Live Betting Guide

  1. Live Betting Guide
  2. Live Betting Guide 2020
  3. 100% Sure Betting Tips
  4. Live Betting Guide Free
  5. Live Betting Guide 2019

One of the coolest new ways to bet on sports is live betting. Sometimes referred to as in-play betting, in-game betting, and holy moly you’re crazy betting, the format of wagering has come about with the growth of online sportsbooks. You see, outside of the obvious convenience perks online betting has to offer, it also has the ability to utilize technology to offer some different ways for bettors to make money and get in the action. We introduce you to live game betting!

So, before we get into the strategies you need to dominate live betting, we need to make sure everyone understands exactly what it is. Live or in-game betting is when you are able to place wagers on a game after it has started. Traditionally, all action was closed as soon as the game began. We did see brick and mortar sportsbooks start introducing halftime bets (lines put out at halftime that reflects action in the first half) which was the first move towards in-game betting.

Now, it’s gone full-on wild! Some sports betting sites will let you bet at random points during the game, while some will go as far as letting you place wagers after every single play! As you can imagine, this creates a lot of opportunities to win big. It also creates a lot of opportunities to lose big if you don’t know the right strategies to come out on top.

Once the first player scores, that market is settled. With live betting, you can place wagers on which player will score NEXT. When betting on the next player to score, the market is settled as soon as a player scores. Immediately after ones closes, another one opens for the next player to score. Live Betting – Tips and Strategies. While most of us place live bets mostly for fun, it is always better to be able to make some extra cash. After all, no one likes losing and wasting money. That’s why it’s important for punters to follow a certain betting strategy and set some ground rules. The most important of all is always to bet only what you can afford to lose.

Where on Earth are you going to find those strategies? Oh, look! Here they are. Come on, we think we’re funny at least a little? Anyways, our team of betting experts has compiled a huge list of the most important in-game betting strategies that you need to come out on top. While it’s still always going to come down to your ability to pick winners and find value, these strategies will help point you in the right direction and give you the framework you need to win big.

If you’re ready to learn how to dominate in-play betting, let’s get started.

Why There Is So Much Value in Live/In-Game Betting

  1. Live betting arbitrage is a shining example of how players can greatly reduce the risks of losing and even turn a bet into a risk-free venture. Many bookmakers are not fans of arbitrage betting and may limit or ban accounts based on players using it.
  2. If you’re new to the game, we’ll walk you through what to expect when you’re live betting on tennis. Different Types of Live Bets: Moneylines and Prop Bets. The main types of bets you’ll see during live betting are a variety of moneyline bets: to win the match, to win the set and to win the game. This allows you to bet on who will win the match overall, who will win the current set and who will win the game the.

One of the first things that you need to understand in order to beat in-game betting is why there is so much value in it. By understanding why the value exists, it can give you some insight into exactly what you’re looking for and what is important to pay attention to. Let’s take a look.

When sportsbooks put out their opening lines on games, they have a big advantage on their side – time. They have several days where they can do their homework, run their algorithms, consult the experts, see what every other book is doing, and ultimately put out a pretty accurate line. This means that the opportunities to find bad lines that are way off are going to be limited. They are not impossible (in fact, they happen a lot), but they’re able to heavily minimize these bad lines.

What happens when you take that time away? Well, it decreases the accuracy of the sportsbook’s lines. When they’re forced to set a line in the blink of an eye, they have to rely on their computer algorithms which are certainly not perfect. They don’t have time to have a team of experts pour over the data to see if they’re making a mistake or not.

This is exactly what in-game betting does. It takes away the time that the book has to make sure they aren’t making any mistakes. But, that’s not all. When they’re forced to rely on computer simulations and algorithms, they’re unable to analyze the intangibles of the game. If you see something like an injury that hasn’t been reported yet, or the flow of the game shifting, or the crowd playing a bigger role than expected, or anything like that, you’re going to have the edge over the computer.

Not only does in-game betting take away time and make for potential bad lines, but it has a huge impact on the people that are betting. One of the reasons sports betting is so profitable is because the betting public is not very smart. They tend to bet more with their heart than their head and shift lines incorrectly creating value opportunities for you.

When do you think bettors are more emotional, before the game or in the heat of the action? If you guessed the latter, you’re correct. In-game betting tends to attract these impulsive bettors due to the nature of the format. These bettors have a tendency to fire with their heart or chase their losses which creates a lot of bad line opportunities. Let us rephrase that; it creates A LOT of bad line opportunities. We felt the need to put that in caps because of how often you’re going to see it.

Put all of this together, and you have a pretty awesome opportunity to make some killer money betting on sports.

