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Sports betting: Truth of the matter

Comment: 0 July 25th, 2011 by: admin

Something to remember: knowing the facts about sports betting is vital in guiding a bettor towards a successful wager.

To put it simply and bluntly, wagering money without understanding the rules is dumb and dangerous.

For the sake of clarity, this list gives a number of common sports betting myths, along with facts that either explain or completely debunk them.

 
 
MYTH:
All online sports betting systems are the same.

FACT:
There are actually several kinds of betting systems available. It is wise to carefully study each one to better understand their intricacies, and find the entity which produced it. Visit sports forums and explore other available systems. By doing so, you can develop a pattern, find out which one you are most comfortable with, and discover which systems are actually winning money.

 

MYTH:
Sports betting engenders corruption and result fixing.

FACT:
While the outcome of a match can be corrupted by players or officials, the advent of advanced technology has effectively helped prevent it by enabling sports associations and law enforcement agencies to probe betting patterns and policies.

Online, techniques such as advanced technical fingerprinting and pattern-matching methods can pinpoint real-time abuse. Methods like closed-circuit betting systems are also being employed to help fight betting scams.
 

MYTH:
Religiously studying game trends will reveal the next game outcomes with reliable accuracy.

FACT:
Every event or game is independent of the earlier ones. While tendencies and possibilities do arise from certain factors (team form, player conditions, game venues, etc.), these do not, and will not ensure accurate predictions. Sports betting is mostly chance, with a dollop of instinct; no amount of trend-watching will change it.

 

MYTH:
Online betting can lead to addiction and abusive gambling.

FACT:
Online betting is better monitored than land-based gambling. The latter tends to be more addictive due to available traditional gaming devices like slot machines in casinos, or video lottery machines in race tracks.

 

MYTH:
Only the bookmakers ever make money in sports betting; players always lose by default.

FACT:
While losing is inevitable in sports betting, it is not true that all sports bettors will always lose. As with every game dependent on chance, the win-loss ratio will always be near-equal.

 

MYTH:
Sports betting can make you rich in an instant.

FACT:
Most bettors envision winning win massive amounts of money overnight, and thereby exert effort to make this happen. The chances of winning big, however, are not as large as one would hope. Wise bettors know that the greatest chance of success lies in displaying patience. They look for a reliable system that works consistently and in this way, their profits roll in more often.

 

MYTH:
Nothing beats going with your gut.

FACT:
Although this works at times, betting based on guessing is not a clever move. It is best to make an analysis of previous games, players, weather and other related factors. This will help you obtain a more concrete foundation in deciding which to bet on.

 

MYTH:
Merely knowing the sport can help you make good bets.

FACT:
Just being familiar with the sport won’t help. The perfect match for this is a good understanding of statistics. Similarly, merely being adept in statistics won’t help unless you know the sport. Knowledge of both will give the edge to get on the winning path.