How Do You Win at Online Sports Betting?

Online sports betting is one of the most popular forms of gambling. Betting centres on the likelihood of a particular outcome. Taking into account a wide range of factors that could influence the chances of that outcome, the probability is represented by odds.

Odds not only indicate the chances of something happening, but also the amount you could win. Winnings are calculated by multiplying the stake you placed on the wager by the odds offered by the bookmaker.

More often than not the oddsmaker has an advantage – on average bookmakers have a 4.55% advantage on straight bets – and punters lose. However, professional bettors use the odds, basic calculations, and analysis to find value so that they only bet when the odds are in their favour. Winners look for bets where the bookmaker’s advantage is negative.

How to move to +EV

The expected value (EV) is an expression of how much you can expect to win (or lose) if you were to make the same wager on the same odds, over and over again. Profit over time is represented by a positive expected value (+EV), while a negative value (-EV) denotes a loss over time.

To win at sports betting you need to avoid –EV and seek out +EV bets.

Guessing the outcome of sports events is unpredictable, regardless of how much you know about the game, the players, and so forth. Expected value takes only the numbers into account in its calculation: (Probability of winning) x (Amount won per bet) – (Probability of losing) x (Amount lost per bet)

To find value bets you need to be on the lookout for opportunities where online betting sites are offering higher odds than expected in a particular market or sport. Next, calculate the EV to check the value of the wager and proceed from there.