An Interface Can Make or Break You

The absolute biggest difference you will see between online sportsbooks these days is the quality and efficiency of their live betting platform. We’d seen some on one end of the spectrum that looks like they spent 10 years masterfully designing it with the user in mind. On the other hand, though, we’ve seen some live betting sites that look like they were made with duct tape, a 12 pack of beer, and a plan to make people angry.

Why is this included in our strategy section? It’s because a bad user interface cannot only frustrate you, it can cost you money. Here’s the thing. Bets come at you lightning fast when you’re betting in game. Lines are always changing, and new opportunities are coming and going at the drop of a hat. Because of this, you’re going to need all the help you can get to see these changes so you can quickly evaluate them and decide if there is value that you want to jump on.

A great in-game interface is going to update lines seamlessly. The page won’t have to be reloaded; they’ll just automatically update.

Additionally, we want to see some sort of indicator that pops up letting you know that a line has changed or become available. The best that we’ve seen are sites where they will highlight the bet in red or green to indicate a better paying line or a worse paying line. This ensures that you don’t miss anything, and you’re aware of changes as they happen.

We also are looking for speed within the interface. The lines are going to be changed in real-time, and they are not going to wait for the site if it is slow. Yes, even though the site is making their own lines, they still aren’t going to wait for themselves if the server is running slowly. They would rather you have a bad experience than give away a bunch of money with a line that is too slow. This is why a betting site that has proper technological resources backing the product is important.

The last things we like to see are the little things that make the experience smoother and much more efficient. First, we want the buttons and betting to be well laid out. If the buttons are too close together, hard to understand, or anything like that, it puts you at risk of making an incorrect bet in the heat of a game. That can get really expensive quickly.

Here’s the takeaway. Do a little homework before you get into live betting and find a site with a great interface. Don’t settle for second rate because it’s going to cost you money when you’re in the middle of betting. To help you out, we wanted to include a few recommendations of sites that we know have amazing in-game platforms. You certainly don’t have to use these, but they’re pretty awesome.


Look for Hedging Opportunities

One of the coolest things that you can look to do with in-game betting is lock up profits from your pre-game bets. Now, whether you want to do this or not will be completely up to you as some people might say you’re giving up value by doing it. But, for a lot of us, we would prefer to lock up a guaranteed win even if it lowers the potential we can make. Let’s explain a little more what hedging is and look at a real-world example. This will make what we’re trying to say a lot clearer.

Hedging is when you bet on the other side of the game to lock up a potential profit. Here’s a real-world example from a recent baseball game from one of our staff members. The Milwaukee Brewers were playing against the Colorado Rockies. Our staff member chose to bet $50 on the Brewers to win at (-145). This means that if the Brewers were to win (as they were the favorites), they would receive $34.48 in profit.

Around the 5th inning of the game, the Brewers were up 2-0. Our staff member checked the in-game betting lines, and you could bet the Rockies to win the game at +616. This was an opportunity to hedge our staff member chose to jump on because they thought this line was way too high.

They chose to bet $8.50 on the Rockies in game. The profit on this bet would have been $52.36. Why did they do this? Well, let’s look at the two possible outcomes of the game now and what it would do to their profit or loss.

If the Brewers won, our staff member would get $34.48 in profit from their initial bet. But, they would lose their $8.50 Rockies. This would give them a total profit of $25.98.

If the Rockies won, our staff member would lose their initial $50 bet on the Brewers. But, they would win their Rockies bet for $52.36. This would break them just about even with a slight profit of $2.36.

So, no matter who wins the game now our staff member is a winner! Sure, they’re still rooting for the Brewers to win so they can turn a profit, but if they happen to lose, oh well. Yes, they were giving up $8.50 of potential profit on the Brewers bet, but for them, it was worth it to lock up a complete freeroll.

Hedging is going to be a personal preference choice for you. If you like the opportunity to lock up guaranteed wins, go for it! You can also use hedging to lower your risk. You don’t have to always bet the amount that breaks you even on the other side of the bet.

If our staff member just wanted to limit their risk a little bit, they could have bet something like $4 on the Rockies at +616 which would pay out $24.64. Now, if the Brewers win, they are still getting over $30, but if they lose, they’re only losing about half of their bet ($25).

It’s up to you, but if you’re someone who likes a sure thing and is willing to sacrifice a few dollars of profit for it, you should keep your eyes open during in-game betting. The more likely your bet looks to win, the higher the payout on the opposing squad will be. You probably don’t want to do this every single game, but if you happen to find a line that is way too high, it could be a good opportunity to jump on it. Had it only been the Rockies +250, it might not have been such a great deal. You’d have to bet $20 to get a payout of $50, which means you’d only be playing for $15. But, you’d still be locking up a win, so that’s up to you.

