If you talk to bettors, most have their own sports betting strategy on how to make money in sports betting. Many betting strategies on the Internet today are outdated and useless, but some are genuinely helpful.
The betting strategy outlined below is of the helpful variety, and while we can't promise they'll transform you overnight into a winning bettor, it's a great start toward you learning how to get better at sports betting. I say that confidently because many of the tips on this page are right from the toolbox of professional bettors who have learned how to bet on sports and win.
Can you make money from sports betting? Yes, but it's not as simple as searching, "How to be good at sports betting," and most people fail on the journey, which is a lot harder than it looks. The sports betting tips and tricks in this article are foundational pieces to being a winning bettor.
Beginner Tips For Sports Betting
First, I'll start with some basic betting strategies for beginners seeking tips for sports betting. Toward the bottom of the page is the juicy stuff where you'll find sports betting strategies for more advanced bettors who have been wagering for a while and are looking for an edge.
Manage your Bankroll
Be intentional about how you spend your sports betting bankroll and track every dollar spent. The data from tracking your bets can help you find blind spots and make adjustments as you go. For instance, you may be really effective at betting MLB games, but your MLB parlays might be where you're losing money.
Betting more than 5% of your bankroll on any one bet is frowned upon by professional bettors, as is erratically changing the unit size of each bet. By intentionally choosing a consistent unit size, you are helping protect your bankroll from the inevitable cold spell that all serious bettors will feel at some point.
The video below is a great resource for new bettors who want to understand bankroll management.
Don't Sleep on the Moneyline
Moneyline betting is perfect for first-time bettors because you simply pick a winning team. Below is an example:
LSU Tigers (-250) vs Auburn Tigers (+210)
The favorite, LSU in this case, is identified by the negative sign (-). The underdog, Auburn, is identified by the plus sign (+). This means that LSU is favored to win the game and Auburn is the underdog.Since Auburn is less likely to win, their payout is higher than LSU's if it secures the victory. Our how to read sports odds page explains the payouts further.
Below are some sports betting tips when betting moneylines:
- Consider rest advantages. Is one NFL team off a bye? An NBA squad playing back-to-backs? Is your starting NHL goalie fresh?
- Beware of injuries. There's nothing worse than putting in an MLB bet and later learning the cleanup hitter is out of the lineup nursing an injury you were unaware of.
- Use our free MLB Underdog report, which lets you know which dogs have been cashing this season.
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Learning the Point Spread
Point spread betting involves more than picking a winner. Bettors choose which team will win by a margin set by oddsmakers.The favorite must win by more than the set points to cover the spread, while the underdog can win outright or lose by fewer than the spread margin.
For example:
Kansas City Chiefs -4.5 (-110) vs Denver Broncos +4.5 (-110)
The Chiefs are the 4.5-point favorite and would need to win by five or more points. The Broncos are the 4.5-point underdog and would need to win or not lose by more than four points.
Below are some betting strategies when betting point spreads:
- Investigate how each team has done recently ATS (Against The Spread). You're welcome to use our free NBA ATS standings and NFL ATS standings.
- Bet games before the spreads have been sharpened by pros
- Beware of key numbers like -3 and -7 in the NFL. There's a huge difference between a spread of -2.5 and -3 or +7 and +7.5.
Betting the Total (Over/Under)
Unlike point spread and moneyline bettors, those betting totals don't care who wins the game; they just root for offense or defense.For example, in an MLB game, over bettors cheer for home runs, while under bettors in an NFL game prefer punts and missed field goals.
Below are tips for some of the best betting strategies when betting totals:
- Wind blowing in at an MLB game is great for the Under, while wind blowing out helps over bettors
- Football betting strategy: Bad weather, and especially winds over 20 MPH, can make football unders more likely
- Beware of injuries to offensive stars. Make sure the big bats are in the lineup, or an NBA star isn't taking the night off
- When betting college basketball totals, the tempo metric at KenPom.com is very useful
- Beware of key numbers like 41, 43, and 47 in the NFL
Avg. Point Total by Sport
| Sport | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| NFL | 43.5 points | 45.8 points |
| NBA | 228.4 points | 227.4 points |
| NHL | 6.2 goals | 6.02 goals |
| MLB | 9.2 runs | 8.6 runs |
Specialize in a niche Sport
If you're new to betting, try specializing in one sport. The reason? You won't spread yourself too thin by trying to bet on many sports at the same time. Narrowing your focus can give you a betting edge since you're not researching every game played and putting money on everything. The more niche the sport, the better, because it's tough to outsmart an NFL oddsmaker, but you might know more about eSports or handball than them.
