Betting on sports has become a huge multi-billion dollar industry around the world and is a beloved pastime of millions of people. 

Out of those millions of people however, only around 2% actually make a profit from betting on sports. So what is it that sets those people apart from the rest?

Well, having a strategy that works and can consistently beat the bookies is a big part of the success of the winning 2%, along with of course discipline and sensible money management. 

Below we will take a look at some successful sports betting strategies and how you can apply them to your own gambling to hopefully improve your results.

Why You Need A Strategy

If you are going to bet on sports then it’s vital to have some clear strategies in place. If you are just betting on a whim or because you are watching a sporting event on TV and want to make it more entertaining, then you are almost certainly going to lose money in the long run. 

Professional gamblers have clearly worked-out strategies and stick to them rigidly, only adjusting their approach if a large quantity of data suggests it is worth doing so.

They plan their bets in advance, always look for value in their betting, keep detailed records of their results and follow sensible betting bank management. If you want to make a profit from your betting, this is what you should be doing too. 

If you follow these rules, then with the right strategy you have a chance of making money from your betting. Let’s take a look at some potential sports betting strategies you could use.  

Best Sports Betting Strategies

There are such a huge number of strategies out there, from books, guides, systems, tipsters, software, bots and more besides it can be overwhelming at times to decide which ones you should follow and which you should avoid.

That is why we have spent over five years testing out hundreds of strategies to see which ones work and which ones don’t, publishing full results so you can see exactly how well they have done.

Here are the top five Sports Betting Strategies we have found through our extensive research and testing:-

1. Take On the Sports Spread Betting Markets

One of the most neglected elements of sports betting are the spread betting markets. As spread betting is much more niche than fixed odds betting, not many people have really focused on finding profitable angles from it, meaning there are opportunities to be exploited. 

Just in case you are not familiar with it, spread betting involves not just predicting how an event will turn out, but you get rewarded for how correct you are – or conversely punished for how wrong you are. 

So taking an example, let’s say you thought Tiger Woods was going to do well in a golf tournament. Normally you would back him to win (or maybe each-way) at fixed odds. But with spread betting, you could bet on his finishing position in the event.

A spread firm might offer you a finishing position spread of 30-33. What that means is if you think Tiger will finish better than 30th, you “sell” at 30, for your chosen stake – let’s say £10 in this example. 

If Tiger has a good event and finishes fifth, you would win a multiple of your stake. In this case it would be 30 (the price sold for), minus 5 (the final position), which equals 25. So you would win 25 times your stake of £10, making £250 profit. 

Let’s say Tiger had a bad tournament though and finished 40th. In that case you would then lose 30 (the price sold for) minus 40 (the final position) equaling -10, so 10 times your stake, meaning a loss of £100. 

So as you can see, it really pays to not just win your bet, but for your selection to do so by a big margin. Hence angles that exploit where a big margin might happen have the potential to do very well on the spreads. Or occasions when a spread firm may just have got their spread wrong, as they can with fixed odds too. 

One service that has proven very adept at profiting from the spread betting markets is the aptly-named Sports Spread Betting. It provides tips for the spread markets in a number of sports including football, cricket, horse racing and more. 

We ran a review of the service during which it made an excellent £750 profit from £1 stakes and it has made a fantastic 4,000 points profit since starting up. That would be £4,000 profit if betting to just £1 stakes. 

As we say, it can really pay off to find a niche and stick to it in sports betting. 

2. Use Stats to Your Advantage

If you are going to be betting on sports then it pays to use stats to your advantage. There are now a huge wealth of stats available online for free so it can only make sense to use them. Whether it’s to find a slight edge in a niche market or to understand more about a particular player’s game, the stats can provide a significant advantage if utilised properly. 

Using stats is one of the most powerful betting strategies.

For example you might find that by studying golf stats you could identify players who are particularly suited to a course. If the course in question was narrow off the tee and rewarded players who hit it straight, then using stats for fairways hit percentage and strokes gained off the tee could be useful. Often the market will focus on the “big name” players or those in hot form and will miss the nuances of who the course is likely to suit.

One service that has done an excellent job of using stats is Trade on Sports. It is a platform run by a team of professional traders and uses a huge stats database in sports including tennis, football, cricket and American sports.

That database provides the basis for their in-play selections which are provided via the Telegram app and made over £4,000 profit during our live trial.  They have a number of other systems in the works which also look promising. 