We can run what-ifs all day. The bottom line is that it’s up to you what you want to do. Just be aware that live betting affords you these opportunities.

Scout Out the Bets You’re Going to Watch Prior

If there is one word that we can use to accurately describe in-game betting, it is fast. The bets and the numbers come at you fast and if you aren’t prepared, you’re going to find yourself behind the ball and missing out on a lot of value or the bet you want completely. The best way to get ahead of this is by scouting the bets you’re interested in beforehand and having a plan of attack.

Obviously, you aren’t going to be able to see what the lines are before the game starts. You’re only going to get those number when it’s crunch time. But, you know what types of bets are going to be offered, and you can have a plan of attack. The best way to do this is to operate in if/then statements.

Basically, you can decide that if X, Y, or Z happens and the line is > or < some number, then you’ll take a certain bet.

This allows you to be ready for certain instances where you think you’re going to be able to find value. Let’s take a look at a few potential examples of how you might scout out a bet and prepare yourself for a game. You might even find potential opportunities where you choose not to bet before the game but wait for the chance of something more lucrative in-game.

Let’s say you’re going to be betting on the Cleveland Browns vs. the New York Jets. Let’s say that the opening line is the Browns (-3). Let’s also say that you want to bet $50 on the game and you decide to take the Browns. But, here’s something you might try doing that a lot of sports bettors like. You run the risk of missing out on value, but you also have the risk of getting a really awesome opportunity. You can bet $25 on the Browns before the game and save $25 to bet on them in game if a certain opportunity arises.

What you might be waiting for is the Jets to score first. If the Jets get the ball first and put points on the board, you’re going to be able to get an awesome adjusted spread on the Browns (something like even/pick em) or a much better payout on the (-3). You might get it at something like +150 instead of (-110). This means your $25 bet will now yield $37.50 instead of $22.73 like your before the game bet.

Now, this obviously only works if the Jets score first and the public starts to fire hard on them. But, it can be a good opportunity to take a little chance. The worst thing that happens is that the Browns score first and you don’t get to make your second bet, but your first one is off to a really good start.

You can also make contingency plans based on how certain things appear to be working or not working in the game.

Let’s say that you think a particular football team is going to win if they come out and just hammer the ball on the ground, but you think they’re going to lose if they try to stick with the passing attack. Well, you can elect not to make a bet before the game and wait to see what approach they are taking in game.

You’ll have to be quick to get a bet in if they are going with the run (because you don’t want to wait until after they score), but you can get a pretty similar to opening line and have the information you were looking for.

The possibilities are really endless as to what you can prep for when it comes to in-game betting. The point is that you need to be doing some preparation and looking for opportunities that you think might present themselves. Don’t forget to calculate out what types of lines you’ll take given the particular opportunity. In-game lines can be all over the place, so just because what you want to happen happens, doesn’t necessarily mean that there is going to be a great value opportunity.

Always Select the Better Odds Button

This is a very short tip that should be common sense, but we’re going to point it out anyway just to be sure. Something that is going to happen a lot to you is that the odds are going to change while you’re in the process of making your bets. This does not mean you’re doing anything wrong, it’s just the nature of how it all works.

Most in-game betting platforms are going to give you the option to take a bet no matter what the odds are or take if the odds got better. One of these is awesome, and one of them is terrible. Taking any odds is just bankroll suicide. The lines don’t just move a tiny bit in the world of in-game betting. They can shit by several hundred points in a matter of seconds. NEVER under any circumstances select to take any bet regardless of the odds.

What you do want to select, though, is to take any odds that are better than the ones you initially selected. Why would you ever not want to take better odds? If anyone can think of a logical answer to that question, we would love to hear it and will gladly amend this guide.

Don’t Lose Sight of Where You Are

This is the first of our laundry list of “Don’ts.” These are the things are probably going to be the most important because they explain some of the big differences between traditional betting where people can get tripped up and give away a lot of value and potentially lose a lot of money. Let’s get started.

In-game betting happens quickly (yes, we’ve said that a million times). But, this creates opportunities for you to fire off a lot of different bets very quickly without even realizing how deep you’re into a game for. For example, let’s say that you usually bet $20 a bet. Let’s say that you put $20 on a game before the start of it and decided you’re going to keep an eye on in-game. Well, 30 seconds in the other team scores on a lucky break and you see the line shift heavily in your favor. You can’t pass up that value, so you fire off another $20. 10 more minutes into the game you see one of the opponent’s key players go down, but you don’t see the line change at all. Another great opportunity that you have to jump on, right?

Well, you’re now in this game for $60 which is 3 times what you normally like to bet on a game. We’ve seen a lot of people end up much deeper in, literally hundreds of dollars into a game without even realizing it.