Try Pick Service Sites
For a new bettor, picking service providers can be very useful, but beware that there are a lot of scams and bad services out there. We've done some heavy lifting for you and helped you identify some trusted pick service providers that offer good customer service and thoughtful rationale for each pick they recommend. Hopefully, you can learn some betting strategy from the pick service handicappers as you receive their picks.
Also, try our free NBA Computer Picks, NFL Computer Picks, MLB Computer Picks, NHL Computer Picks, NCAA Basketball Computer Picks, NCAA Football Computer picks.
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The DON'TS
The video below from "Chalk Ninja," gives a great breakdown of the biggest mistakes made by sports bettors. Check it out before you place your first bet, or if you're already betting, see if you're currently making any of these common sports betting errors.
Advanced Betting Strategies
Every bettor wants to learn how to win sports betting wagers, and we hope the sports betting strategies below are a great spark for you. Read these sports strategies carefully, and remember that combining strategies can be more effective than just one betting strategy alone.
Arbitrage betting
The safest sports bets and the best way to bet on sports involves from a risk-reward standpoint, is arbitrage betting. If the Thunder and Celtics were playing and one sportsbook offered you +105 odds on the Thunder while another offered you +110 odds on the Celtics, you could bet equal money on both sides and be guaranteed a chance to win. This would be a form of arbitrage betting.
Believe it or not, there are regularly win-win opportunities like this out there, and the Outlier Pro app helps you identify them and explains how much to wager on both sides to maximize your advantage.
Some professional bettors strictly make a living with arbitrage wagers and feel it's the best way to sports bet, but the downside is that it requires patience, acting quickly before lines move, and a willingness to stay glued to your phone.
Make your own Lines
Instead of letting sportsbooks dictate to you what a point spread or total is, do research first and come up with your own number before checking to see where oddsmakers landed.
For instance, on Sunday night, when many sportsbooks release their NFL point spreads for the following week, pick out a game, analyze the hell out of it, and then write down what you think the spread should be.
If you think the spread should be Eagles -10.5 vs Dallas and the bookmakers made it Eagles -7, you should be asking why your number is so far off. Investigate further and check for blind spots. If, after further investigation, you think the number should be -10.5, then the Eagles -7 is a wise bet.
Watch Line Movement
Watching how lines move can give you more information to bet with. Oddsmakers will typically move lines because of new information (think a goaltender sustaining an injury), sharp money, liability (if most of the handle is on one side), or because a different book moved their line.
It's often pretty clear if new information moved a line. A team's odds to win a game will understandably take a hit if a starting quarterback is ruled out due to injury, for instance. Liability and sharp money can be hard to track if you're only looking at sportsbooks through their apps, but you can find handle and ticket percentages for some sportsbooks on X and through other sports betting apps. Oddsmakers will often move the line to make the opposing side look more favorable to bet on if the majority of the handle is on one team.
It's also important to track which way a line moves. If betting percentages show a lot of tickets on one side and the line moves to encourage betting on that side, it's likely because sharp money is on the side with less money. You'll want to keep an eye on when lines move, too. The earlier a line moves relative to a game starting, the more likely it is to be in reaction to sharp money since recreational bettors often wait until closer to the start of the contest before placing wagers.
Always Shop Around
If you are betting with one sportsbook you're loyal to, you're doing it wrong. There's a reason that professional bettors have more sports betting accounts than Tom Brady has Super Bowl rings.
Having multiple betting apps allows you to "line shop" for the best point spread or the lowest vigorish on your bet. The best sportsbooks could have four different point spreads and three different totals for the same college basketball game, and you want the opportunity to grab the best one for each bet you make.
Registering for multiple sportsbooks also allows you to cash in on various welcome bonuses and promotions.
