Sports Betting Tips for Poker Enthusiasts

Good poker is an artform. To those outside the field it may seem like poker is a game of luck, risk and thrill, and while those elements do play their roles, the discipline itself is one built on skill and strategy.

The same can be said for sports betting. There’s a lot that goes into turning wagers into a profitable income stream; the best bettors use a variety of tools and spend time researching players, odds, statistics and sport history.

In the U.S, the sports betting industry has undergone a new resurgence thanks to the ban on real money gambling being lifted in multiples states. States like Indiana, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania are experiencing a new type of “American gold rush”, as the spend for online, mobile and in person sports betting increases month by month.

Consequently, there are all sorts of new opportunities for poker enthusiasts in the country to get involved with sports betting and, thanks to the proliferation of online bookmakers and betting platforms, they don’t even have to leave the house to do it.

If you’re thinking of adding sports betting to your gaming skill set, take a look at the following tips to get the most out of your betting activities.

Understanding odds

Every poker player should be aware of odds, and how pot odds can be used to make crucial decisions during a game. There are odds in sports betting too, along with handicaps and lines, all of which contribute to making educated bets and predictions.

There are currently three different types of odds used in sports betting:

 

Fractional odds, also known as British/UK odds or traditional odds, are typically used by most global bookmakers, not just those based in the UK. They are usually written out with either a hyphen or slash, e.g 10-1 or 10/1.

Taking the Super Bowl as an example, the Kansas City Chiefs are currently listed with the best odds to win at 11-10 in the fractional odds format. If you were to bet $10 on the team to win and you were successful, you’d receive a total payout of $21. Confused? Let’s break this down…

Odds of 11-10 mean that for every 21 possible outcomes, the odds of it being one particular event are 11 and 10 for another. Betting $10 on a game with 11-10 odds gives you back your initial stake and a profit of $11

Total Return = ((stake *11)/10) + stake

((10 * 11)/10) + 10 = 21

 

Decimal odds, also known as digital odds, continental, or European odds, are more likely to be used by bookmakers that only have a local presence in certain European countries, New Zealand, Canada and Australia.

Total Return = stake x decimal odd number

 

American odds, or moneyline odds are still popular with bookies in the US. They are accompanied by either a minus symbol (-) for favorites, which indicates the amount you’d need to bet in order to win back $100, or a positive symbol (+) for underdogs, which indicates the amount you would win for every $100 staked.

 

Bet sizing

As with poker, bet sizing matters, particularly if you’re just getting started. Making small bets to start with can be a great way to get involved with the discipline, and they shouldn’t disrupt your bankroll too much. Think back to when you first started to play poker. It’s highly unlikely that you were making the same size wagers that you are now.

It’s also important to continue to pay attention to bet sizing, even when you become more comfortable with making steaks on sporting events. Take into account whatever available data you have on the game, the team and players, as well as the odds that bookies are offering.

Bankroll management

Speaking of bankroll, bankroll management is just as important in sports betting as it is poker. Wise players in both disciplines know that it’s better to have a bankroll than it is a spending budget, and professions will typically never stake more than 10% of their entire bankroll in any betting situation.

Poker winnings - cash

Not only does this approach help to minimize the impact of bad runs, which are inevitable in both poker and sports betting, it will also help to keep spending manageable during positive momentum, which is typically the time when players can get carried away. After all, it’s far worse to go broke following an upswing too far than it is to lose a few carefully managed bets.

Comments

  • Avatar of Jayden Parker
    Jayden Parker
    November 26, 2020 at 1:17 am

    Hi,
    Very helpful tips for new poker punters. Thanks for sharing the information..

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