Well, there is no ticker that pops up and tells you how much you have bet on a game already. All you see are the bets you are currently making. $10 or $20 here and $10 or $20 there might not seem like a lot, but it can add up really quickly.

We’re not saying to skip out on value opportunities. What we are saying is that you need to make sure that you’re sticking with your bankroll rules. Keep a running tally somewhere highly visible of how much you’re into the game for and how much you’re comfortable betting. You can be tempted in the moment to bet more than you normally would allow yourself to because you see value that is “too good to be true.” Remember, there are no sure things in sports betting, and that includes in-game betting.

Don’t Bet Against Yourself

One of the biggest no-no’s that you can do in any format of sports betting is betting against yourself (unless you are purposely hedging). While this is pretty easy to avoid when you are betting before the slate of games starts, it can actually be an issue with in-game betting.

The situation and story we always hear from people is the same. You’re betting a lot of games at once. You see this amazing line pop up that seems so wrong it’s not even funny. You quickly fire off a bet only to realize 10 minutes later that you actually just bet against an existing bet that you already had placed going the other direction.

As you can surely imagine, this is not a great move for your bottom line. You’re going to end up “breaking even” on your bet usually and just paying the juice to the house. Every now and then you might find that you lucked into a hedging opportunity, but that’s going to be few and far between.

Pay attention to what you are betting and know what you already have action on. Yes, we know that it’s important for you to jump on great lines quickly. But, you don’t want to do this at the expense of your existing bets. Sports betting is all about fighting for every single dollar that you have in play. If you’re accidentally trashing bets, that can ruin your profit for the day.

Don’t Force “Opportunities”

One of the biggest traits that separate skilled sports bettors and amateurs is their ability not to make a bet. Amateurs who love action have an especially hard time walking away from a chance to get more money in play. If you think it’s hard to stay away from opportunities with traditional sports betting, just wait until you get live betting opportunities placed in your hands. You’re going to have hundreds and thousands of different betting opportunities “throwing themselves” at you.

Is this awesome? Of course! But, you need to make sure that you’re not ever forcing betting opportunities just to get more action in play. Sure, this sounds easy now, but you need to make sure that it stays easy while you’re in the heat of the moment. Sports bettors have a bad habit of explaining away bets as being value opportunities when they are really just lying to themselves. If this is something you think you might be guilty of, be careful when you start in-game betting. We aren’t saying to avoid it, but you do want to make sure you don’t end up taking bad lines just to get more in play.

Don’t Use In-Game to Chase Bad Bets or Losses

Speaking of forcing action, let’s talk about something you should absolutely under no circumstances ever do (even though it’s going to be tempting). Do not use in-game betting as a way to try and chase your losses or make up for a bad bet you made on a game. This is a pretty vicious downward spiral that you want no part of. It’s possible you could get away with it once or maybe even a couple of times, but it will eventually catch up with you, and it’s going to hurt.

In-game betting should be something that you only do if you think you’ve found good value on a fresh new bet. The one exception, of course, is if you are hedging a prior bet to lock up some profit or minimize your risk.

This might not sound like something that you would ever do, but you’ll be shocked how tempting it is especially during your last game of the day. Here’s what the scenario looks like. You’re down a little bit going into your last game. The team you bet in the last game gets off to an abysmal start and there looks to be no shot of you ever winning that bet. Do you really want to end the day down? If you just pick out an in-game bet, you can potentially salvage the bad day and end off up, right?

See how easy it is to get into that line of thinking? It’s so easy to convince yourself that you can find value and save the day. But, this is the definition of chasing your losses. With traditional betting, you don’t have the means to chase once the last game has started. With in-game, though, you have the ability to chase all the way up until the end of the game. You need to be aware of this and make sure that you do whatever is necessary to prevent yourself from falling into the chase trap.

Don’t Bet Games You Aren’t Watching

Remember what we said one of the big advantages that you have over a computer is? The fact that you can see all the intangibles and game flow going on that a computer isn’t able to recognize? Well, all of that goes out the window if you’re not actually watching the game. You essentially would be in-game betting based solely on stats, numbers, and lines like the computer is. Who do you think is going to be better at crunching straight numbers, you or the computer? If you ever forget the answer to that question, just take a look at how beautiful and big the buildings are that house sportsbooks.

If you’re going to in-game bet a game, you have to be committed to it. This doesn’t mean just kind of watching. You need to be paying attention. You don’t have to be completely nerded-out and taking notes, but you do need to be focused on what is going on. Even if you don’t pick up an edge on the computer, you’re going to want to try and pick up an edge on the other bettors that are live betting on the game. If you catch something that they miss, you may be able to jump on an incredible line and make a killing.

