Bet at the Right Time
When getting involved with sports betting, the first, and possibly the most important aspect is learning to bet at the right time. What does this mean? Does it matter when you bet? To get the most for your dollar, it is vital to make the sports bet at the right time.
When betting on baseball, you may have to decide how much you are going to bet, which side of the bet you are going to take, but you should strongly consider when you are going to place your bet. From the time the line is opened up, until the very first pitch, the line could and a lot of times does, change drastically. If you bet at the right time, your winnings could increase considerably.
When the virgin line comes out, a lot of bettors, usually the inexperienced ones that are looking to win a grand slam, will place money on whatever side they prefer. As the game gets closer, the line moves whichever direction. The closer the start of the game gets, the more information you can acquire on the game. The starting catcher may have been scratched five minutes ago, and the line has yet to acknowledge this. Remember, it is the bookmaker’s job to place the closest possible line out there. They want 50/50 money coming in on both sides.
In sports betting, the lines typically will be placed with all point spread lines at -110, unless a specific book has a "no juice special" or a "half juice special". The "juice" is the money the sportsbook takes from you for making the bet. When the line is out there and it begins to move the juice up to -115, or -120, or even -125, means the line is typically ready to move. For example the Chicago Bulls started at -2.5 (-110). Three minutes after the line, the Chicago Bulls are -2.5(-120). This means enough money has come in on the Bulls to move the line to 3 points very soon. One bet may nail the line up to three, but one big bet the other way can send it back down to -115, or even -110.
Yes, it is very difficult to bet at the right time. It takes time, and it takes experience. Sure, you may think you are making the bet at the right time, and it may blow up in your face. Learn from it. Do your homework, study the team, and understand why the mistake happened. Next time you are ready to make a bet on that team, or any team, be sure to think about it, and decide if the bet is being made at the right time.
Remember, sports betting is not easy. If it was, everyone would do it, and books would shut down. There is a reason these businesses continue to stay open. Be smart and make your bets at the right time. There is no hurry to make a bet. When looking at the bet, there is a time the action is scheduled to start, you have all the way up to that point to make the smartest decision, and maybe, just maybe, you will find valuable information that will win you the bet!
