'Common' sense would imply that everyone has it, being 'common', right? Sometimes it's useful
to refresh your mind of some basic principles. Before you start, consider
some of the following ideas to ensure that you keep common
sense in the forefront of your mind when betting. It's quite easy to get carried away and
end up losing money if you're not careful, afterall if it was that easy to win from the bookies
we'd all be millionnaires and the bookies would go bust! So, keep your wits about you through considering
the following tips.
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Don't bet more than you can afford to lose
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It's a bit of an age old cliche, but it's a correct one. Don't place down more than you can afford to lose,
and don't assume anything. Don't fall foul of thinking that you can afford to lose £10, but place £20
down thinking that Man United will definitely beat Charlton at home. You may end up losing the lot
if you have a bad week.
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| Don't have just one online bookie account, open several |
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Bookies offer fairly similar odds on your average game. However, sometimes odds will slightly differ,
with a bookie thinking that a game is not as one sided as another bookie thinks. It's important for you to be able to shop around
effectively and get the best odds possible. Why bet on games with odds that are less than you can get
elsewhere? It could mean a big difference in winnings even between odds of 14/1 and 16/1 between bookies if
you get a few winners in a permutation such as a Lucky 15.
By opening several accounts you'll also be able to take advantage of many incentives offered between bookies, such as
free bets. Check out our bookies comparison
to review some of the more popular online bookies.
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| Favourites sometimes lose! Upsets happen |
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How many times in the history of sport have we seen an underdog take the lead, or
beat a favourite? You've got to play your cards right and cover yourself where possible. Check out our
strategies page and our section on spotting value to see how you can
ensure you cater for the unbelievable! Don't assume you've picked a sure-fire winner and place more
than you can afford to lose.
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| Don't dilute your stake too much |
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Permutation bets like a Goliath can dilute your stake so much
that if you get only 1 or 2 winners out of 7 or 8 outcomes, you can still come out losing. You've
got to play the percentages game.
For example, if you're predicting 8 correct scores, to achieve
2 correct is doing pretty well, and more than this would be excellent. So, when you look at it
a permutation that dilutes your stake so much that you've got to have an exceptional week to break
even is sometimes not worth it.
Check out our calculators, strategies,
and our bet types sections to learn more about how to choose the strategies and permutations
that best suit you, plus calculate your potential winnings before you start. It's essential you weigh up
your potential winnings or losses before you place your stakes.
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| Have a strategy, or mix of strategies |
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Strategy is one of the most important considerations when betting. Bookies make their money out
of people who just have the odd bet once in a while on their favourite team to win, and don't count their
winnings or losses.
People sometimes
win, sometimes lose, but overall they're just having the odd flutter without thinking about it
and the 'bookie will always win' as the saying goes.
Take a look at our strategies
page. It explains a range of ideas you might want to consider, including how to cover yourself for those
times where you could potentially lose, how to bet on a mix of long-shots and more likely bets, and even guaranteed winners -
commonly called 'arbitrage'. You'll also get some ideas on how to look for value - the bookies price
odds according to what they think will happen. Your task is to out-wit them on those games where they've
been too generous on the odds for a team, effectively 'spotting the value'.
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| Keep track of your wins and losses |
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Keeping track of your winnings and losses is very important. If you just bet each week and write
off the losses you'll soon find yourself having bet too much and lost too much.
If you keep tally on
what you're staking and winning you'll be able to adjust your strategy to be more liberal or conservative.
For example, if you've had a good week of winners, and are £30 up, perhaps you can then afford to take a
bigger risk on the next game you bet on. The bigger risks return the bigger rewards. If you're down then perhaps
you need to adopt a strategy that is conservative and claws back losses gradually without exposing yourself too
much.
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