In addition to their in-play alerts you can also make use of the stats database yourself to find suitable bets and trades and there are in-depth videos on how to use the database. 

Trade on Sports demonstrates the effectiveness of stats used in the right way and they have the record to back this up. 

3. Take On the Favourite

Most people who have done even a little bit of gambling in their lives will be able to testify to the allure of backing favourites. Whether you are at the races and want to have the thrill of backing a winner, or you fancy the stronger team to win the big match on telly, there is no denying that people are attracted to backing the “jolly,” as the favourite is often referred to.  

There are some strategies that take the opposite approach though and look to oppose favourites in certain circumstances. Maybe a horse is favourite but is facing conditions it has never run in before, or a football team is favourite for a match but has some key players missing and played badly in its last two games. 

There can be a litany of reasons for taking on the favourite, but if done well it can pay off handsomely. The nice thing about it is you don’t normally need to risk too much either as the favourite’s odds will generally be low. 

One service that has built a successful strategy out of taking on the favourite is Tennis Goldmine, which has been devised by tennis betting stalwart Patrick Ross.  It’s a PDF guide with a step-by-step approach to follow and made 28 points profit during our live trial. Tennis Goldmine also includes Patrick’s tips for the day which makes it a strong overall package.

4. Look to Less Obvious Sports

When it comes to sports betting, the runaway leaders in terms of the amount gambled on them are football and horse racing. However, whilst most of us are naturally drawn to these two when it comes to betting, it can pay to focus attention elsewhere on sports that don’t garner so much interest.

Just as mentioned above with regard to spread betting, focusing on more niche angles that others overlook can really pay dividends in sports betting. 

Focusing on niche sports like golf and boxing has proven very effective for some professional gamblers.

An example of a service that has done very well is the Golf Betting Expert, which has made over £10,000 profit to £10 stakes since starting up in 2016 with an excellent return on investment of over 25%. It also performed very well in our live trial, making 41 points profit. 

Another example is Premium Boxing Tips, which made 117 points profit during our live trial and has made over 500 points profit overall. As a member you can see they really know their stuff as you receive very detailed write-ups on the fights, comparing the boxers’ strengths and weaknesses and how the bout is likely to go.

It’s that kind of expertise in a niche sport that can produce results from a betting point of view so if you are looking to develop your own strategy it can pay to focus on a sport you know and love.

5. Lay the Draw in Cricket

Many people will be familiar with laying the draw in football, one of the most common trading strategies out there. Few however will have looked at laying the draw in cricket, but it holds great potential.

Just to be clear, we are talking about test cricket here rather than one-day or T20 stuff. Obviously there won’t be too many draws (or ties) in the shorter form of the game, although memorably there was one in the 2019 World Cup Final between England and New Zealand at Lords.

However, it is test match cricket that offers the opportunity to lay the draw. The game has changed substantially in recent years, firstly by the attacking brand of cricket pioneered by the likes of Ricky Ponting’s Australian side and taken up by other countries including England and secondly due to modern cricketers playing so much T20 and the shorter form of the game. 

This has led to sides playing much more attacking cricket and either scoring big or getting out. Very few sides are capable of – or show any inclination to – bed in and bat for a draw when the chance of winning has gotten away from them. Hence you see far fewer draws in test matches these days, particularly games involving Australia, England, South Africa and the West Indies. In fact matches are often over within three or four days now and very few games even make it to the fifth day.

So it can pay to either lay the draw before the start, or to wait for the price to drop if one side starts strongly with the bat. You can also trade out if the price on the draw shoots upwards, or just let it run depending on your preference. Either way though this has proved a profitable betting strategy for us in recent years.

Conclusion – Be Armed with the Right Strategy

If you are going to be a successful gambler, it is vital to be armed with the right strategy and to not just bet on whims or because you are watching an event on TV. 

Above we have illustrated five potential sports betting strategies you could use that have proved themselves over a long period of time.

If you use one of these strategies or follow your own, please gamble responsibly and only risk money you can afford to lose. 

In the 21st century, it has became very hard to keep stress levels under control. Fast living and longer working hours combined with unhealthy fast food is not helping with reducing stress.

