For anyone just starting out with online betting, the first rule is to always bet on the sport you know the most about. It is a lot easier to research the teams, the players, the coaches, and the events for a sport you are passionate about and watch regularly.
However, if you want to make a decent profit, sometimes you have to branch out and bet on niche sports. Here is why:
Niche Sports Offer Better Odds
The majority of bettors place bets on just a handful of popular sports. Top sports like Football/Soccer, Basketball, Baseball, Horseracing, Tennis, American Football, and Boxing draw hundreds of thousands of bets per day, even on smaller matches or games. Bookmakers use this to their advantage and post low odds since they know people will still be betting.
On the other hand, niche sports like Bandy, Squash, or Wrestling don’t get as many bets, even on popular markets. Bookmakers will try and draw in bettors by posting higher odds. Higher odds mean bigger profits.
Picking the Right Sport
Before you go an immerse yourself in the world of niche sports at Aussie sports betting sites, the first step is figuring out where to start. There are dozens of niche sports to choose from, including eSports, Chess, Gaelic sports, Darts, Hurling, Snooker, and certain Athletic events. A good idea is to choose a sport that is similar to those you are already interested in. For example, if you love Ice Hockey, you may want to try betting on Bandy, Curling, Speed Skating or Tobogganing.
Becoming an Expert
Once you have chosen a sport, you need to find out as much about the sport as possible. People follow Football for years, they grow up playing Football, they go to live matches, they know what their favourite players Tweet every week, and they know their salaries, their wives’ names, and the names of their children.
The more you know about the sport, the players, the coaches, the teams, the better. Research past games, former champions, how the sport has changed, new technologies, influences and major upsets. All of this information should be available when it comes time to make a prediction.
Avoiding Popular Markets
Instead of putting your time and effort into learning multiple niche sports, stick to one sport and try betting on the more obscure markets. If you do your research, you will find that most bettors stick to the top 5 markets such as outright winner, over/under, half-time, or handicap. Again, bookmakers know this is the case and post lower odds on these markets.
If you want to find the best odds possible, you will have to look at the less obvious markets. This works for both popular and niche sports. Consider markets like first player to score, total number of goals in the first half, number of cards given, or defence/offence possession ratios. However, these markets are not popular for a reason. It may take some time to figure out accurate prediction methods, but it would be worth the effort in the end.