Thick Accent Staff

Do Football Betting Strategies Actually Work?

Betting on football is a lot like supporting your favourite team week in, week out. There will be ups and downs, wins and losses, and the occasional stalemate. Well, unless you are a Man City fan, that is. But then again, some just have all the luck, don’t they?

It can certainly feel that way at times. Every dog has its day, sure, but if you find yourself enviously eyeing up your mates’ winnings as you pull out pocket fluff in front of the barman, the chances are that it might have more to do with strategy than luck. There is plenty of EPL betting advice out there (try here for a great example) that can help you have more lush days in Liverpool than rubbish ones in Rochester. 

Let’s take a quick look at three factors for EPL betting strategies and how they can help you minimise your losses.

Tangibles and Intangibles

The right use of betting strategies can often make the difference. They can give you structure in how you approach your bets, which can help minimise mistakes and the overall chance of losing. Two things to look at in this regard are tangibles and intangibles when betting on soccer, as the Americans like to call it.

Tangibles are things that can physically contribute to the winner of a game, such as a strong defence, prolific striker, and/or a creative midfield. When you compare a team to another, the team with the greater tangibles usually stands the best chance of winning. 

Intangibles are the things that cannot be seen but can also have a major effect on the outcome of a game. Things like squad morale, the weather, and the emergence of players looking close to breakout years can all affect a game. Therefore, they can also affect your bets. 

Take these things into account when putting your bets together.

The Importance of Form

The form of a team can have a huge effect when betting on football. You only have to look back at Leicester City’s momentum throughout their historic 2015/16 campaign for proof of this.

As a team picks up wins against the bigger boys of the league, the team spirit, morale, and belief starts to grow, too. Therefore, you should always consider betting against a team on a six-game winning streak, if both teams are fairly matched. The same applies when betting on a team that is on a big skid. 

Studying team form can often give us answers to questions about our bets. This also applies to the results between two teams and the home and away records of a club. All in all, form often reveals more about a team than we might think, so get studying.

If you need any proof of this, look into how oddsmakers set their prices. 

Value Betting

Do you know the importance of value betting? Well, if you are looking to make an overall profit when betting on the EPL, La Liga – or any other league or tournament in the world for that matter – you should be looking for value bets. 

In basic terms, identifying value is when you find odds that are more favourable than they probably should be. To begin, you should work out the probability of an event happening. You can do this by using an implied probability calculator, or by dividing the number to the right by the sum of both numbers (inhale) before multiplying that number by 100… exhale.

For example, if Liverpool is 2/1 to beat Juventus, you will figure that they have a 33% chance of winning the game. If you believe that Liverpool has a much better chance than roughly 1 in 3 to win, so let’s say 50/50 (EVENS), you have identified value in these odds, so fill your boots.

Final Words

To be more successful with your EPL bets, all you need to do is make a few adjustments. Now, nothing is certain with gambling so don’t think you have found out a secret to riches, but you should definitely see better results when you use your head.

I have but scratched the surface with these three points above. You can begin to improve your win to loss ratio by filling up on valuable EPL betting advice and learning a little more about the right strategies to use when betting on football. 

Then, you can answer for yourself when asked if betting strategies actually work.