Sports Betting Strategy: 3 Insights for Smarter Wagers

Every sports bettor wants to have the best sports betting strategy. Unfortunately, many bettors may think they already have it and can’t lose, but then get a rude awakening.

When you see the NFL odds come out every week, how do you approach it? These are three helpful sports betting tips for you.

1. Pay Attention to Trends

Now, this advice does not mean that you should place your bets religiously on team trends, but you should keep them in mind before you consider making your bet. Sometimes, these trends can help guide you to a bet that you may not have considered.

Let’s use last week as an example. One of the Week 10 games, the Vikings at Chargers, had a very tight line, with the Chargers favored by less than three points.

Some bettors may have been torn on what to do, but one crucial trend going into that game was that the Vikings were 3-0 as underdogs ATS this season and 2-0 as road underdogs ATS. That may have helped you pick the Vikings, and in that case, you would have won your bet.

Take a look at those types of trends for Week 11 games to see if anything jumps out at you.

2. Head Over Heart

One of the most challenging things about becoming a bettor rather than a fan is that sometimes, you need to put your fandom aside to make the best bet for yourself. There are casual gamblers out there that may throw $20 on their favorite team to support them, but in reality, they may be burning money in some situations.

This year, the Pittsburgh Steelers could be an excellent example of this. They have one of the largest fan bases in the NFL, yet throughout the 2021 season, Pittsburgh has been a bad team to back ATS.

The Steelers have just a 3-6 record ATS, and despite not losing in their last five overall games (including a tie), they have only covered the spread once in their previous four games.

That is the type of situation that a sharp bettor jumps on, particularly when it gets announced that your starting quarterback will miss the game.

So, a sound strategy would be not to be afraid to bet against the team you root for if you think it is smart.

3. Think Carefully on Division Games

Division games tend to be the type of games where either abnormal results come about or one team just flat out dominates the match-up.

One example of the latter is the New England Patriots against the New York Jets. They not only covered in both of their meetings this year, but they have won by a combined 60 points. In recent history, the Patriots have had a massive edge in this match-up, not only overall but ATS.

Two divisions that remind you to think carefully are the AFC North and the NFC South. In 2021, the road team has won every game in AFC North match-ups so far.

As for the NFC South, Carolina beat the Saints right after New Orleans blew out Green Bay. Then, later on, Carolina beat Atlanta on the road, and then the next week, Atlanta beat New Orleans on the road.

You need to think carefully about a bet that may seem too obvious in a division game because these teams know each other very well and tend to bring out the best in each other.

Master Your Sports Betting Strategy

These are just three tips that can help you develop a successful sports betting strategy. Are you ready to try these tips out?

If so, BetMGM’s sports betting site has you covered. So create your account today to get in on all the NFL action this season.