While some people have taken up fishing, hiking, watching or playing sports, others have decided to have a go at slot machines. We are not going to discuss if that’s a smart decision or not, but we are going to disclose occasions where the choice has really paid off and what the best payouts are on slot machines in Las Vegas history.

Although most people visit the ‘betting paradise’ of Vegas with the secret hope that they will win enough to turn their life around like the soldier who won £13 million off a 25p bet, there aren’t many who have had enough luck to win a great amount of money.

A 25 year old software engineer from Las Vegas certainly did however. He managed to win $39,710,826 after putting just $100 into a slot machine. The odds of winning the jackpot on the machine he played were 1:1670000. So very low chances, don’t you think?

Another great win happened in 2010. A man from Las Vegas hosted his friend from another country and decided to show him why Las Vegas casinos are so famous around the world. They came to have fun and decided to bet $20 on a Megabucks machine. They played it for 10 minutes and hit a jackpot. It was $14,282,544. They decided to donate most of the money to charity, a nice gesture.

Another interesting story concerns a young man who decided to drop by the Excalibur Casino to play a few slot hands while waiting for a basketball game to start. An hour later he became a millionaire. He won 40 million dollars but decided to receive the amount in small payouts for 25 years. Not a bad way to spend an hour.

There have even been a few multiple winners. The most interesting story is that of World War II veteran Elmer Sherwin, who was 76 years old when he won the jackpot of $4.6 million dollars. Even with the money to travel the world, he continued to play slots once or twice a week to kill some time. Sixteen years later he won $21 million on the same machine where he won the first time! The odds of doing that were so slim as to be almost impossible.

Although there have been some crazy wins, there have been many significant losses too and examples where casinos ruined players’ lives. Please be careful if you decide to swim in these waters. One ideal slot machine for beginners is the Cinderella slots slot machine. This virtual slot gives you the chance to see how real slots machines work.

The best thing about the Cinderella slot machine is the fact that is completely free and made for fun. You just have to download Gambino Free social slots casino app to start playing the game for free or simply play the Gambino game on Facebook.

The game is designed to provide the fun story of finding Cinderella the love of her life. Just as with the fairytale Cinderella, there are all the folks from the book. There is an evil stepsister who is going to try to stop your progress just like Anastasia, the second evil step-sister will try aswell.

The Fairy Godmother is the only relative on her side. With her help, Cinderella will try to reach her high heel shoe and get to the ball by midnight. The Fairy Godmother will use her magic to turn Cinderella’s pumpkin into the Royal Carriage. Wild symbols at the board will help your progress. It replaces every symbol of the board except scatter, but it only appears on lines 2, 3, 4 and 5. Keep playing the game to help the queen reach the ball and to charm the Prince.

There is also a cash version of this game but it is way more fun to play free version at the Gambino free social slots casino and simply have fun. If you decide to play the cash game instead, the online video game will help you to understand the rules and get you ready for the challenges the real game provides.

Be sure to only risk money you can afford to lose. Help Cinderella to find her Prince and have fun, enjoy the game!

The weight of money statistic tends to be ignored by many punters, but doing so is a mistake, as behind those somewhat obscure numbers lies some handy information.

Most of the people who ignore it do so because they don’t fully understand it, so let’s put that right. We will explain what it means and how you can use it to improve your trading strategy.

What is the weight of money?

If you were to be pedantic, then a better description of this valuable statistic might be “balance of money” as it indicates the balance between the current back and lay offers. Usually, we shorten the weight of money to WoM.

WoM concerns just the best 3 lay prices and the best 3 back prices on either side of the book. It is the balance between these and provides a real-time view of the amount of money waiting to be matched on both the lay and bet sides of the book.

It is essential to realise that the measure concerns just unmatched money; matched bets are irrelevant to WoM.

How is WoM calculated?

The calculation used is:

WoM = (unmatched money on best 3 lay prices) / ((unmatched money on best 3 lay prices) + (unmatched money on best 3 back prices))

Where can you find WoM on Betfair?

WoM indicators are clearly shown on the top of Betfair trading ladders.

Weight of money can be seen by comparing the money on the back side (blue) vs the lay side (pink)

What can you do with WoM?

