How To Bet Like a “Sharp” as a “Square”
There are only two groups of sports bettors: “Sharps” or “Squares.” Guess which one you belong to. Unless you’re part of the select few who make money by wagering on sports professionally, then you are a SQUARE.
You are part of the 95ish percent of people who bet: recreationally, spontaneously, and losingly. But don’t worry. You don’t need to be a pro to profit like one. Here’s how you start.
How To Profit Like a Pro Bettor But as an Amateur
The first thing you must understand about sports betting is that we, the squares, usually do not have the “edge” (advantage). It’s as they say, “The house always wins.” But this is not always the case.
Many professional sports bettors, SHARPS, make a living by finding edges — learning to play the odds. It’s not as fun as following a flash of inspiration and betting on a 10/1 underdog. But it is usually more profitable.
As squares, we don’t need to completely adapt to the sharp lifestyle by quitting our jobs and going full-time on this. I’ve done this before and trust me, you won’t enjoy it.
This doesn’t mean we can’t adapt some of the basic principles sharps employ so we can still beat the odds regularly.
1. Manage Your Bankroll
One of the first things you must do, if not the very first, is to manage your bankroll. What does this mean? It means do not bet random increments. This is undisciplined and is a one-way ticket to losing all your money thanks to a misplaced bet.
You can start by using a unit system. A unit is a percentage of your bankroll. For instance, you have $500 in your account. Five dollars is one unit, $10 is two, and so on.
The purpose of this is to prevent you from recklessly spending your cash. This will also teach you to manage your bets and to equate the betting odds with implied probability.
You should also set strict “Dos and Don’ts” like signing up for multiple sportsbooks (more on this below) and avoiding chasing bets.
Ultimately, managing your bankroll runs hand-in-hand with managing yourself. Avoid rookie sports bettors’ mistakes starting with your purse.
2. Sign Up For Multiple Sportsbooks
The biggest mistake new bettors make is in signing up to only one sportsbook. Ask yourself this question. You’re looking for a new pair of running shoes. You search online and find a pair. Do you buy it right there or shop for a similar pair at a better price?
Get Happy Square’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
Of course, you’ll do the latter. So why not do it for sports betting?
There are countless online sportsbooks most of which offer sign-up bonuses. If you sign up for three sportsbooks, you’re availing of three sign-up bonuses instead of just one.
Additionally, sportsbooks do not have the same betting lines. You can find better lines in one book, which can mean a world of difference in betting.
If one book has Detroit favored to win by 2.5 points (-2.5) while another has it at three points, you can bet the former as it has the superior line. Should Detroit win by a field goal, the first book will cash while the latter won’t.
3. Pay Attention to “Line Movement”
Keep an eye on line movement as when you place a bet is just as important as where you do it. This refers to how the betting lines have shortened or lengthened since they opened. Doing this will allow you to gauge what the public is betting.
More importantly, this is also how you can capture “value” with betting. If you bet against the spread at -3 and it moved to -3.5, you got value here. On the flip side, if you bet a team to win at +125 when its opening line was +135, you lost value.
Think of it like buying and selling stocks. If you buy Amazon stock at $100 a share then it went up to $200 in three days, you bought at an opportune time. You’d have had to pay twice as much had you purchased later.
Betting lines will shorten or lengthen due to the quantity and quality of action a book gets. We can detail it some more though the only way you can get good at timing your bets is by consistently and frequently watching the betting lines.
4. Bet the Numbers
This last tip can be the most difficult to follow as we are humans. We are emotional and have our biases, especially if we’ve been sports fans for a long time. However, sports betting is all about the numbers — the odds.
Just because we like a team or player to win doesn’t mean it’s smart for us to bet them.
For example, the Los Angeles Lakers visit the Toronto Raptors and are favored to win by 7.5 points or -325 on the moneyline. We’re confident the Lakers are much better than the Raptors and will win. But is it worth betting $325 to win $100 or to lay 7.5 points?
This is where research proves handy. What are these teams’ records against the spread under these circumstances? Are there notable injuries? What is the opening or closing line?
These are but just a few questions you should look into before placing a bet.
Remember these four tips as they are pillars of sports betting. It’s not guaranteed you’ll always win. But if you follow these tips, you can get the best bang for your buck and maybe even make a profit in the long term.
