Underdog betting strategy
What do worldwide betting markets have in common? For all of them, a favorite and an underdog is available.
Underdog betting is one of the most favorable ways in online betting to make money. To know which game should not win and be able to make money on losses — we’re going to teach you how to use this knowledge profitably.
How to understand «Underdog»?
The «Underdog» term belongs to the 19th century. Then, the dogs were fighting face-to-face, and up to the fight’s results, the winner was called the «best dog» and the loser «underdog».
Many sports bettors love the underdog bet. The chance to beat the best team is very advantageous and is one of the main reasons these bets are so popular in many sports.
Underdog betting in general?
Underdog betting is when you bet on a match that is not a favorite on the market. But to summarize, this is a bet on a team that is not expected to win. You may wonder why to bet on anyone besides winners. You cannot predict all outcomes in sports right, and betting odds indicate both long-term and short-term matches.
Let’s take an NBA game between Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions as an example.
There are two prices on the moneyline bet: the Bears at -175 and the Lions at +150. The odds would show the Bears as favorites and the Lions as underdogs.
The estimated victory of each team in a percentage is:
- Bears — 67,7%,
- Lions — 34.8%
Note that this implies a 102.5% overround, which means that bookmakers will charge 2,5% on this bet. For betting on underdogs, this does not really matter. But we explain why it’s more than 100%.
Although the Bears win 67,7% of the time and the Lions 34,8%, the Bears are obviously the favorites. However, there is no strong assurance that Bears will win this time, so betting on the underdog is very important.
How to read underdog betting odds?
Both positive and negative numerical values represent betting odds. A positive number shows how much you win for every stake of 100 USD. A negative number indicates how much you need to bet to make a 100 USD profit.
Take an example of the Las Vegas Raiders and Dallas Cowboys game.
Raiders is estimated at +260. This means you get a profit of 260 USD on every 100 dollars you bet.
Cowboys are estimated at -320 to win. This means you have to place a bet of 320 USD to make a 100 dollars profit.
The negative is always a favorite in such scenarios, and the underdog is always positive. So when you bet on markets with only two possible outcomes, you will always have one positive and one negative set of odds.
When to Bet on Underdogs?
1. When everyone talks about favorites.
Often, all credit is given to the favorites, and players who eliminate risks place bets on a favorite. Therefore, it’s always clear who is the underdog you can bet on.
2. During slightly favorable matchups.
The odds do not always indicate the real situation during the match. In this way, players can bet on their less favorite team or person regardless of the odds in the markets.
3. Different motivation of players.
Motivated players almost always act better, and it also works when betting on underdogs. Favorites who lack motivation can perform well above expected standards. In such cases, players can bet on underdogs to win huge profits and even win the game right away.