If you’re not in a position to watch the game or you don’t really feel like “focusing,” then just stay away from in-game betting for that game. You can always make as many pre-game bets as you want and then never turn the TV on without giving up any value. But, in-game betting without watching is certainly a value killer.

Don’t In-Game Bet Too Many Games at Once

The last tip that we have in the “Don’t” category is a piggyback off of the previous tip. Don’t in-game bet more games than you can keep up with. There’s really no way that you can rightfully focus on a bunch of games well enough to be firing off value-friendly sports bets. You’ll be missing things, and you most likely won’t even realize it.

How many games is the right number? Honestly, we recommend putting in as many pre-game bets as you want, but sticking to only in-game betting one game at a time. The absolute most you could do in our opinion would be two. We’ve heard of people doing three or four at a time, but that just seems like too many. The only instance where that might be okay is if you have done extensive planning before each game and are looking for specific circumstances to happen. If you have a lot of the if/then scenarios we talked about earlier lined up to go, then it’s probably okay since you know what you’re looking for. But, you still run the risk of potentially missing something that would make you want to shy away from one of your pre-planned scenarios.

The Wrap Up

The bottom line of this entire guide is learning how to deal with the speed of in-game betting. Everything is going to come at you lightning fast, and you’re going to have to be sharp to be able to respond properly. Here’s advice that might not make a lot of sense based on the last two statements.

Start slow.

Yes, you’ll have to make your bets quickly, but you don’t have to make a ton of them. Start with one or two in-game bets. See how they work out. Get a feel for the platform. Do some extra planning before the game starts, so you know that you’re ready.

In-game betting can be an incredible way to find extreme value on a lot of popular games. Keep in mind that it’s not going to be available on every game, but when it is, you should be looking to see if there are opportunities for you to take advantage of. Good luck out there!

We’ve all heard it a million times before. This is the greatest thing ever!
This is the best thing since sliced bread! Too often we hear these claims only
to find out that the referenced “great thing” is really just a reboot of
something old or not that exciting. Today is different, though. We can
CONFIDENTLY say that live betting is, in fact, the latest and greatest when it
comes to advancements in sports betting!

Live betting offers players the ultimate experience in entertainment,
betting flexibility, and money making opportunities. Available mainly online due
to its highly technical nature, live betting allows players to become light
years more immersed in the action with thousands of new betting options. If
you’ve never heard of the concept before or are looking to learn more, sit back
and buckle up because we are going to walk you through every aspect of live
betting. By the end of this article, you will be an equipped expert ready to get
in on the action and hopefully prove your knowledge and make some money.

Want to read about the growing popularity? Check out this
article from ESPN on the subject.

What Is Live Betting?

Historically, the only time that you were able to make bets on a game were
before the game started. Once the action was underway, you were locked into the
bets you’ve made, and that was the end of your betting until the next game.
Sportsbooks realized though that they could make a much better experience for
bettors if they developed a system to allow players to make additional wagers
during the game based on how things were going. Welcome to live betting!

Quick Description

Live betting, sometimes called in-game betting or betting in running, is the
ability for bettors to make additional wagers AFTER the game has already
started.

Sometimes these wagers are offered between quarters or periods, and in
some cases, they are offered after every single play or drive. Basically, you
are able to bet on a multitude of different things at any point during the game.
The number of different betting types and the frequency at which they change is
all dependent on the technological capabilities of where you are betting.

Live sportsbooks and casinos will have the fewest and sometimes no options
for live betting as it is more difficult for them technologically speaking to
keep up with the action. Online sportsbooks and casinos will have the most
options and the most variety of betting options as they have the technological
resources to keep up with the games and handle all the changing action. The joy
of this technology is that it makes everything easier on you the bettor. You
also don’t ever run the risk of your bet changing before you are able to get it
in because you never have to wait. We will discuss the differences between the
betting options later and discuss the pros and cons of each.

Types of Live Bets

The types of live bets offered are going to vary greatly depending on the
sport and depending on where you are betting. As we discussed earlier, it takes
a great deal of manpower and technology for a sportsbook to run live betting
operations. They have to set new lines in real time and don’t have days or weeks
to get prepared like they do for normal bets. For all of these reasons, the
types of bets offered are going to vary. Let’s take a look at some of the more
common types.

Traditional Bets

The same bets that were available before the start of the competition are
also going to be available after the event starts, except the odds are going to
change in real-time to depict what has happened in the game. For example, let’s
say you are live betting on a football game. At the beginning of the game, the
Dallas Cowboys are favored to win at -200. When the game starts, let’s say their
quarterback breaks his leg on the first play and the other team immediately
scores a touchdown. Obviously, the Cowboys are not as big of a favorite anymore
and are actually probably underdogs. They are already down a score, and their
star quarterback is out of the game.

