Beginner's guide to sports betting

Where to start?

Sports betting can be challenging and intimidating at first, but don't worry; this guide will help you get off to the best start while reducing risk. Your budget should be your top priority before you begin. Make a deal with yourself on how much money you are prepared to spend and stick to it.

Finding an online casino website or betting site that you feel comfortable utilising is also crucial. No matter where you are, you can place bets on your preferred teams and matches at the best betting sites in the United Kingdom. Take a look at Betting.com if you want to see some of the different betting sites available.

Favourites and Underdogs

When it comes to sports betting, one of the first things you should consider is who is the favourite to win. Let's use the encounter between Manchester City and Dortmund from the Champions League as an example:

• Manchester City – 1.75 to win • Draw – 4.5 • Crystal Palace – 5.4 to win

As seen here, Manchester City had a 1.75 odds ratio with a 57.1% chance of winning, making them the overwhelming favourite. Picking the favourites is the way to go if you solely want to base your bets on statistics. You will have a strong chance every time you put in a wager as a result. The issue with this is that you have to wager more to obtain a solid win because the payback on favourites is typically low.

If you had wagered £100 on Manchester City to defeat Dortmund, and they would have won you would have received £136, or a £75 profit. On the other side, if you had wagered £100 at the odds of Dortmund winning at 5.4, you would have received £540 and a handsome profit of £440 if they had done so. Given that anything may happen in football, it can occasionally be worthwhile to place a little wager on the underdog. But again, remember to consider your budget before placing your bets.

Handicap betting

You should be aware of handicap betting, sometimes known as "spread betting", which is a common way to place bets. The NFL and NBA are two American sports that are very popular for this type of betting. Just place a wager on whether a team will win or lose by a specific amount of points. Let's use the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Indianapolis Colt as an example:

• Colts -9.5 to 1.90 • Bucs +9.5 to 2.10

The -9.5 line for the Colts means they must win the game by more than 9.5 points for the game to go in. In Tampa Bay's case, they cannot lose by more than 9.5 points for the game to go in. It adds a little extra than just betting on the match winner.