournament and Schedule
- Injuries, Lineups and Motivation
- Monitor The Odds
Sports betting odds reflect what a sportsbook predicts will occur in a match. Bookmakers usually
have odds for the home team, draw, or away team.
There are lots of things you can bet on in one match – total number of points or goals, correct
scores, goal scorers, half-time leaders, second half leaders or proposition bets. But, no matter
what you intend to wager on, always check the odds your sportsbook is giving you.
If you feel like your bookmaker is shortchanging you, then you might want to use a prediction
site like MatchPlug for the best odds. Still, try finding valuable odds as bookmakers don’t always
provide you with fair odds. - Choose Bookmakers With Good Odds
Different Bookmakers offer different odds, with slight differences. However, the odds for one
bookmaker can be much better than what the others are offering you, which is why you should
take the time to research this as it can be worth it.
Additionally, find betting sites that offer betting types of live games, especially for a football
game. These bets can be on goals scored during halftime, first player to score, etc. Not every
bookmaker will provide the odds that come with these prop betting types, so find one that will. - Examine The League’s Overall Statistics
In addition to being a factor to consider, this point is also one of the best football betting tips you
will receive. This is because taking time to analyze the numbers, trends, and statistics associated
with your wagers, can make you a successful bettor.
You also need to know information like how well your preferred team and players perform – how
did they do head-to-head against an opponent, last matches’ performance, how do they play on
the road versus at home.
A betting site that has insightful statistics on football or even other sports is priceless. - Current Form
There are 3 types of teams and players to watch for in every sports competition:
● The team’s excellent form that led the divisions in the NBA, NFL or the NHL.
● The team whose form is bad, fighting relegation and tournament knockouts.
● The inconsistent team that wins one match then experiences a losing streak.
Keeping this in mind, you can easily know where a team or player falls short in terms of form.
You can find this out by checking logs or the division and conference rankings for a Major
League Game.
For international football, check the tables. The top teams are the ones in good form and the last
teams have bad form. - Record The Recent Matches
A team’s recent matches is a good way to gauge their performance in an upcoming game. This is
because it helps you know which players are playing well and which are not. Similarly, a
goalkeeper that lost many goals in previous matches might do the same in a future game.
The same way, a player who has been scoring well during recent matches or has been dominant
and assisting in goals would likely do the same for the next match.
When a team always loses a match, some factors like injuries and slumps might contribute to it,
but trends of recent matches can give an accurate report on how they are performing.
If there are two teams consistently winning or losing, find out the contributing factors to these
performances. Checking out both team’s recent matches lets you know how well they played
against other teams and how their opponents have been playing too.
- Head-to-Head Records
Head-to-head records are another factor to consider when making a sports bet.
For instance, if a team wins the home team in the previous ten matches, no matter the
tournament, there is a chance they will beat them again. However, because this is not a solid
guarantee on how a match will go, experts advise that if you are a beginning bettor, then you
should not pay too much attention to this factor.
While a team may have lost to its opponent in the last 4 matches, some things may have changed
in that time for the opposition, that puts them at a disadvantage and vulnerable to your team.
Maybe they are fielding inexperienced players, or it is the finals and each team will perform at its
level best.
Head-to-head records gives you a faint idea of which team will be a game’s favorite, and helps
you discover data about the average number of points or goals scored, top scorers or playing
styles.
Also, note that if two teams usually score against each other in a match, you can expect a high-
scoring game from them. - Bet More on Leagues than Cup Tournaments
While tournaments and leagues are favored by bettors, we suggest that you start betting more on
leagues than on tournaments.
This is because managers tend to pick their weaker players to compete in the tournaments instead
of on league play. But this does not include major football leagues like Champions League or
other prominent knockout contests.
League matches carry more importance than tournaments, which is why club managers won’t
want to risk their best players who could get injured in what they see as lower priority games.
This selection by managers is why you see weaker players playing in tournaments. Placing bets
on these matches makes it more difficult for you to find out which team may have a winning
edge over the other team.
- Overall Team Quality
Typically in sports betting it is believed that the teams with better players have the upper hand in
winning, but that is not always the case. Keeping this in mind, do not underestimate the
underdogs or overlook their ability to win.
Matter of fact, what you should be considering is players and their performance in their last few
games.
How did they do? Did they upset any big team recently? Did they frustrate any side in the top
four even if they lost the match?
Look at the overall team quality, if one team seems to present better quality than the other and
consistently wins, then you have a potential winner. - Tournament and Schedule
What tournament do you intend to bet on? If it is for a minor competition, most big teams will
field their rotation players, likewise they may get too smug and undermine their opponents.
Schedule is another factor that affects teams’ performances and ultimately, your bets. A tight
schedule can cause coaches to alternate their players. This could make for a game where a good
team has players on the field that don’t play well with each other.
When picking a tournament, pick a major competition like the Major League, then find a team
that has a flexible schedule that would field its valued players even when playing against a weak
opponent.
Do research thoroughly before you place a bet, this is because the stakes for big games are higher
and every team wants to win or rescue a point.
- Injuries, Lineups and Motivation
There are a lot of things that can affect the outcome of a sports game, these things could be
injuries, lineups, and motivation.
Injuries to star defenders, midfielders or attackers, can reduce a team’s quality and their chances
of winning too.
An NBA team leading for instance the Western Conference, but it’s lineup includes benching its
best players, it reduces its chance of winning significantly.
Motivation is a propelling factor for most teams, especially in big games. If a team is competing
for a playoff spot against a team that already secured a spot, it will be more motivated. Similarly,
a team that was already knocked out of a competition won’t fight much in a game.
Like many bettors you’ve probably accurately predicted a few matches. However, while
predicting one match may be luck, the ability to consistently predict several matches correctly is
next level expertise. On that note, always keep these factors to consider when making a sports
bet in mind.