Live Betting Guide

With live odds, this will be
reflected, and you can then make a more reasonable wager if you think the
Cowboys are still going to win. The odds might change to +150 or something like
that giving you a much better price to bet the Cowboys. If you had bet $100
before the game, you would get $50 for a Cowboys win. If you took the in-game
bet and the Cowboys win with their backup, you would get $150. You would get
three times as much as the sportsbook now thinks the Cowboys are going to lose
based on what is happening in the game.

You’ll have your standard “who will win bets,” and you’ll also have your
other bets like your over/under (totals) and such.

Prop Bets

All of your prop bets will also be available for in-game wagering if the
sportsbook or casino has the technology to keep them up to speed. These include
your for fun prop bets as well as your skill based prop bets like how many
touchdowns or goals a player will have or how many field goals a kicker will
make. You can typically find a lot of good value with these bets if you think a
player is a slow starter or is not getting the ball for a reason that is about
to change.

Live Betting Guide 2020

For example, let’s say you take the prop bet that Rob Gronkowski is going to
score over 1.5 touchdowns in a game. Let’s say Gronk is kept to zero catches and
zero touchdowns through the first half. It now looks a lot less likely that he
is going to make it to over 1.5 touchdowns, so the odds of that happening are
going to go through the roof. This means that if you take this bet at halftime
and win, you are going to get an extremely high payout. Remember that the higher
payouts almost always mean a bet that is less likely to occur. You’ll see later
that at times this is less true with in-game wagering than it is with
traditional wagers that are placed before the game.

Parlays

In-game wagering sometimes gives you the option of turning your single bets
into parlays if you want to. Let’s say you bet on a trend that you think is
going to happen and you think it’s going to continue to happen. You could add an
additional bet onto your original after the game has started to try and
capitalize on your correct prediction. Many sportsbooks will also let you create
brand new parlays with in-game wagering which is the ultimate rush.

Benefits of Live Betting

The reason we’re so excited about live sports betting is that there are so
many great benefits and reasons to play that didn’t exist before. A lot of the
benefits are similar to those you get from traditional wagers but are amplified
with this new style. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular reasons that
so many people are getting involved and loving live sports betting.

The Odds

Technically, the odds on all bets are supposed to always be correct, or
accurate to what you are betting on. The sportsbooks spend lots of time and
money hiring professionals or setting up computer systems to help them set the
perfect odds on a game. If they happen to set a line incorrectly, they stand to
lose a lot of money if bettors can jump on it before they catch it. This becomes
fairly easy and straightforward for the sportsbook when they have weeks and days
to prepare and research their lines ahead of time.

This luxury goes out the window when it comes to live sports betting. The
sportsbook is required to change odds and make predictions in real-time, and
they don’t have time to second guess themselves because they have to stay up to
pace with the game.

What does this mean?

There are two ways that a
sportsbook might set in-game odds. The first is through a team of “brains,” or
smart bettors that have the task of setting lines. These guys and gals are the
best in the business and rarely mess up. The second way they do this is through
complex computer systems that take all the available data into account and spit
out new lines and odds in real time.

The problem for the sportsbook is that both of these systems are not perfect,
especially in a time crunch. Human error is inevitable which could result in
odds that are too far skewed one way. Computers are only really able to analyze
quantitative data and are not able to analyze qualitative data. If those are new
terms to you, quantitative data is data that has a numerical value with it,
something that can be counted. This would be like how many points the team
scored, how much time is left, how many fouls players have etc. The other is
qualitative data. This would be things that can’t be measured like team morale,
signs of injury, etc. Computers are really not capable of catching these types
of qualitative things.

The human errors and technological implications mean that it is much more
likely that you are going to find an incorrect line put out that you can jump
on.

What is an incorrect line?

It is not a guaranteed win or anything like that,
but it is a payout that does not match up with the likelihood of that event
happening. For example, here’s an insanely exaggerated example. Let’s say Mike
Tyson is fighting a baby penguin. The oddsmakers put out a line of Mike Tyson +
200 to win. If we saw this line, we would put every penny we had in the world on
this bet. Clearly, the sportsbook made a mistake thinking that Mike Tyson would
be an underdog against a cuddly penguin in a boxing match. Yes, this is an
exaggerated example, but milder versions of this do occur, and they occur more
often in live game betting.

Let’s look at a more realistic example here. Let’s say there is a prop bet
that Julian Edelman will catch over 5.5 passes and you’ll get paid -110 if that
happens. Let’s say Edelman comes out and catches two passes in the first drive.
The odds are going to shift to something like this for in-game betting.

