Why Sports Betting Articles | Gambling

By: Richard Bleuze

Although, casino games can be great fun, you can't expect to beat them over an extended period of time.  Craps, video poker, roulette, slots, keno, etc., must be regarded as being strictly entertainment.  The reason is, of course, that the odds in those games are always tilted against the player.   The house enjoys a mathematical advantage in those games on virtually every bet, so players are bound to ultimately lose.

Yes, I know there are people who have won a fortune playing the lottery, or by hitting a mega-jackpot against the slots.  Those people make headlines.   However, a quick reality check will quickly confirm that as a percentage of the whole, only a small number of players ever so much as break even.

Mind you, I'm are not saying you should never play those games.  Of course you can.  Those games are great fun, and are certainly more entertaining than an evening watching your TV.   I'm only saying that you can't realistically expect a long term profit from playing roulette, keno, craps, bingo, baccarat, etc.

However, there are ways to gamble - even in many casinos - which do offer beatable propositions.  One is poker, and another is - sometimes - blackjack, and another is sports betting.

It's not easy to regularly come out of a casino with a profit.  However, it is possible.  In poker, for example, all you have to do is beat the other guys at the table.  The casino's profit from poker comes the rake.  If you're better at poker than the other players, you figure to win.  And when you play blackjack, the trick is to know which cards remain in the deck and their relevance to the odds concerning whether you'll win the next hand.

However, I feel that you can make money by sports betting.  It is almost self-evident that an expert sports handicapper can make a long term profit.  The key factor is that when you bet on sports you're not going head-to-head against the experts.  Rather, you are betting on a pro sports event in which you are pitting your judgment against the opinion of the general betting public.  More precisely, you are pitting your judgment against your bookmaker's other customers.

You can beat those guys.  That's the critical difference that makes sports betting a beatable proposition.  A bookmaker's posted lines are not intended to be predictions.  The purpose of pointspreads is to make sure the bookmaker gets enough action on both sides of a bet.  If public opinion is not reasonably balanced, a disproportionate amount of money would be wagered on one side of a game.  That would force the bookmaker to gamble, and bookmakers are not in business to gamble.  The bookmaker's role, strictly speaking,  is to act as a broker, much like a stock broker or a Realtor.  His job is to 'hold the money,' and to charge a fee for that service.  He adjusts the lines in order to get an acceptable amount of money risked on both sides of a proposition.

Therefore, if you can outwit public opinion more than 53 times out of 100 - (or, to be more specific, if you can outwit your bookmaker's other customers more than 53 times out of 100) - you figure to be a winner over the long haul.

You don't even have to be especially smart to win at sports betting today because of the information that is avaiable.  However, in addition to the above statement, the player has another very big advantage - the player can pass. The player does not have to bet on every proposition while the house can't pass.

The key is in doing your own objective research and learning to understand the outcome of sporting events.  Remember, the sole requirement is to be able to out-predict the general betting public.   You MUST learn successful handicapping techniques such as reading books by proven experts or finding websites such as 24-7wagering and reading the posted articles.

It is best to learn to do your own forecasting and to avoid using handicappers.  Getting input from other knowledgeable - successful - bettors is one thing, but buying picks from phonies is something else.  If you plan to bet on sports, you must learn handicapping.   

In any case, if you're considering gambling on a serious level, sports betting is without a doubt the best way to go.  Concentrate first on those sports which interest you most.  Look for fundamental differences between perennial winners and perennial losers.   Defense, in most sports is the key to winning.  When studying stats look past the scores at other factors that affect scoring.  Just remember, you can't help losing bets, but you can usually avoid betting on the wrong team.

Stay objective; don't be swayed by emotion.  If you consistently bet on a team because you're a fan of that team, or if you like to bet against a coach because you do not like the way he/she dresses, you're not likely to win over the long haul.

 Why not try your new found skills at 5Dimes!