Sports betting exploded into the mainstream after the Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 2018 and left it to individual states to determine how to legalize and regulate sports betting. Sports fans who want to place wagers now have a number of options, including online casinos and brick-and-mortar establishments. While sports betting is a fun and exciting way to watch a game, it’s important for gamblers to understand how to make smart bets.

Bet with Your Brain, Not Your Heart

Betting with your emotions is tempting but can easily lead to losing money. Remember that when it comes to sports betting, your best bet is always one with the highest risk-to-reward ratio. Avoid placing bets on your favorite team or player and instead bet objectively based on your research and analysis.

Invest Your Time in Meticulous Research

The most effective and rewarding strategy for any sports bettor is exhaustive research. Take the time to analyze team and player statistics, observe player forms and injury reports, and consider the weather conditions of a game. All of these factors can affect the outcome of a game, and the more knowledge you have, the better equipped you will be to make sound betting decisions.

While the majority of bets placed on sports events are moneyline bets, they aren’t the only types of bets available. Many sportsbooks offer an array of prop bets, or proposition bets. These bets are often obscure or tangentially related to the actual game and can include anything from how many songs Usher will sing at halftime to which Kansas City Chiefs star will appear in State Farm ads during the season. Props are great stepping stones for newcomers to sports betting and can lead to big payouts when coupled with a straight bet.

In addition to props, sportsbooks also facilitate a variety of other types of bets, including Over/Under bets. These bets do not depend on which team wins, but rather on the total number of points scored in a match. For example, a team may play an opponent with a combined total of 210.5 points. If the team scores more than that amount, you will win an Over bet; if the team scores less, you will lose a Under bet.

A good rule of thumb for betting on sports is to not risk more than 1% to 5% of your total bankroll on any single bet. This will allow you to withstand a bad day or two while still having enough money to continue placing bets. In addition, it is wise to bet consistently throughout the season, as opposed to sporadicly placing wagers on games you have little interest in. This will improve your odds of winning long-term.