We've vetted the sportsbooks below, and they're a great place to start if you want to increase your number of sportsbooks.
| Top Operators | Current Bonus | Promo Code | Bonus Type | Bonus Amount | Wagering Period | Minimum Deposit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Image  | Bet $5 Get $150 in Bonus Bets If Your Bet Wins | No Code Needed | Bet and Get | $150 | 14 Days | $10 |
Image  | $1500 First Bet Offer | SHARKBONUS1500 | Bet Insurance | Up to $1500 | 7 Days | $10 |
Image  | Bet $1, Double Your Winnings Your Next 20 Bets | SHARKBONUS1000 | Double Your Winnings | Up to $500 | 30 Days | $10 |
Image  | Bonus is not available in your region | No Code Needed | Bet and Get | $200 | 7 Days | $10 |
Image  | Bet $5 Get $200 + 3 months NBA Pass | No Code Needed | Bet and Get | $200 | 7 Days | $5 |
Image  | Bonus is not available in your region | No Code Needed | Bet and Get | $150 | 7 Days | $10 |
Chasing Steam
This strategy comes with a couple of big caveats, so don't blindly follow this strategy with every bet.
"Chasing steam" or "following the money" involves monitoring line movement closely to see which way sharp bettors are moving a line and essentially betting that number with the assumption that it's a good price if wise guys are moving it.
It's important to understand why a line is moving. If an NFL game is moving 2 points Monday morning, there's a good chance that's because of respected money. If HEADS went from -110 to -105 for a coin toss bet on the Super Bowl, that's not sharp action or inside information causing the move.
Also, if you're going to chase steam, don't make your bet at a sportsbook after the line has adjusted. Instead, identify a slow-moving sportsbook where the line hasn't moved yet and grab a better number before it adjusts. Yet another reason why it's important to have multiple sportsbooks.
Fade the Public
A tried and true sports betting strategy is fading the public. This strategy is most effective in games with a lot of betting volume, like NFL regular-season games or March Madness contests.
Of course, you can't fade the public unless you know what the public is betting, and tools like betting splits or money percentages show you exactly what percentage of bets and dollars are bet on a particular team. Betting splits help you identify "Pros vs Joes" games where most of the public is on one side and most professional bettors are on the other.
The premise behind fading the public is that the public typically loses long-term (hence sportsbooks being profitable), so if you fade the public consistently, you'll win more often. There's more nuance to fading the public effectively so check out our guide to fading the public.
Find +EV Bets
Would you bet a coin toss at +120 odds? You should answer yes because +120 odds on an event with a 50/50 chance of winning presents positive expected value (+EV). The best sports betting strategy involves consistently finding +EV bets.
Calculating +EV with sports betting is a little more complicated because of different variables, and it's a lot harder to calculate a team's chance of actually winning compared to a coin toss. Prop Professor is a fantastic tool that calculates +EV bets in the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB for you.
Use Analytic Sites
For College Basketball bettors, websites like KenPom.com and BartTorvik.com are invaluable. NBA bettors feel the same way about CleaningTheGlass.com, and MLB bettors glean a lot from FanGraphs.com.
We always recommend having more than one source of information for your bets, but these resources will put you light-years ahead of beginner bettors.
Get Ahead of News
Did a star quarterback just get hurt or traded? Does the latest weather report suggest high winds? Is there a flu going around the locker room? Sports betting occasionally allows us to hear news and put a bet in before oddsmakers have a chance to adjust. This is a great way to get closing line value and potentially even create a "middle" betting opportunity.
It's getting harder to beat oddsmakers to the punch these days, but setting alerts on your phone for key sports news websites and X accounts helps. Just make sure the line hasn't already moved before you bet because any value may have already been sucked out of the wager by the adjusted line.
Bet the Middle
Betting the middle, or middling, is a sports betting strategy that is successful when two wagers win despite seeming to conflict with one another. For example, you'd hit the middle if you bet OVER 46 points and UNDER 48 points in the same game and the game finished with a 47-point total. You'll need to take advantage of line movement or different sportsbooks to bet the middle, as no sportsbook is going to offer a profitable middling opportunity when they first post lines and odds.
You can bet the middle as a way to hedge on a futures bet, or with more standard wagers when you find middling chances. Using middling to hedge can lead you to winning both your original and middle bet if things play out properly. For example, if you had a futures bet on a team to win the Super Bowl and that team was the favorite in the big game, you could place a bet on the opposing underdog team to cover the spread. It won't be as profitable if that 'dog wins outright, but you'll hit the middle if your futures team wins and the 'dog covers.
While you can look for middling opportunities by canvassing different sportsbooks, you can also use services like Outlier to help you find middling opportunities across plenty of different sports.
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