When novice gamblers don’t take the time to properly handicap sports events before placing wagers, there’s plenty of experienced gamblers and bookmakers poised to take advantage of them. Before turning the discussion towards handicapping tips for soccer matches, there’s one key element of sports gambling that every gambler should know.
Established bookmakers and bookmakers that just got launched in the UK don’t like risk. If a bookmaker is doing their job, they will find a way to balance the action on both sides of every game or match. If successful, they can sit back and collect the commission (vigorish or vig) from the losing side, creating a profit without having a vested interest in the game or match. The vig on football (soccer) matches is theoretical because money lines are being used. When point spreads are used (see the NFL), it’s easier to understand the effects of the vig.
Example: If Bettor A bets $110 on New England Patriots -7 points to win $100 and Bettor B wagers $110 on the opponent Kansas City Chiefs +7 points to win $100, the total payout will be $210 to the winning side. That leaves $10 from the total $220 collected on the game without any risk.
Soccer Handicapping Tips
Without a few handicapping tips in you holster, you are entering the sports gambling battle without protection. To help protect you against other gamblers and your bookmaker, consider these tips:
- Statistical Comparisons – If you’re a novice bettor who doesn’t mind betting blind, you can skip to the end and hope you don’t lose all you hard earned cash. If you want to increase your winning percentage, you have to do homework. There’s a number of popular soccer sites that offer plenty of data related to team and player performance. If you compare statistical information between two teams related to offense, defense, goalkeeping, time of possession and shots on goal, you might discover one team has an advantage over the other. If so, bet the team with the advantage. If no advantage is detected, make use of other tips.
- Head-to-Head Competition – It’s simply amazing how many times you’ll discover that one club has great difficulty or success when playing another certain club. If one team seems to beat another team an inordinate amount of times under a variety of circumstances over a long period of time, you have located a potential trend. Don’t be afraid to bet the trend.
- Awareness of the Intangibles – The biggest mistake novice gamblers make when placing bets is failing to research the intangibles. The intangibles refer to injuries, players dealing with personal issues, weather conditions and team motivation going into the match. All of these intangibles can have a material effect on the outcome of a game. If you consistently wager without looking at the intangibles, you might as well light your cash on fire and throw it in the trash. It’s better to burn your cash than hand it to someone who did the work you were unwilling to do.
- Have Fun – Wagering on soccer matches is supposed to be fun. To that end, never wager more than you can truly afford to lose.