Sports betting has become so popular that many people assume that everyone knows how to go about it. However, the field can be quite confusing for a beginner. Many people end up losing a lot of money as they familiarize themselves with the betting landscape. For this reason, here’s a guide to placing your first bet on a sportsbook without burning your fingers.
Pick a Familiar Sport
Firstly, you need to understand the sport you are betting on. This does not mean that you must have played it. Rather, you are better positioned to bet when you understand rules on activities like scoring, game format, and penalties.
You can achieve this by reading about the game. However, taking time to watch the real action either on TV or physically equips you much better with the basics of the game.
Choose a Suitable Website
Secondly, you must understand that not all sportsbooks are suitable for you. A site that works well for one person may not be the best one for another person. A suitable website should offer you the following:
Make a Deposit
Once you have identified a sportsbooks that suits you, the next step is to deposit money in it. If you are the kind of person who prefers maximum privacy, then crypto sports betting exchange will serve you well. These platforms allow you to transact without revealing your location or exposing you to currency exchange costs. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin are among the most widely accepted cryptocurrencies on modern sportsbooks. Any leading crypto betting exchange should have all these on its catalogue.
Analyse Upcoming Matches
The next step is to analyse upcoming matches that are available to bet on. Your analysis should look at the current form of participants, availability or fitness of key players, the level of competition (group stage, knockout, etc), past records, and the venue of the competition (home, away, etc).
These stats are readily available online. However, you should avoid analysis from biased pundits who use statistics to paint a certain agenda. Such analysts pick only stats that favour their argument and leave out the rest.
Place Your Bet
The final step is to place your bet. Select the result that you predict will occur, enter the amount you wish to stake, then click ‘Place Bet’ or it’s equivalent on the sportsbook. At this point, the sportsbook shows you the possible return from your bet.
Always go for the money-line bet for a start. This is a bet on the final outcome of the match. It is not as lucrative as other bets such as over/under, correct score, and first/next team to score. However, it is less risky and appropriate as you acclimatise with the site and the betting experience.
