What are the best sports to bet on? This is a question that many new bettors have. And it is a really good question. Because sports betting is all about specialization, so if you want to win long term, it’s a great idea to find a profitable sport to focus on.
Of course, there is no single sport that is easier to bet on than others. It all depends on your own circumstances – knowledge is king. However, some sports are great because of the volume of games. And then there are some sports where the bookies often have flawed lines that can be explored.
Here is an overview of the best and easiest sports to bet on for most players.
Football (soccer)
Football, or soccer, whatever we want to call it, is the best sport to bet on.
The reason is simple – it is the most popular sport in the world, and there’s always action somewhere. You can find matches any day of the week. Almost all bookmakers cover football leagues around the world, so you will never lack any options.
It is also the sport with the highest limits. You can bet huge amounts on the main football leagues in Europe. The best bookmakers also have great odds on football. When you bet Asian handicaps or over/under lines, the bookie margin is very slim, so you only need an edge of a few percentages to make a profit.
There is plenty of data and stats in football. When it comes to the main leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, etc.) you can find very detailed information. This is useful since we need to do our research as bettors.
Specialization in the lower league is where you can really make a profit. If you know a lot about the football teams in your league, you might have knowledge that the bookmakers and the general market don’t have. This is a big advantage, and in a major sport like football, it definitely makes sense to specialize in certain leagues.
Variance can be cruel in football, so you will need to keep your stakes low. We recommend around 1% of your bankroll per bet. Or, you can follow the Kelly Criterion at 10-25%.
The best place to bet on football is Sportmarket. It’s a bet broker where you will find the highest odds on the market without any personal limits.
Tennis
The big tennis tournaments are not easy to bet. Usually, the odds will be pretty accurate. But if you have some in-depth knowledge, it is possible to gain a profit from ATP and WTA, especially if you spot flawed early lines, or if you bet live.
However, the best tennis matches to bet are the ones that don’t get as much attention. The ITF tournaments are a goldmine if you know a lot about the players.
Tennis matches are quite simple in the way that it is always one player against another (or one pair against another, in case of a doubles match). That simplifies things when you have to estimate the probabilities.
Above all else, the bookmakers and the exchanges typically have really great odds on tennis matches. Overall, it is a great sport to bet on.
Basketball
Basketball is an amazing sport to bet on in the winter and during the spring.
There are NBA games almost every day during this time, not to forget the NCAAB games. With the high amount of games, it can be a difficult task for the bookies to provide proper odds. If you spot value early, you can definitely succeed in NBA betting.
Once again, it’s all about knowledge and about following the team news.
Odds are usually quite high on basketball, especially the NBA where you can find lines at the best sportsbooks with margins as low as 2%.
Limits are also high, so you can stake great amounts when betting the major games.
Aside from betting on the NBA, you can also try to focus on the Euroleague or other tournaments around the world.
Cloudbet has awesome lines for basketball betting, and it is a sportsbook we highly recommend.
Motorsports
A hidden gem is motorsports.
Formula One can be particularly profitable. It is a sport where the bookmakers often misjudge probabilities, which result in great odds that players can take advantage of.
There’s usually not much value in betting on pole position and race winner.
The big value is usually found in the driver matchup.
Bookmakers will usually have a list of 10-20 matchups between different drivers where you have to select the one that you think will finish ahead. These lines are very flawed early on, especially prior to qualifying, so if you watch Formula One and you know a lot about each driver’s strength and weaknesses, and you have knowledge about each track and how it suits the cars, betting on motorsports can also be a legitimate goldmine.
Pinnacle and SBO have great lines in Formula One matchup. So does Cloudbet, and Cloudbet also has frequent odds in other motorsports series.
We recommend you to read our Formula One betting guide for more information on how to be profitable in this sport.
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It’s generally hard to make a list of the best sports to bet on because it ultimately depends on your own knowledge. But if you’re starting from zero and you want to find a new sport to focus on, the four mentioned above are some great candidates.
Football (soccer) will give you matches to bet on every single day. It is the most popular sport in the world, and there’s always action somewhere. It is also the sport with the highest odds and the lowest margin for the bookie (when you bet Asian lines and totals).
Tennis is great if you like individual sports, and it is not too difficult to get an edge in lower-ranked matches. If you’re really good, you can even specialize in the top tennis tournaments and bet some high stakes.
Basketball is another sport with high odds, high limits and frequent matches.
Motorsports, especially Formula 1, is an area where the bookies are often wrong in their opening odds. If you watch the races, you will quickly spot great betting opportunities.
No matter which sport you choose to focus on – we wish you good luck, and feel free to read our other articles if you want to improve your skills.