Odds at start of game

Edelman to catch over 5.5 passes -110

Edelman to catch under 5.5 passes -110

After his killer first drive, the odds might shift to this.

Edelman to catch over 5.5 passes -310

100% Sure Betting Tips

Edelman to catch under 5.5 passes +290

Obviously, the sports book thinks it is way more likely that Edelman is going
to get the over on the passes here and is now going to pay way less if he does
it but way more if somehow he does not do it. Technically, these odds are going
to be close to correct based on a lot of data and computer calculations.

But we’re going to add something new to the mix. At the end of the last play,
Edelman bashed his knee and hobbled to the sidelines off camera. The computer
and the brains did not pick up on this, but you did. Clearly, there is a chance
that he is hurt and will never get his over 5.5 passes as he is favored to do
now. In the old days before in-game betting, this would have meant nothing to
you. In the new days, though, you would slam a bet down as fast as you could on
Edelman to catch under 5.5 passes. If you bet $100 on this, you would stand to
possibly win $290 in profit just for being more observant than a computer.

Does this mean that you are guaranteed to win your bet? Of course, it
doesn’t. There’s still the chance he’s just a little banged up and comes right
back in and gets 10 catches. But, you are getting the opportunity to win more
than you really should be offered if the computer had seen his potential injury.
If the sportsbook catches wind of his potential injury, they might immediately
move the odds back to -110 on the under 5.5, but your bet is already locked in.
Realistically, you should be getting the -110 price and only get a profit of
$90.90, but because of your quick action, you now stand to win an additional
$200 on the same bet.

If you wanted to be fancy, you could even then bet $100 on the under (against
yourself) after the bets are adjusted to reflect the potential injury which
would pay $90.91. You’re now GUARANTEED to almost break even with a freeroll to
make some money.

If Edelman gets over 5.5 catches, you win $290.00 in profit from your bet
after the two catches but before they noticed the injury that you noticed.
Subtract the $100 you bet against yourself after they discovered the injury and
you get a total profit of $190.00.

If Edelman gets under 5.5 catches, you win $90.91 on the bet you put after
they discovered the injury. Subtract the $100 you bet after the two catches but
before they noticed the injury that you noticed, and you get a total loss of
$9.09.

Basically, the worst you can do is lose $9, but you have a free shot to win
$190! That to me sounds like a winning situation all thanks to live betting!

People Are Easily Influenced

This one goes hand in hand with the odds and trying to get lines that are
incorrect. Most of the time the sportsbook will put out a line that is correct.
However, you have to remember that lines are capable of moving based on how the
public is betting. We said that the brains and computers putting out the lines
were smart, but we did not say that most of the betting public is smart. The
betting public has a tendency to bet way too much with their hearts and not
enough with their head. If enough of the betting public bets incorrectly one
way, the line will move and the odds will get much better on the other side of
the bet. Let’s take a look at an example that will make this clearer.

Let’s say you are watching a football game between Team A and Team B. Here
are the moneyline odds at the beginning of the game.

  • Team A -110
  • Team B +105
Live

Basically, the sportsbook thinks these two teams are pretty neck and neck,
and it’s a bit of a toss-up. The first half goes on, and Team A is driving the
ball expertly and look on fire, but every time they get down into the red zone,
there are some fluky penalties or uncharacteristic fumbles that get returned for
touchdowns. The half ends with this score and these odds:

  • Team A 3
  • Team B 14
  • Team A +125
  • Team B -110

Now, the betting public might incorrectly look at this and assume that Team B
is crushing Team A. Unfortunately, they are only basing that on the score and
haven’t been watching the game that closely. Team B is also the fan favorite, so
many of the fans want them to win which also influences betting.

In reality, Team A played much better the first half and should be able to
get through the flukes and come out with a strong second half. The betting
public doesn’t see this though and they slam their money down on Team B. Before
the halftime break is over, the line moves to this.

  • Team A +200
  • Team B -190

This is an amazing time for you to put a bet on Team A. The betting public
bet with their hearts and tunnel vision and moved the line significantly giving
much higher payouts on Team A. Remember that the sportsbook wants the same
amount of bets on each side of a game, so they will make the odds more enticing
on one side if there are too many bets coming in on the other side.

Again, this does not mean that you are guaranteed to win this bet. Team A’s
awful luck can easily continue, and all the silly bettors can win their bet.
But, what you have done here is gotten better odds and a higher potential payout
than you should on something happening. Being able to do that over and over is
the key to being a long-term successful winning sports bettor.

