Like casino gambling and slot games, sports betting has largely become an online business. Fans can log on one of the numerous web-based sportsbooks, and place a bet on their favorite sport.
Growing Online Sportsbook Usage
“I am Due for a W”
The idea here is simple. After a losing streak, gamblers and bettors in general will say something like “I am due for a win.” Why is this wrong? Well, it is self-evident. Betting is not based around your wins and losses.
The industry is based around a significant amount of calculations and statistics; which bookies painstakingly boil down to odds. Rather than taking into account your win to loss ratio, study the odds, learn how they work, and place informed bets.
“My Gut is Telling me…”
Sometimes, a bettor’s intuition is an invaluable tool. However, if their gut is telling them that a team will win, against all odds, the problem may just be indigestion. Look, we aren’t necessarily saying you should ignore your gut feeling, or your intuition. What we mean is simply don’t rely on it against odds, stats, and analysis.
“Bookies Have Insider Info”
Certainly, there have been scandals with rigged games and insider info leaking to sportsbooks. Popular instances of sportsbook-based scandals exist around the world. However, does that mean that all games are rigged? Not at all.
Often you hear folks saying stuff like “pro games are rigged.” That statement, of course, is utter nonsense. The source of statements like these could be paranoia or simply anger that a bet didn’t turn out the way somebody wanted. In either case, it is entirely false.
“Don’t Trust the Public”
The idea that the public is always wrong is one of the biggest myths in sports betting. Very few people know more about a certain sport than dedicated fans. And though these fans may be unable to put their thoughts into the proper words, they do have a sort of internalized analysis that helps them make proper predictions.
To be clear, we aren’t saying that the public is always right either. However, to dismiss the public opinion entirely is great folly, as many popular instances throughout history have shown. The best advice we can give you is to listen to both bookies and the public, and formulate your own opinion about the facts of the matter.