If you’re serious about betting on sports, you need to learn a little more about how odds are set. That way, you can be a little less likely to be fooled by the numbers and more inclined to see value in the betting market. You’ll also have a better perspective on what’s expected to happen, which will allow you to find profitable bets on teams and games.
The first step to becoming a smarter sports bettor is to get in-depth knowledge of the league you plan on betting on. This allows you to make more reasonable expectations for how teams and players should perform, which will help you determine if the odds seem too high or low. You can even fine-tune your skills by subscribing to a service like Sharp, which compares teams for profitability on the moneyline, against the spread, and when betting totals (over/under).
When betting on Over/Under, it’s important to remember that the sportsbook sets lines based on their desire to create equal action on both sides of a game, not a prediction of the final score. This means that you can often find lines that are close to your predictions and still be able to profit.
It’s also a good idea to start small and increase your wager size as you become more confident in your abilities. That way, if you do lose a bet, you’ll have less of a financial impact and won’t be tempted to chase your losses by making bigger bets the next week.