The OpenOdds Guide to Best Betting Strategies
Everybody who has ever laid down a bet knows that their success rests on more than just luck. Researching the sport, keeping an eye on your bankroll, and knowing when to stop are just some of the main factors that help many punters enjoy making profitable bets on a long-term basis.
Whilst there are always a few betting newcomers who manage to get lucky with their first wagers, all experienced betting pros know that there can be a systematic way to ensure that they can achieve a consistent run of bets that produce a good yield.
If you are looking for decent wagering strategies, sports betting fans are in the right place. So we are going to take a look at some of the most popular betting strategies and systems that can help you manage your wagering budget and walk away from a day’s betting with a decent profit.
From famous systems like the Martingale and Fibonacci strategies to betting tactics that can be used for individual sports like football and horse racing, there’s plenty to learn when finding your next sports betting strategy in order to make good money whilst wagering. So when you next have some spare time at home, betting strategies like the following are well worth a read.
Why we need betting strategies
First, we need to think about why we need to use betting strategies. After all, if everybody knew the best betting strategy, then surely everybody would win all of the time and all of the bookmakers would go out of business.
But betting strategies work to help you manage your money and use odds from bookmakers in a way that gives you a slightly better advantage than you would otherwise have.
All betting pros know that even the slightest of edges can work wonders in the long run. And whether it’s marginally better odds on horse racing, or just being able to use your budget to make incrementally larger bets, it’s the element of control and cool thinking that can really pay dividends when using a good sports betting strategy.
Whilst many newcomers to sports betting will carelessly wager an amount on a team or athlete as a result of gut instinct, serious betting enthusiasts will always stick to a system that governs not only what they will bet on, but also how much they choose to wager.
Above all, betting strategies are systems that help you manage your budgets to last the distance, and they are also able to assist in making bets that are only based on statistical evidence, rather than blind faith. Despite all of the different betting strategies, sports fans will know that anything can happen, so always gamble responsibly. But let’s have a look at some of the most popular betting systems that you’re likely to see at a betting strategy forum.
Popular betting systems that work
Most betting system reviews tend to focus on a handful of strategies that aim to dictate how you manage your betting bankroll. Whether you’re backing the away team or the team at home, betting strategies are a great way to think more precisely about how you are wagering.
We all know that we should always gamble responsibly and set ourselves clear limits to our budgets when we set out for a day’s betting. And by using some of these free betting systems, we can alter how much we wager with some pretty interesting consequences.
Martingale strategy
The Martingale strategy is a progressive sports betting system that aims to cover any losses by doubling your stakes on the next bet. Many betting system reviews have tipped this to be one of the best sports betting strategies around.
If you went to a day’s horse racing, you would take a £10 bet on a horse in the first race. If your first bet failed, then you would wager £20 on the next race. If this bet also failed, according to the Martingale strategy, you would wager £40 on the next race and so on.
So if the third race won, you would win back an amount that more than covered your previous two losses. Such a betting system takes in the fact that all sports bets give us wins and losses, and that usually it’s just a matter of time until your winning bet comes in.
The drawbacks of the Martingale strategy are fairly obvious, however. If you have a sudden losing streak, then you will have to stake some pretty significant amounts in order to cover your losses.
But on the whole, if you are willing to set yourself a fixed betting budget, then this is a free betting system that can help you get some reasonably consistent profits.
Fibonacci strategy
The Fibonacci sequence is a system of numbers that occurs in everything from hurricanes to galaxies and it has been fascinating mathematicians for centuries.
The Fibonacci sequences run like 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 and so on, and it’s based on adding the two preceding numbers together.
So how do you go about applying the Fibonacci sequences to your sports betting? First, you would place a bet of £1 on a football match, if you lost the bet, then you would raise your stake to £2 in the next match. If this lost against you would make a bet of £3, and then £5 and so on.
This is similar to the Martingale sequence, but it should only be used for odds on draw results where the probability is above 2.618.
This is because it’s thought that bookmakers have a hard time predicting draws. And so the Fibonacci sequence gives us a reasonably good and mathematically-proven betting system that can be used to exploit this weakness. And if you got to a betting strategy forum, then you will find plenty of punters who have enjoyed using this method.
Fixed wager betting
If the Martingale and Fibonacci betting strategies sound a little complex, then give fixed wager betting a try.
This means that you always bet the same amount regardless of how much you might win or lose. This gives you a better chance of not blowing your entire stake, but it also means that your chances of getting a potentially massive win are also curtailed.
Whilst this method is fairly popular in some betting system reviews, it does mean that you are restricted in how you choose to wager and so it might not be for all people.
Low percentage bankroll betting
This is an interesting betting strategy that requires the punter to bet a very low percentage of their wagering budget in accordance with the odds.
Whilst it might be disheartening to bet just 1% or 2% of your budget, this conservative betting strategy is a big hit amongst professional bettors as it means that lowers the risk of going bust.
All sports betting fans will know that they will occasionally go through a period where they hit a losing streak.
But with low percentage betting, even the most disastrous losing streak won’t stop you from eventually making a profit when luck turns your way.
All in betting
And finally, all-in betting is something that is not recommended, and yet it’s something that keeps coming up in a betting strategy forum every now and then.
By placing your entire betting budget on each bet, it has the obvious advantages of giving you some potentially huge profits if luck turns your way.
But similarly, all it takes is for one losing result, and then you’re out of the game for the rest of the day. Perhaps a good reason why most betting system reviews won’t advocate this method.
