In the seemingly eternal war between punters and bookmakers, both sides are in a continuous state of evolution. Bookmakers are devising new ways of luring new customers and offering new markets and features to existing ones. Punters, on their part, are continually adapting their skills, employing new tricks to apply in gambling situations. The main goal, from a punters’ perspective, is, of course, to make money by winning bets. Whatever gives them an edge over the bookmakers. The need to “beat the bookies,” as the phrase goes, has led to the birth of betting systems. These betting systems are crucial in increasing a punter’s chances of success in an ever-competitive gambling world. Studying different betting systems and knowing how to apply them can be the difference between successful punters and those whose loss columns are longer than profit columns. Let’s start by defining what betting systems are.
What Is a Betting System?
A betting system is any structured methodology to betting. Also referred to as a betting strategy, a gambler uses a set of practices to enhance their success at wagers. This success can involve:
- Increasing chances of winning wagers
- Increasing the number of wagers won
- Increasing the profit from won wagers
- Minimizing or eliminating risk/loss from sports betting
The term “betting system” might make them sound more complex than they are. A few are quite intricate and require study and experience to pull off correctly, but most betting systems are quite straightforward. Anything that forms part of a bettor’s repertoire in betting, with a view of improving their fortunes, constitutes a betting system. It can include something as simple as identifying value or something as elaborate as arbitrage betting. Let’s now look at how best to use betting systems against the bookies!
Best Way To Apply Betting Systems Against The Bookies
Know Your Sports
Having good knowledge of your sport is the first and foremost thing for sports betting, including everything from knowing the actual rules of a sport to appreciating your team’s/player’s weaknesses and strengths. Without this know-how, all a punter is left to rely on is dumb luck which, as many will confirm, is a fool’s errand. In that situation, it becomes very difficult to choose appropriate betting systems or even just make good betting choices.
Learn Various Betting Strategies
The first step is to familiarize oneself with various betting systems/strategies. Some work for all sports betting while others are better applied to certain sports. Let’s take a look at a few examples:
Basic Value Betting
Value betting is probably the most basic of all strategies used today. When it comes to sports betting, you can find value by assessing the betting odds offered for various sporting outcomes and measuring that up against the actual probability of the outcoming turning out true. Where the actual probability is higher than what the betting odds imply, that betting opportunity offers positive value. The higher the discrepancy between these two variables (with the actual probability being higher), the more profitable that opportunity is.
Accumulator Betting
In betting, an accumulator is a compound bet that contains linked events. Also called a parlay or a multi-bet, an accumulator bet requires that ALL the linked events prove true for it to be successful. If one fails, the whole house falls. This strategy significantly increases risk, but, for balance, it also increases the potential for making huge profits.
Betting Based On Losing/Winning Streaks
Basing wagers on winning/losing streaks is a strategy used by many successful sports bettors today. It involves placing bets based purely on the form/momentum of the teams or athletes/players involved. This strategy is informed by human nature. Teams/players on lengthy winning streaks are often very confident and can keep up good results. They can therefore be backed with a good degree of certainty about their success. On the other hand, those on long losing streaks are often short of belief. Betting AGAINST them (by backing their opponents) therefore presents a great opportunity for profit.
Identify The Betting Strategy To Use
With good knowledge of the sport and armed with a command of different betting systems and how they work, the last step is simply choosing one that befits the betting situation. What strategy to apply will depend on the betting opportunity at hand and, sometimes, on the punter’s financial situation. For example, say a soccer punter has just a small stake with which to play. Say they also realize that they are many heavy favorites playing on that day. Heavy favorites are usually priced very short, which means that betting on them in single bets doesn’t represent significantly profitable scenarios. Plus, there’s still the odd chance that they might lose, making betting on them a rather lose/lose situation.
Therefore, the punter might decide to go with an accumulator bet as the strategy for this situation, allowing them to combine favorite heavy picks into a multi-bet that offers many improved potential returns. Simultaneously, given that only a small stake was risked, losing the bet would not be too hard to take.
