Popular Sports Betting Myths
|Sports bettors can be quite superstitious at times. Common beliefs can usually spread quite quickly online.
Let’s talk about some of the most common held beliefs among sports bettors.
Bookmakers Limit Winning Accounts
This is a popular sports betting belief that is in fact true. Sports bookmakers will in fact limit accounts that have high wins often.
In the same breath it should be said that this is quite a rare occurrence and only applied in extreme circumstances. More often than not it is also justified as it protects both the sportsbook and other bettors.
Sports Betting Is Just Luck
Sports betting can be done randomly or with applied skill. You can gain a wealth of knowledge on team performance through statistics and research.
Sports betting can definitely be played with a lot of skill and as a result with a lot of success.
Always Bet On The Favourite
Even though you find the odds on favourites usually approach it as a sure thing, there are many ways to make wagers on the underdog and still come out on top.
This is especially true with home games or if you are making a spread bet. Here you will find often the underdogs are clawing for points and will beat the spread to assure victory for themselves.
The higher odds on an underdog bet can often be a much better value bet as the payoff if the team wins is worth the additional risk. There are some players or horses such as Winx that always seem to come out on top, but not considering the underdog could be a mistake.
Sports Analysts Know Their Job
It is easy to go online and find many sports analysts who share their opinions on betting picks or just share their opinions in general.
To say that sports analysts know exactly what they are talking about is like saying every person who studied music is a rock star. The opposite is in fact true.
So take sports analyst’s opinions with a pinch of salt, or not at all to be honest. Studies have been done on the accuracy of sports journalist predictions and it was founds that they were correct less than 50% of the time. For example, some horse racing betting sites will offer better tips than others, and it is up to you to find those that are trustworthy and reliable.
Thinking A Win Is Just Around The Corner
This is a pretty common belief amongst sport bettors, especially when your favourite team is involved.
This is unfortunately erroneous reasoning because there are many factors that influence the outcome of the match other than it is a team’s “turn”.
Your bets should ideally be based on the facts you have gathered on the matchup, but in the same breath it should be said that sports betting can’t all be black and white statistics.
Sometimes you should just go for that gut feeling.
When You Win Bookmakers Lose Money
This is another popular belief amongst online sports bettors. Many people believe that a bookmaker would want bettors to lose because when a player loses, they make money.
This is not accurate as bookmakers can make money on both players winning and losing.
Online bookmakers are always protecting their interests but not to the detriment of their customers.
This is especially true with many modern sportsbook sites allowing players to essentially cancel their bets if it isn’t going well and they will receive a percentage of their staked wager back.