How to become a winner!

1: Choose the right bookmaker

It is important that you choose a bookmaker that suits your needs and preferences. The bookmaker has to offer odds on the sports and leagues you know something about. Some bookmakers don’t offer odds on your very specific area so there is no reason to bet with those. There are so many important factors you have to consider when choosing a bookmaker but the most basic factor is that they of course have to offer odds on objects where you think you have an edge. In addition to this you have to stay away from the dodgy bookmakers – and there is plenty of those! If you choose to sign up with a bookmaker that we promote you are safe. We only promote the best of the best so rest assured that we won’t allow any dodgy bookmakers as little as one positive word on our site!

2: Bet with more than one bookmaker

If you sign up with more than one bookmaker you will eventually find it easier to always find the best odds. There is no reason to place a bet with your favorite bookmaker if the odds aren’t any good. If your portfolio of bookmakers consists of a betting exchange – primarily Betfair – and a couple of bookmaker you are on the right track. 3-4 different operators should be fine for most betters.  

3: Keep track of your betting  

Keeping track of your bets is important simply because we all learn from our mistakes. For instance if you realize that you have no clue whatsoever about tennis and you lose over and over again you have to stop betting on tennis of course. It sounds a bit silly and obvious to mention it but fact is that many of us keep betting on stuff that we continuously lose on. In order to avoid that we need to pinpoint the sports and objects we don’t make a profit on – and also those we are good at of course – and that is why you have to keep track of your betting activity and patterns.  

4: Understand the principles behind value betting

Betting is not only about picking the winners. In the long run you have to choose the odds where you will find some value. There is no idea in placing lots of bets on objects where there is no value compared to the given odds. We recommend that you read our article about value betting here. 

5: Discipline is necessary

Discipline is one of the very most important skills that you have to develop if you want to be a successful better. Without discipline EVERYONE will lose – no matter how talented they are and how good they are at picking winners. Discipline is the thing that prevents you from tilting and betting without thinking clearly. You have to be disciplined when choosing your objects, odds and stakes and it’s also an important part of the money management (see below).

6: Money management

Money management is part of the discipline concept. Money management is about adjusting the size of your bets – the stakes - according to your total bank roll. Take a look at our article about money management here. Remember that bad money management creates more losing players than terrible bets.

7: Gather information

Try to gather as much information as possible about the match/object before you have a bet on it. Knowing everything about the teams or objects is really the only way you can get an edge over the market. Remember that bookmakers offer odds on thousands of objects each week so of course they make plenty of mistakes and you have to find these through thorough investigations. The internet is a fantastic tool to get the required information and you will definitely be better off if you gather as much information as possible. Try to build a network of serious betters who you know and trust and are serious about their betting. Sharing knowledge and tips can be a very good way to start your betting career until you feel you are 100% comfortable with the way the whole betting world works.

8: Don’t bet for more than you can afford to lose

If you are betting for more than you can afford to lose you will eventually end up losing the whole thing. You won’t think properly like you are supposed to and your bet selection will not be good. If you are winning don’t think you are unbeatable. Many pros have felt invincible just to see themselves quickly lose all of their money on a bad streak shortly after. 

9: Explore the advantages of an e-wallet

An e-wallet allows users to make electronic transactions on the internet. It works as the service provider between you and the bookmakers. There are several advantages of using an e-wallet. They are much cheaper to use than traditional credit cards, the payments are real-time, they are very safe to use and you will also very often get a special bonus if you use an e-wallet. The two most popular e-wallets are Neteller and Moneybookers. More than 90% of all bookmakers and poker rooms offer these payment options and we can only recommend you to try them out. Read more about Neteller and Moneybookers.

10: Have patience

A handful of winning bets won’t make you an expert. There aren’t many rookies that are successful when they start betting so it’s important that you give yourself the time to become a better and more experienced better. It’s a good idea to keep the stakes low to begin with while you are still learning the game. When you have gained more experience and done most of the mistakes you are better prepared as a better.

11: Take your losses

Losses are inevitable. Your focus has to be on reducing the losses to an absolute minimum and learn from your mistakes. A loss is much easier to live with if you learn from it. If you later on find out that you have learned from the loss it is no longer a loss as such but just an expense.

12: Be creative

Try out new sports and betting objects. Try betting with an exchange – like Betfair - instead of a traditional bookmaker. It is important that you grow as a better and learn new things. Who knows – maybe your skills are in a completely different sport than the one you thought it would be. Remember to focus on the stuff you know about but always be open for new possibilities.

13: Stick to singles

Maybe it’s not the one and only truth that you can only make a profit when betting on singles but sticking to singles betting is a very good strategy for sure. Singles betting is what the bookmakers fear and remember that the pay-out percentage is dropping like a stone when you accumulate several odds.

14: Stay focused

Take a break if you need it. If you have had a losing streak it can be very good to take a break and think about the mistakes you did. Clear your mind and get rid of the negative thoughts. Losses have a negative influence on people and if you want to get back on track you have to think clearly. If you are constantly betting you risk that the bets end up as just numbers on the screen and that is dangerous. It is often a very good idea to ask yourself if you would place the same bet if you had the cash in your hands. Also don’t chase the losses! A bet always have to be isolated and independent from previous bets. Chasing losses is one of the most common mistakes so avoid it by any means.

15: Be skeptical

Don’t trust the so-called experts blindly. Get inspiration from experts and consider insider tips but be skeptical to those. You have to see the value in all your bets and remember it’s your money. In the long run you won’t make a profit if you always are betting what others are betting and you won’t become experienced by following others blindly.