Betting Strategies and Guides
Having a betting strategy is the foundation of your betting success. You don’t need to be an expert to bet on sports successfully, but you should understand the basics of the respective sport and need the right strategies. While bets on most sports including Esports have some similarities there are certain tips you might want to consider. Our comprehensive guides help to master betting strategies and to bet like a pro. From Rugby to Esports to Lotto, we have you covered.
Betting Terms Explained
Starting with online betting might be a bit overwhelming. The betting world is full of betting terms and vary per sports markets. We help you get started by explaining you the most common betting terms in our beginner’s guide.
Compare Bookmaker Odds
The betting odds indicate how likely an event is to happen (probability) and therefore help you to calculate how much you will win from a successful bet. Hence an understanding about how betting odd work is essential to successful online betting. The odds represent the ratio between the stake of the bookmaker on one side and the bettor on the other side.
With your bet you predict the outcome of a certain event. If you predict correctly you win.
While we all have a favourite bookmaker it makes sense to compare odds to really get the best odds on your chosen event. Different bookmakers apply different margins which vary quite a bit.
Betting odds formats: Fractional odds vs Decimal odds
There are different methods of stating odds that most sports betting sites support.
Fractional odds are displayed as two numbers separated by a trailing slash, such as 6/1 (six-to-one). The probability is then calculated as: probability (%) = Y / (X+Y). Here are a few examples for a better understanding:
- 9/1 = 1/(9+1) = 0.10 -> there is a 10% chance that the event happens
- 4/1 = 1/(4+1) = 0.20 -> there is a 20% chance that the event happens
- 1/1 = 1/(1+1) = 0.50 -> there is a 50% chance that the event happens
- 1/4 = 4/(1+4) = 0.80 -> there is a 80% chance that the event happens
Fractional betting odds help you to calculate how much you will win if you place a bet. For the above examples this means:
- 9/1 -> for every R1 you bet, you will win R9
- 4/1 -> for every R1 you bet, you will win R4
- 1/1 -> for every R1 you bet, you will win R1
- 1/4 -> for every R4 you bet, you will win R1
Decimal odds are becoming more and more poplar due to their simplicity. In addition they also take not only the potential winnings but also the stake in account. Therefore winnings are calculated as: winnings = (odds * stake) – stake. Below a few examples:
- 9.0 can be calculated as (9.0 * R10 stake) – R10 stake = R80 winnings.
- 4.0 can be calculated as (4.0 * R10 stake) – R10 stake = R30 winnings.
- 2.5 can be calculated as (2.5 * R10 stake) – R10 stake = R15 winnings.
Both fractional odds and decimal odds are quite common across all South African bookmakers and they allow you swap between both betting odds formats.
Choose the right online betting site for you
You have decided what you want to bet on and familiarised yourselves with betting strategies and decided on your own one. Great, then now is the time to put your betting strategy to the test.
One common question is always: “Which bookmaker should I bet with”? With a lot of choice available, picking the best online bookmaker can be difficult. At the end it all depends on your personal preferences. Do you like the look and feel of the site? Would you prefer betting through an app? What payment method(s) do you have available. Is your chosen sports market available and how competitive are the betting odds? Therefore, do your research and compare betting sites. With our best betting sites listing we help you to make an informed decision.