Making money from sports betting can be a difficult task, but it's not impossible. In this blog post, we will give you 5 lesser-known tips and strategies that will help you make the most money from your sportsbook.
We'll also provide some helpful resources to get you started. So whether you're just getting started in sports betting or you're looking for an edge over the competition, make sure to read on!
1. Line shop to find the best price every time you bet
Line shopping is the process of comparing odds at different sportsbooks in order to find the best value for your bet.
This is important because even a small difference in odds can have a big impact on your potential winnings.
For example, let's say you want to bet on the New England Patriots to win their next game. You might find that one sportsbook is offering odds of -110, while another is offering odds of -105.
If you bet $100 on the Patriots at the first sportsbook, you would win $90.91. However, if you bet $100 on the Patriots at the second sportsbook, you would win $95.24.
Over the course of a season, placing hundreds of bets, that extra payout will make a significant difference in your bottom line!
If you want to learn more, I dive into the specifics on how to line shop for Spread, Total, and Moneyline bets in this article.
You will need to have a bankroll in at least two different books to line shop properly. More "serious" sports bettors generally have at least three sportsbooks, while pros and semi-pros will often use five or more books.
2. Use arbitrage to secure guaranteed profits
Arbitrage sports betting is a technique that takes advantage of differences in odds between two or more sportsbooks.
Unlike line shopping where you simply find the best line to bet, with arbitrage you place bets on both sides of the same game at different books, and can lock in a guaranteed profit.
Similar to line shopping, you will need two or more sportsbooks to make this work.
The simple rule of thumb for arbitrage betting is to find where two books are offering different prices on the same bet, where the positive odds are higher than the negative odds.
The simple rule of thumb for arbitrage betting is to find where two books are offering different prices on the same bet, where the positive odds are higher than the negative odds.
I've outlined two general opportunities for arbitrage in sports betting below. If you want more details on how to arbitrage bet check this article out here.
Example 1
Let's say you're betting on the Milwaukee Brewers at the Chicago Cubs game.
Sportsbook A has Milwaukee at +110 (wager $100 to win $110)
Sportsbook B has Chicago at +110 (wager $100 to win $110)
If Milwaukee lost, you would lose $100 at Sportsbook A, but you would win $110 at Sportsbook B. This would leave you with $210 at the end of the day. This is a $10 profit (10% profit)!
Example 2
Here's one you could run across where you would either profit or break even. Say you're betting on the Boston Celtics at the Brooklyn Nets game.
Sportsbook A has Boston at -105 (wager $105 to win $100)
Sportsbook B has Brooklyn at +112 (wager $100 to win $112)
If Boston lost, you would lose $105 at Sportsbook A, but you would win $112 at Sportsbook B. This would leave you with $212 at the end of the day. This is a $7 profit.
However, If Brooklyn lost, you would lose $100 at Sportsbook B, but you would win $100 at Sportsbook B. This would leave you with $205, causing you to break even.
Keep in mind that arbitrage opportunities are rare and you need to move quickly when you find them. If you can get a 1%-5% profit with arbitrage betting over the long run, you're said to be doing very well!
3. Take advantage of every sportsbook sign-on bonus
When it comes to online sports betting, many people are hesitant to sign up for a new account because they don't want to deal with the hassle of depositing money.
However, most sportsbooks offer sign-on bonuses that can make it well worth your while to open a new account.
For example, many sportsbooks offer deposit matching bonuses, which means that they will match the amount of your initial deposit up to a certain amount. These amounts can be as high as $500 at times! This can significantly increase the amount of money that you have to bet with.
Often you'll find larger books like BetMGM, FanDuel, or DraftKings offering Risk-Free bets. We see $500, $600, $1000, and sometimes higher risk-free bets. It's a great opportunity for you to take a bunch of a book's money right away! Well worth the hassle of signing up.
Here are a couple of bonuses that you can get some free money with!
4. Use odds boosts whenever they are available
Odds boosts are an important tool in sports betting. By taking advantage of these promotions, you can increase your potential winnings while also getting a better value for your bets.
Odds boosts typically involve a sportsbook increasing the odds on a certain bet, making it of higher value (higher payout or lower risk). For example, a book may boost the odds on a team to win from -105 to +145 (+50 odds boost).
This means that if you were to bet $100 and win, you'd profit $49.76 ($145 total profit) more than without the boost!
Odds boosts are usually offered for specific bets on particular events. However, some bookmakers also offer general odds boosts that can be used on any bet.
Odds boosts are an excellent way for bettors to get more value for their bets and increase their bankroll!
5. Hedge your futures bets to reduce risk
When you hedge a bet, you are essentially making two bets: one that the original bet will win, and one that it will lose. The goal is to minimize your losses if the original bet does not go as planned.
For example, let's say that you bet $100 on a New England Patriots future at +2500 to win the Super Bowl. Let's say they end up making it all the way to the Super Bowl, but they lose the big game. You would lose your $100.
Hedging can protect you from this happening.
Let's say the Pats are playing the Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl.
You can hedge this bet by betting $1000 on the Packers moneyline at -150 to guarantee a profit.
Here's the breakdown:
Futures bet: $100 on the Patriots at +2500 odds ($2600 payout, $2500 profit)
Hedge bet: $1000 on the Packers at -150 odds ($1667 payout, $667 profit)
Results if you had placed the hedge:
Patriots win: $2600 payout - $1000 bet - $100 bet = $1500 profit
Packers win: $1667 payout - $1000 bet - $100 bet = $567 profit
Results if you hadn't placed the hedge:
Patriots win: $2600 payout - $100 bet = $2500 profit
Packers win: -$100 bet = -$100 loss
There you have it. Five powerful tips and strategies for making the most money from your sportsbooks. Now it's all up to you to take advantage of them!
Vault is a sports bet tracking app for iPhone and is a powerful tool to help you with arbitrage betting, line shopping, and hedging. It can even help you identify different sportsbook promotions going on.
Download Vault today!
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