Sports betting: Is there any safest way to bet?
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Sports betting is all about weighing up the risks and rewards to decide where to place your money. In most cases, the safest bets are those with the lowest return, usually because the true odds of your bet coming home are the shortest. But it might not always be the case that backing events at the shortest odds is the best value.
There are multiple different types of bets at your disposal when building your betslip, and you should use all of the tools available to you to build bets with the best chance of a return. But if you had to choose, which bets are the safest, and what strategies can you employ to give yourself the best chance of success with your sports betting?
Which is the safest bet?
The safest bet depends on the sport you’re betting on. Generally, the safest bets cover the widest range of possible outcomes. However, this comes at the cost of lower returns, so it’s important to weigh up both the pros and cons here when deciding how to shape your bets.
In football, the safest bet is typically the ‘double chance’ type bet - where you’re backing a win and a draw, or a loss and a draw on the same bet. Odds are quoted for this on both teams, giving you the option to pick a winner or draw in any event. Rather than picking the outright, this bet type accounts for the possibility of a draw, giving you 2/3rds coverage of the potential outcomes. The possible rewards for these bets are lower, but when you combine these with other multiples in accas, for example, you can still amplify your potential winnings from this type of strategy.
Look for bets that cover the most eventualities, while still allowing room for a profit, if you’re looking for the statistically safest bets to place on your betting slip.
Which bet is easiest to win?
Using football as an example again, some of the easiest bets to win are both teams to score, over/under bets and the double chance bet. These are bets that require you to pick the correct general direction, but that stop short of precise predictions. As a general rule, more precision in your betting will pay out a larger win. But note that with greater precision comes a more difficult bet - the safest bets are those that don’t require you to be precise in your outcomes.
No bet is easy, and there is always the chance that a dead-cert comes back to bite you once the action gets underway. Even in these cases, picking the general direction of a result, rather than the specific result, can give you the lowest risk way of betting for a return on your sport of choice.
What is the most successful betting strategy?
Successful betting strategies come in a range of different shapes and sizes. For some people, it’s about betting with the lowest possible risk per bet, but betting over the greatest number of bets. For others, it’s betting on longer odds outcomes with smaller stakes, where one win could lead to a life-changing amount. There are different strategies out there, and it’s worth testing out a few for yourself to see what works best for you.
We recommend strategies that try to control risk, while maximising the potential upside. Multiples with lower odd bets on the same line, or system bets on a few potential outcomes tend to achieve the best of both worlds, but it can get a little complicated to figure out your best bets on any event. Ultimately, it’s up to you to find a strategy that works for you, which is a trial and error process through your own betting activity.
Can you reduce the risks with sports betting?
Yes, you can certainly reduce the risks associated with your sports betting. By betting on lower risk bets, by reducing your bet size, and by controlling your total bet spending, you can reduce the overall risk profile of your sports betting to suit your appetite. But remember that risk and reward go hand in hand, and it requires some risk in most cases to be in with a chance of some reward.
Another good tool you can use for reducing overall risks is cashout. This is where you accept a guaranteed amount to settle your bets early - useful for reducing the overall risks. This does reduce your potential winnings, but the security of a guaranteed win makes this an appealing option for many looking to control their downside risks.
How can you use free bets for guaranteed wins?
Free bets can be used in arbitrage or matched betting scenarios to give you guaranteed wins. This is where you bet for real money on one side of a bet, and use a free bet from another bookmaker to back the other side of the bet. Discrepancies in the odds quoted by different bookmakers can create arbitrage scenarios, where you will win regardless of the outcome.
These opportunities don’t come around too often, and you’ll need to be alert to the numbers to make sure you’ve found an opportunity for a risk free bet. But with the help of promotional free bets, it does become easier to find these opportunities, which allow you to bet for a guaranteed win whatever happens.
The safest bets aren’t always the best bets, and it really does depend on your gambling strategy how you want to structure your betting slip. While there’s much to be said for taking control of the risks posed by your betting, it’s worth remembering that you need some element of risk to deliver the rewards. By managing your bet sizing, and only choosing bets that present a safe, realistic chance of return, you can go a long way to reducing the overall risk profile of your sports betting. But ultimately, betting on sports is almost always risky - you just have to hope for some luck along the way.
More about betting methods :
- Betting exchange: how does it work?
- What is Handicap betting?
- What is Kelly Criterion in sports betting?
- What is Martingale method in sports betting?
- What is the difference between fixed and variable stakes?
- What is a sure bet?
- What is a value bet?
- What is a single bet?
- What is an Accumulator bet?
- How to beat the bookmakers?
- What Is Draw No Bet?
- What is a live sure bet and how to place it?
- Sports betting: should you bet on the small odds?
- What is the Difference Between an Each Way First Goalscorer Bet and an Anytime Goalscorer Bet?
- What is the European Handicap?
- How does Tote betting differ from traditional betting with a bookmaker?
- Sports betting: how to bet without risk?
- Is it possible to bet without losing money?
- What is a Moneyline Bet?
- What is Asian Handicap betting?
- What is Acca Insurance?