By Helen Cartwrite
You may assume that betting on horse racing is all about luck, but you’d be wrong. In fact, professional sports bookmakers use intelligence, research, strategy and practise to win big every time and make some serious money.
Sports betting is no walk in the part – experts don’t simply put on an accumulator when watching a race and hope it comes in, they conduct in-depth research, carefully consider the options and use expert know-how to come out on top.
If you want to know how to match the bookies and hedge your own successful bets, heed these 6 top tips today.
Tip: get all the background information
The more you know about the sport, the better positioned you will be to hedge successful bets. This goes further than just looking at a team/player/participant’s wins and losses; it’s about looking at specialised information and considering the conditions at a deeper level. For example, if you were looking to make some serious bets at the Melbourne Cup 2019, you may consider researching the less well-known horses and up-and-coming stables. This extra attention to detail will give you an edge against other punters.
Tip: note the effect of the draw
Taking note of the effect of the draw can greatly inform your decision making and improve your position to hedge bets, which in turn will aid your chances of winning. Recording draws means finding factors that can affect winning, and expose any common patterns. For example, by looking over past draws at a particular race course, you may find that eight out of ten races were won by a horse who drew in the three fair-rail stalls. Or, you may find that a certain strip or turf is more favourable than others, and could hinder the probability how some horses perform due to their track record on that particular strip or turf.
An expert tip is to keep a written record of all of the draws, which will make it easier to find patterns and predict future winners and losers.
Tip: the favourite doesn’t always win
One of the most important things to remember when betting on sports is that the favourite doesn’t always win. The bookmakers and betting exchanges may have done their research and concluded that, due to the conditions and past draws, one team/player/participant is more probable to win that another, but they don’t know for sure. If you have done your in-depth research, too, then you have just as much insight.
While heeding the advice of experts is helpful, you should remember to form your own opinion first. The favourite is the favourite for a reason, but nothing is for certain in sports. If you think that the favourite won’t take the title because of a combination of variables, you should put your money there.
Tip: make fewer selections
Another top tip to take into account if you want to become a successful sport better is to make a few selections in your bet. Punters, again and again, include too many selections in their bet in an attempt to make some quick cash, but this is not sensible and the likelihood of losing all your money is too great. For example, by padding out a 20-fold accumulator with odds-on selections any single loss will mean you lose all your money. If you really want to grow your bankroll the expert way, think small, not big; small wins again and again, and again.
Tip: the more niche, the better
Most sports are incredibly broad, and betting broadly is not the smartest move. This is the case with horse racing, too – there is so much to keep track of that it is near-impossible to stay abreast of it all. In fact, like anything in life, it’s better to become an expert on something specialised than spread yourself across a broad space and not be specialised on anything.
So, in order to become an expert and increase your chances of winning, it’s smart to narrow your focus and give your attention to one aspect or race at a time. With this, you’ll be more likely to make a profit and your bankroll will slowly grow.