Before we show how you can use it, we should point out some of its potential problems. The indicator may be manipulated by traders and should not be relied on. It can also be highly volatile and give a false impression of the market. That said, it can be beneficial indeed and can indicate the direction in which the odds are likely to change. For instance:

• – When the amount of unmatched money placed on back bets is roughly equivalent to the amount of money placed on lay bets the WoM will be in the order of 50% (1/2), We refer to this as a balanced market.
• – When there is more unmatched money on the lay side so that the WoM is significantly higher than 50%, then the odds on back bets are likely to increase
• – When there is more unmatched money on the back side so that the WoM is significantly less than 50%, then the odds on back bets are likely to decrease

When you trade on Betfair, keeping close attention on the odds is crucial. Even tiny changes can make a big difference overall to your profit and loss. WoM should provide a clear indication of whether odds are likely to lengthen or shorten.

Dangers to be aware of

There are, however, caveats. For instance, there needs to be enough liquidity in the market. If there isn’t, then WoM is likely to be highly volatile. Even small changes to the money supply can make significant changes to the WoM. Never take the WoM in isolation; it is just one of the indicators you can use to hone your marketing strategy,

The other important caveat is the possibility of manipulation by other traders, especially traders equipped with the latest tool sets.  Such practices that are frowned on and illegal in financial markets are still not wholly outlawed in betting markets.

Without going into any details, it is surprisingly easy to manipulate the odds, and one way of doing so is to manipulate the WoM by placing false orders, thus forcing a change in the odds, then removing the orders. Profits are made from the changing odds.

Finally

WoM is an important statistic, but don’t rely on it. It is just an indicator, not an absolute predictor. 

Want to trade the Betfair markets like a pro? Well check out this top system from a professional trader.

Lay the field is becoming an increasingly popular way to improve your winning chances while minimising your risk.

It is only available through betting exchanges such as Betfair, but trading on such exchanges is now the bread and butter of a large proportion of online punters. First, we will explain what lay the field means, and then suggest some tactics around it that have the potential to increase your returns.

Of course, nothing is guaranteed, and there are some downsides too, but it is certainly worth investing some effort in exploring its potential. It doesn’t work for every race; so you need to learn where it is most effective, but effectively you are acting as the bookmaker, and you don’t see many poor bookmakers.

What is lay the field?

Laying involves betting on a horse to lose. It’s much easier to pick losers than winners as there are naturally more of them.  When you lay, and you find a matching bet, then you keep the bettor’s stake if the horse loses. If the horse wins, then you pay out the odds. Effectively, by laying you are going to reduce the frequency of your losses, but when they do occur, they are going to be relatively expensive.

By laying the field, you are betting on every horse to lose, so with a ten-horse race, you will win nine times and lose just once. Say you laid the field at 3.00. If every lay were matched, you would soon be rolling in it. The problem is that usually, you wouldn’t be able to find matching bets. But there is a way.

                  ———–Check out this top recommended horse racing tipster ———–

In-running

The secret is in-running. You lay the field (at Betfair this is the same as “Lay All”) at your chosen price, say 2.0 and keep the bets through the in-running part of the race. Several things can happen:

• – None of your bets is matched – in which case you win nothing and lose nothing.
• – At least three bets are matched – you will always make a profit
• – Two bets are matched – you will break even
• – One bet is matched, AND the horse wins, – you will make a small loss.

The reason this works is that in-running prices are likely to change throughout the race. For instance, for a runner starting at 4.00, the odds are likely to shorten if the horse looks like challenging for the lead, passing through your 2.00 lay and thus matching your bet.  

An example

Say you lay the field at 2.00 at £5.00, and four bets were matched in-running. If none of the matched bets won the race, you would have a clear profit of £20. Your worst case scenario is that one of your matched bets won the race. In that case, you would receive £15.00 from the three other bets, and you would pay out £5.00, leaving you with a profit of £10.

The downside is if only one of your lays was matched, and the horse won, you would lose £5. Laying the winner is unfortunate, but not such a huge downside when you consider the potential gains.

Choosing the best races

In our example, we decided to use odds of 2.00, but they might not be high enough to generate enough matched bets to cancel out the downslide of laying the winner. The best strategy is to modify the odds so that you generate enough matched bets. Getting this right isn’t easy, and the best odds will vary significantly between races, so you will need to choose the races carefully.

The best races for laying the field are close-run ones with similar odds on the four or so top entries. On the other hand, races with a clear favourite where the odds are very short, are not suited to laying the field.

Want to know how to trade the horse racing markets before the off? Check out this in-depth guide to scalping on Betfair.