Betting Odds on Sports

Chosing sports teams to bet on is a game of skill. The challenge of the game is to collect and analyze as much information as you can about a game, weigh the probabilities of each team winning, and then compare your opinion to the oddsmaker's. Make the right calculations, and you will win.

While luck may be a cause and effect in the outcome of any single game, and sometimes goes against you, it balances out in the long run if your skills are well-honed. Being a consistent winner in sports betting is not about luck but whether you are prepared to invest the time and effort to become knowledgeable about the sports you bet on, whether you can weigh all the factors in a cool, objective fashion, and whether you adopt a consistent, disciplined, long-term approach to your betting. Do all these and you will come out a winner. Remember, it's you against the oddsmaker, not the bookmaker.

The bookmaker is a middle-man who operates on a small profit margin, and ideally, he likes to see his clients put half the money wagered on one team and half on the other; this assures his making a profit. If too much of the money goes on one team, the bookmaker will move the line or pointspread to encourage bets on the other team in an effort to balance his book. Your skills come into play because you are attempting to beat is the oddsmaker and his views on each team's chances. By simply flipping a coin you will be right 50 percent of the time. At odds of 10/11 only 52.4 percent of your bets have to win for you to overcome the bookmaker's profit and break even, so you only need a very small edge to become a winner. Do your homework and bet selectively. 55% winning bets is definitely achievable and 60-65% is a realistic target. At those levels you will have an extremely profitable and enjoyable hobby.