Are you looking to make a lucrative income through sports betting?

If you’re a sports fan, why not make some big bucks by betting on the outcome of a game?

There are many strategies for building an income through online sports betting. You want to make sure that you plan your betting options, set a budget, and know when to quit.

Following a detailed strategy will ensure that you’ll make a great income with sports betting.

Here’s our guide on sports betting for beginners:

Find Your Platform

The first step is to find a great platform to place your bets.

You want a sports betting platform that offers different sports to place your bets on. It’s ideal to place your bets on multiple games to increase your chances of winning.

These websites should also have guides or forums where you can discuss different sports. These provide educational material to help you place bets with a strategy. It’s far better than placing bets based solely on your instinct.

You should look at this review of Bovada.lv to see what makes a great sports betting site. 

What Are the Odds?

The next step is to try to understand the odds of the sport you’re betting on.  

The odds are determined by the sportsbook. This is the platform where the information on the sports match is listed. This is where you get to place your bets on each game.

The sportsbook wants to convince gamblers to place bets on different outcomes. As such, the odds will be presented in a way that attracts a diverse range of gamblers.

For example, let’s say there’s a basketball match between the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic.

The sportsbook might present the odds of the Miami Heat winning as -300. They might present the odds of the Orlando Magic winning as +200.

With Miami Heat, the odds are that they are 3-1 in favor of winning the game. This means that if you bet $300 on the Miami Heat, you would get back your $300 plus earn $100 if they won the game. 

Let’s say you placed your bets on the Orlando Magic. If you place a bet of $100 on the Orlando Magic, you’ll get your $100 back plus earn $200 if they won the game.

In such a scenario, the odds are in favor of the Miami Heat. But the reward is greater if the Orlando Magic wins. You have to assess your own risk-reward ratio when placing your bets.

Placing Your Bets

Now, how do you go about placing your bets on an online sports betting platform?

You want to first make sure that you’re a resident of a state that allows online gambling. Make sure you educate yourself on laws and regulations within your state before placing any bet.

You will then have to deposit funds into your betting platform. Make sure you only place what you want to bet immediately. Don’t keep funds lingering in your account for future bets.

You also want to see if you can place your bets with any bonuses that the platform offers.

Some betting platforms will give you cash to place your first bet. Take advantage of these before using any of your own money.

There will also be platforms that’ll allow you to make “paper bets.” These are bets where you place a bet without actually having to deposit funds.

It’s a way to practice making bets, in a similar vein to paper trading. Make sure you take advantage of this option before placing an actual bet as well.

It’s imperative that you understand how the betting platform works before you place any bet. While you might get tempted to make big wins first, you want to build your skills first. 

Types of Bets

Next, let’s look at the types of bets you can place through a sports betting platform.

The first is the Moneyline which lets you place bets on a team to win a game. The odds are set by the sportsbook and are published for bettors to consider.

There’s also the In-play wagering in which bettors place bets after the game has started. This might be one of the best options for first-time bettors.

Over/Under is a betting option where the sportsbook predicts an overall combined score in the outcome of the game. You place your bets on whether you think the final score will fall over or under the predicted score.

Spread betting is the most popular type of sports betting option. It focuses mainly on football. The sportsbook will choose a team and predict the number of points that they’ll win with. The bettors can choose to bet on the predicted winner or the underdog.

Prop bets are when you place a wager on an incident that you predict will happen during a game. The incident doesn’t need to affect the final score of the game. It can range from which team will get the most points after the first quarter to which team will get the most penalties.

A parlay bet is when you place bets on a series of games. You have to place your bets on the winning teams in all games to win your prize. This should be done only after you’ve gained experience with sports betting.

If you’ve followed sports within a league for a while, you might choose a futures bet. This is when you place a bet on the outcome of a team within your favorite franchise before the season begins.

Those Are the Rules on Betting for Beginners

Now you know the rules on betting for beginners you can create your betting strategy.

Make sure you take your time to learn the laws and regulations for online gambling in your state. Afterward, do your research on the best sports betting platforms to place your bets.

Take your time to build up your betting skills. Make sure you only bet what you can afford to lose. Once you make your winnings, make sure you know when to quit.

You can also find more tips on online sports betting on our website!