Betting strategies for different sports
All of the above betting systems can be used for a variety of different sports. But there are a few betting systems that can be used to improve your profits on certain individual sports. If you are looking for betting strategies, football may be the most popular sport, but there’s a great wagering system for all top sports.
Horse racing betting systems that work
Horse racing and sports betting go hand in hand, and so it’s unsurprising to find that this sport has developed its own unique betting strategies.
Anybody who has read a betting strategy forum will have all heard about punters ‘hedging’ their bets, but what does this mean? Hedging means that you bet on several different outcomes of the same individual race.
Rather than just betting on the winner, by placing multiple bets, it means that you stand a better chance of not losing your overall stake. And by carefully analysing the statistics around the bookie’s odds, it has helped many experienced horse racing punters last the distance.
Arbitrage betting follows a similar idea in that you place different bets on each outcome with different bookmakers to cover your stakes.
By laying a horse at a low price, and then backing the same horse at a high price with a different bookie, you can make a small but significant profit by taking advantage of the discrepancy in odds between the bookmakers. A great example of a betting strategy that works to give you a better chance of avoiding a nasty loss.
The best betting strategy for football
In terms of popular betting strategies, football has plenty to offer with many punters enjoying some different kinds of betting. Over/under betting is where you try and predict whether a team will score 2.5 goals or more, or you could even try a betting strategy scorecast. Most football fans will tend to avoid football betting strategies and just bet on their favourite team to win. And whilst it might go against the principles of most betting strategies, it can actually work wonders to focus your bets on one particular team.
However, you’ll have to be brutally honest with your chosen team when you create your football betting systems. Most of us will be unwilling to bet on our favourite football team to lose, but if it helps you pick up a decent profit, then using a football betting strategy can sweeten the blow.
Whilst all bookmakers will put in plenty of effort into analysing the stats to give them the edge on formulating their odds, there’s no reason why you can’t also put in plenty of research into just one team. It may take time in coming up with decent football betting systems, but they can really pay off.
This will help you to know exactly when a team are looking unbeatable, or when they might look like they are weaker than the odds suggest. It might not be a betting system that works all of the time, but a good football betting strategy will certainly help.
For a simple football betting strategy, scorecast wagering could be a good option, but there are many fun alternatives. Along with corner betting strategies, there’s plenty of other great examples of alternative football betting. Over/under betting allows you to wager on whether there will be anything like 2.5 goals or more in a match, and some of the ways that you can use a system on in-play bets, it shows that the beautiful game offers us many good examples of a football betting strategy that can be used to put down a bet. Don’t forget that betting exchanges also give you a chance to back bets & lay bets for a whole new approach to wagering on football. Just be sure to use a good lay betting strategy when trying this kind of bet.
Betting strategies that take in external influences
There are also a few handy betting strategies that don’t even look at things like your bankroll or the sporting action.
Whilst they should never be used by themselves, some of these betting tips can also significantly boost your betting profits.
Bet against the crowd
All bookmakers will formulate odds in accordance to how they think that the public is going to bet.
So if you are looking to bet on a football match involving a hugely popular team like Manchester United, you can take advantage of the odds offered by the bookies to get an edge on your profits.
As many casual punters will be tempted to bet on Manchester United, then it opens the door for you to take advantage of any odds that are overvalued. This is something that should be factored in when using a betting exchange as you can back bets & lay bets in correspondence to what other punters are doing. A good lay betting strategy always puts you one step ahead of your competitors.
Whilst this is a pretty simple betting system, it has been found to work wonders. So never underestimate going against the crowd for one of the more effective betting strategies that can be used in anything from esports betting to wagering on cricket.
Bet with the weather
The majority of outdoor sports will be affected by weather patterns. Whether it’s the humidity affecting a seam bowler in an Ashes Test match, snow affecting the betting on a football derby, or rain affecting the odds in a greyhound race, there’s nothing like spending some time watching the weather reports to give yourself a betting edge.
Obviously predicting the weather can be even harder to predict than most sporting events, but external factors like this should always be factored into your betting strategies.
Perhaps the best betting strategy of all
Whilst we can rely on mathematical sequences, weather patterns, and crowd psychology to boost our betting knowhow, it’s also true that we have to rely on our own common sense for the best betting practice.
There’s nothing like setting yourself a fixed and safe wagering budget to make sure that you keep your sports betting fun, sensible and relaxed. And it’s far easier than figuring out some of the more complex sports betting strategies too.
We all know how we can make some seriously rash bets when we are betting beyond our means, so always keep your betting smart and play within your means. Whilst few of us read through the privacy policy terms of a bookmaker before placing a bet, it’s a good idea to look through the terms and conditions so that you make sure you stay within the rules when using betting strategies.
It’s also important to remember the limitations of sports betting strategies. If there was such thing as a guaranteed risk-free betting system, then the entire betting industry would collapse.
So always trust in your own common sense to know when to raise your bets and when to walk away. After all, the majority of famous betting strategies like the Martingale system are concerned with how you go about covering your losses.
This is because sports betting is by its nature very unpredictable, and you will always come across winning and losing results regardless of what sports betting strategies you choose.
Just as you read a bookie’s privacy policy terms before signing up to a site, it’s also worth taking a look at their terms and conditions in order to see what you can and cannot do with your wagering. So it’s only by thinking carefully about your budget, examining the statistical evidence behind the odds, and researching the sporting event that you are going to be able to place consistently profitable sports bets and make good money in the future.