Top 10 sports betting tips for poker players

Poker requires constant decision-making and risk/reward ratio evaluation, which perfectly transitions into the betting world. Since many poker players are highly strategic, they enjoy making an occasional bet on the games they watch, and some even take it much further.

Poker players typically feel very comfortable in a sportsbook environment, but there are still many things to know if you want to take your sports betting journey more seriously, and this article is exactly about that.

We summed it up with 10 sports betting tips every poker should know, so let’s dive in.

10. Don’t Bet on Your Favorite Team
As counter intuitive as it may be, this is a valuable tip all sports bettors should keep in the back of their mind. The reason is simple. When betting on your favorite teams or players, you’ll often be biased. As you’re rooting for them, you always want them to win, even when the chances of this happening aren’t very high.

Every professional sports bettor will tell you that being unbiased and objective is key when choosing your picks. An easy way to solve this is to avoid betting on your favorite teams and players altogether. Simply enjoy watching them play and bet on other games that offer you better value.

9. Understand the Betting Process
Before you start betting on sports, you should be sure that you understand all of the basics and know how to bet on sports correctly. Just like you wouldn’t start playing poker without a firm grasp of the basic gameplay features, you shouldn’t place any bets without understanding sports betting fundamentals.

When it comes to this, we want to highlight the most important parts of the betting process you should know. These include understanding odds formats, various bet types, and determining if a bet offers you good value for its odds.

Find sports you like to bet on. (photo by Flickr)

8. Find Sports You Like
When choosing which sports to bet on, pick those you like watching. Additionally, make sure it’s also a sport you understand well and will enjoy diving deeper into. It’s essential to know all of the rules and everything that can happen within a particular game so that you always know your chances and risks.

Likewise, if you’re just starting out, concentrate on one sport since you can become an expert at it in less time, rather than just being an average sports bettor across several different verticals.

7. Learn the Odds
Depending on your sportsbook of choice, you could find that the betting odds are displayed in different formats. More precisely, there are three popular odds formats you can come across. These are decimal odds, fractional odds, and moneyline (American) odds. These odds formats don’t differ in terms of payouts, as they are only different ways of presenting the same chances.

To quickly explain, decimal odds are the simplest, as you can easily see which side is the favorite and which is the underdog. Fractional odds are a bit more complex, as they include a slash or hyphen. Lastly, moneyline odds are very different from the previous two, as they display odds in plus and minus formats, so make sure to read our betting odds guide before diving into the action.

6. Use Simple Bet Types
Sports bettors can choose from a wide variety of bets, so it is important to understand what are your options. Depending on your betting skills and how well you understand sports betting, you can pick bet types you’re most comfortable placing. Start with simple bets and add more complex ones as you gain more knowledge and confidence.

The simplest type of sports bet you can place is the standard win bet. You’re just picking who you think will win a particular matchup for this bet. When you get some experience, you can enjoy point spread betting, handicap betting, over/under betting, accumulator bets, futures, and many others.

5. Find a (Simple) Betting Strategy
One of the main reasons why casual sports bettors lose more often than they win is that they ignore various betting strategies readily available to them. This is unfortunate, as even the most basic betting strategy can help you make smarter decisions and lead to better profits.

Even though almost no betting strategy can guarantee you a win, having a plan for proceeding in this area is essential. Some of the things to research are arbitrage betting, betting based on winning streaks and stats, and fading the public.

4. Always Shop for the Best Odds
While many casual sports bettors often disregard the importance of shopping around, professional bettors know the value this brings. In short, bookmakers don’t all have the same odds for every match they offer.

Consider comparing the odds across several betting sites to get the best value for every bet you place. Also, we highly recommend checking Asian bookies since they are known to offer higher limits and better odds for the biggest markets.

Although these differences may seem small, the numbers can add up significantly over time. Checking different sites to find the best odds doesn’t take much time but will add extra value.

Make sure you set a bankroll for yourself. (photo by Pixabay)

3. Learn How to Manage Your Bankroll
Poker players know the importance of creating a dedicated bankroll that’s only used for betting activities. And while sports betting is an entirely different activity, bettors also benefit from having dedicated bankrolls separate from the rest of their funds.

You can set a weekly, monthly, or even yearly bankroll. The key thing is to set aside the amount you’re comfortable losing and that you can stick to without refilling.

Having a sports betting bankroll helps protect you from overspending. Moreover, with a proper bankroll management plan, you also have an insight into how much you’re spending, winning, and what type of bets you’re placing most often.

2. Set Realistic Objectives and Goals
As a poker player, you need to set realistic and achievable objectives and focus on long-term results. This isn’t any different from sports betting, as you have to approach this activity with a very similar mindset. Having unrealistic expectations will only lead to disappointment.

It’s important to know that only a small percentage of punters win money. So, it’s crucial to set realistic expectations and achievable objectives. Then, as you meet those expectations, push the bar slightly further and set more complex goals as time passes by.

Focus on enjoying yourself, and don’t put too much effort into how much you’re winning. Of course, still, make sure to bet responsibly, no matter how much or how often you bet.

1. Treat Betting Like a Business
Professional poker players treat their careers as businesses and not as hobbies, so if you want to succeed in the long run, you need to have the same mindset.

This includes careful bankroll management, constant studying, and a good understanding of sports statistical data. Additionally, it involves a lot of discipline and dedication.

Lastly, you need to regularly review your performance to treat your sports betting activities like a business. Understanding why you are winning some bets and losing others can help you eliminate your weaknesses and focus on your strengths.