Top Tips for Football Betting Success

Jamie Casey

August 18th, 2020

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Betting on football might be massively popular, but can you really make money out of it? Here are the top five tips on how to put together a strategy for football betting success.

1. Keep Your Discipline

The golden rule of gambling in general is that you should only wager what you can afford to lose – this applies to football betting too. Just like the players on the pitch, you need to keep your discipline and not lose your head when things are not going your way.

If you're on a bad run it can be very tempting to start placing big bets in order to win back the money you've lost (known as the Martingale System), but this strategy rarely works out and is more likely to lead to even bigger losses.

Chasing losses is one of the most common mistakes that amateur bettors make – and one that the bookmakers make a lot of money from. It's far better to be patient and build up your funds again gradually through smaller, safer bets.

2. Take Advantage of Bonus Offers

With so much competition in the betting industry these days, companies are desperate for your business and offer some great promotions and bonuses to encourage you to bet with them. All major betting sites offer bonuses for new customers, normally in the form of free bets, but as well as these standard new customer offers they may put on even better promotions around specific events.

You can sometimes get ridiculously enhanced odds on outcomes that have a good chance of winning, so take advantage of these offers and sign up with a few different online bookies. Once you have signed up, they will work hard to keep you interested too, with daily specials and attractive promotions around major events like the World Cup or the start of the new Premier League season.

Some of these promotions offer great value or at least very little risk, so take them while you can get them. At the same time, do not automatically jump on every promotion out there. Consider how good the value is; while many of these promotions are almost free money, sometimes there is a good reason why the bookies will offer enhanced odds on a certain outcome, so be selective.

3. Shop Around

New customer bonuses are just one reason why it pays to shop around when you are betting on football. With so much choice available, why restrict yourself to one or two bookies? There's no room for loyalty if you want to maximise your winnings and make serious money out of football betting.

Odds on certain markets will often vary quite significantly between different bookmakers; before placing your bet, check if you can get better value elsewhere. Odds are constantly changing too, so it's good idea to do some research and be aware of trends.

4. Do Your Research

Like anything, it takes time and effort to achieve regular success in football betting. While recreational gamblers might get lucky now and again with long shots, it's research and knowledge that separates amateurs from professionals.

Bookmakers have a huge wealth of resources and stats at their disposal nowadays, so you need to arm yourself by watching matches and reading up on form and team news if you want to beat them. The more you know about what you're betting on, the more likely you are to make the right prediction.

It's also helpful to use any specialist knowledge you might have. The bookies tend to be very savvy when it comes to the major leagues, but they can sometimes be a little negligent when it comes to lower or more obscure leagues. If you follow a team that plays in one of these leagues, or you have a lot of knowledge about a particular foreign league, you may be able to use this knowledge to your advantage.

5. Keep a Record

Very few punters keep records of their betting, but if you're betting regularly with lots of different bookmakers it's advisable to do so. Keeping a record of your betting activity can help you to keep track of how much you're winning and losing, and also identify which types of bets you're having more success with.

If you have online accounts with bookmakers, they will show you your betting history, which you can easily keep track of in a simple spreadsheet. Following these tips will give you the best odds in your football betting.

You may go through bad runs and lose along the way, but with time, research and sound judgement, you can enjoy long-term success.