After a lot of anticipation, the regular season has finally started, and you can’t wait to bet on some real games. NBA, MLB, NFL, or NHL, it doesn’t matter what your sport or sports of choice may be, the fact is when you can’t wager on your favorite sports, you start to feel a little lonely and lost. Plus, if you’re a solid handicapper, you start to miss the cash.
Once the regular season starts, you want to be careful. You may be extremely excited and ready to bet on every game – but not so fast. At the start of the regular season of any sport there are always three things that happen:
1. A team or a few teams exceed expectations for a few weeks
2. A team or a few teams underperform greatly for a few weeks
3. A bunch of teams perform exactly as you had anticipated.
Which do you think you should bet on at the start of the season?
The answer: all three.
Betting on the Unlikely Hot Team
When placing money on a team that is playing well above expectations, take some time to determine why this is the case. Are they facing weaker or underachieving competition? Has a player or two on the team gotten off to an unusually hot start? Do they have some young players who have caught fire early on, but who you feel will eventually cool down? At this point in the season, this extraordinary team will come with some excellent underdog odds that you can exploit.
By figuring out why they are winning now, you’ll be able to perform accurate matchups, and you’ll also be on the lookout for when things revert to normal.
Betting against the Unlikely Cold Team
In betting against the unexpected cold team at the beginning of the regular season, you’re bound to get some very good odds on the underdogs that they are facing. However, you’ll still need to engage in solid handicapping practices to get the matchups right. As you did with the hot team, analyze why the cold team is struggling. Look for signs that they are breaking out and be ready to switch gears when they do.
Betting on Predictable Games
Predictable games will be your anchor during this time. You know, the ones where the club with all the star players beats up on the team with the aging vets and new young talent. Again, you’ll need to handicap accurately and decide which games are the best picks for you. Only wager on games that you feel are solid bets.
Create a Mix
It’s a good idea to create a mix of all three types of teams when you’re betting at the beginning of any season. However, don’t wager blindly. Just because a team that everyone predicted would struggle is winning every game they play, it doesn’t mean they’ll continue to do so.
In fact, you know that at some point that club will come down to earth. Also, you know that the club that is struggling, but was predicted to win it all, will at some point break out of their funk.
Try to anticipate both of these occurrences so that you can take advantage of the switch by exploiting the odds and finding value in a team that the betting public has either entirely bought into or completely dismissed.