Unusual Betting Strategies
When it comes to placing our bets, it can often seem like a case of picking our favourite team and hoping for the best but it’s a painfully known fact that this definitely isn’t the best way to make a profit.
Relying on how a team are faring in a season, or how an individual player is set to perform in a match can prove to work in some cases, but to make a substantial profit you need to make a higher bet, and this is usually too high of a risk for your average bettor to take. With betting strategies, however, this can be a much easier and lower risk process.
Of course, there are a few well-known methods including fixed wager and entire-bankroll styles, but what about those techniques from other gambling streams? Some of these can be applied to sports betting, and we’re here to explore just which ones could work best.
Martingale System
With the first use of this system having been documented way back in the 18th century, it’s safe to say that it has certainly stood the test of time. Whether it works or not is a topic up for debate and can often depend on just what you’re using the system on, but in general it seems to make quite a bit of sense. An interesting thing to note, however, is that while the system was named after John Henry Martindale (yes, the mistake was deliberate!) he didn’t actually use it himself. In fact, he mostly just encouraged his patrons to use it within his casino.
The Martingale system was designed for casino games, with the intention that players would go in with a bet, and double it every time that they lost. While this may seem counterproductive, this style of play means that players will make back their losses and potentially even gain a profit when they do come to a win. With smart betting and careful attention to current news and how certain teams or players are doing, this system could definitely work within sports betting.
If you were to place a bet at odds of 2/1, for example, it could look a little something like this:
| Bet Amount | Outcome | Total |
| £5 | Win | + £5 |
| £5 | Win | + £10 |
| £5 | Loss | + £5 |
| £10 | Win | + £15 |
The profit you make will depend on whether or not you win on your final bet. It can be risky using this system simply because you might limit yourself to 10 bets, but on the final bet you could lose and leave yourself with nothing. Ensuring that you only reach a bet that you can afford to use is a must, especially when using this system on a high risk bet, and setting yourself a stopping point – whether that’s a win or a loss amount – can also save you from stinging loss.
D’Alembert System
This system is very similar to the Martingale Strategy, but is arguably perfect for those wanting to take the sting out of potential losses from a bad streak. With no bet-doubling, you’ll have far less loss if you lose. The system works as follows:
First, you have to pick an amount that you can afford to bet. Keeping this low to start with is ideal, as this will allow you to play for longer. The first initial bet amount will be known as a ‘unit’ and with this system, every time you lose you will only add this unit. Of course, the first loss will result in a doubling of your bet, but with losses, you’ll only be adding one unit at a time rather than a potential large amount if you hit a losing streak.
Labouchere Cancellation System
The Labouchere Cancellation System is ideal for any kind of gambling, so there’s no reason as to why it couldn’t work for sport’s betting. What’s more, you don’t need to have an extensive knowledge of sports betting terms in order to use it.
The goal of this system is to make up a set goal. For example, if you know you want to win $100, then you need to split this up into units. For this example, we’re going to use $10 as one unit. From here, you can create a sequence of numbers that add up to ten, and write them down similar to the following:
1 2 3 2 2
Every time you win that many units, you can cross off the number. Once all five of those numbers are crossed off, you know you will have reached your overall goal for the session. Choosing your first bet, you’ll use the first and last numbers in your sequence – 1 and 2, which makes 3 units. This would be $30. If we win, we cross off the numbers, meaning that the line would be 2 3 2.
The next bet would be 2 and 2, meaning 4 units = $40. If we lost this, we’d add a ‘4’ to the end of the line.
The pattern would continue until you managed to cross out the line; however the risks associated with this could be potentially higher than most could afford. Crossing off the entire line can take time, and the bets can reach incredible heights if care isn’t taking, so it’s important to ensure that you stick to your goal and only bet small if you can only afford small.
With careful attention to what’s going on in the sport you’re choosing to bet on, a reliable calculator for your wagers, and the right odds to work with, you could find yourself making a substantial profit from your bets. Take care, however, as losses can be devastating even with the most fool proof of strategies, and only bet what you could afford to lose in the long run.