Entertainment

If you love high-paced action and love constantly looking for edges during a
game, live betting was made for you. For those that haven’t had the privilege of
experiencing it yet, it truly is one of the most fun times you can have sports
betting. Sure, there is plenty of action on traditional sports bets, and
for some people, they would prefer to get the bets out of the way and then kick
back and enjoy the game. For the rest of us that love the fast pace, it doesn’t
get any better than in-game betting. We could tell you over and over again how
much fun it is, but your best course of action is just to give it a shot
yourself and see what you think.

Benefits Wrap-Up

As you can hopefully see now, this new trend in sports betting is an
incredible step forward for the industry. Not only are you able to exploit
sportsbook mistakes and exploit bettors who aren’t as sharp as you, but you’re
able to do it all while having an absolute blast.

Live Betting Strategy

Since most everyone reading this is probably fairly new to in-game betting,
we don’t want to send you out into the wilderness without some strategy tips and
advice to get you pointed in the right direction. Ultimately, with the vastly
different types of bets and changing odds, you will be making a lot of split
second decisions and will have to develop your own winning strategy. These tips
and tricks will help you in the right direction and help you to avoid some
common pitfalls and not be labeled a sucker.

Start With a Pre-Game Bet

Most experienced in-game bettors like to start off with a pre-game bet as a
starting point. This allows you to make sure that you have done your pre-game
homework and are in a good state of mind to get in on the action of this game.
This is of course never required, but it does give you a lot more options going
into the game. In-game betting is great for salvaging bets that are going the
wrong way or pressing on bets that are going the right way. This sort of
flexibility becomes a lot easier when you have a pre-game bet to start from.
Again, this is not necessary but a good starting point.

Know Your Limits

The fast-pace of in-game betting can make it pretty easy to get carried away
if you are not on top of things. When you are making multiple bets in real time,
you need to make sure that you keep track of just how much action you have on
the line. The best way to do this for most people is just keeping a little tally
of how much you have bet in the game, and you should be just fine. If you are a
more experienced bettor who has a lot of bets going at once, you might want to
look into setting up an Excel spreadsheet on your computer to keep track of
anything.

Thankfully, the online sportsbooks will handle everything for you, and a lot
of them have great interfaces to keep track of all of your bets at once. If you
are someone who is going to be placing a lot of in-game wagers, we definitely
recommend picking a site that has a great user interface set up. This is true of
most of the sites that offer in-game betting, but just check and make sure
before you get started.

Make Sure You Are Watching the Entire Game

Surprisingly, this is one that action junkies and new bettors don’t always
follow. If you are going to be live betting on a game, make sure that you are
watching the entire game. You never know when you might catch something small
that will give you an edge over the competition. Remember our Julian Edelman
example from earlier? If you have the game off or are watching 10 games at once,
you will never catch things like that and will miss out on some potentially easy
money.

In-game betting is all about getting into the flow of the game and feeling
where the momentum is going.

If you are going to bet in-game strictly on the
numbers, you will never be able to get an edge over the computer or identify bad
lines that move based on heart betting from the public. You’ll be basically
going about it the same way they are setting the lines, and they will always be
better at it than you.

Most people fall into the trap of not watching the complete game because they
have too much action or bets going elsewhere. If you plan to bet on a lot of
games, we recommend placing your bets on those games and then choosing one or
two at most games to live bet on. Put that game on your TV to focus on and then
just follow the scores on the bottom of your screen for your other bets if you
want to.

The idea of live betting is figuring out ways and angles to get an edge. This
is near impossible if you aren’t totally immersed in the game and actually
paying attention. Don’t worry, we aren’t saying not to have a ton of fun and
enjoy the games. We’re just saying that in-game betting does require some
attention and TLC (tender loving care) if you plan on being profitable long-term
at it.

Use Live Betting for Close Pre-Game Bets

A lot of times we will find ourselves trying to decide if we want to make a
bet before the game or not. The line is usually just about where we want it to
be, but maybe not quite there. In-game betting can help you to get the line that
you want if there happens to be a quick swing early in the game. For example,
let’s say that you want to bet on the Dallas Cowboys to win, but the pre-game
odds are only -200, and that is just not a good enough price for you.

What you can do is wait for the game to start and see if you can snag a
better price early. If the other team gets the ball and scores quickly, that
-200 could quickly change to a number much more in your favor. There is the
possibility that things start out fast for the Cowboys, and you are never able
to get a better line, but you aren’t losing any money in this scenario because
you haven’t placed any bets yet. There is also the possibility that the opening
drive looks so dominant that you no longer want to place a bet on the Cowboys.
The point here is that the in-game betting gives you some flexibility and a
second chance to make a bet at a potentially more favorable line or save
yourself from making a poor bet.

Remember that the odds are going to move to what the brains think is going to
happen. The reason we are restating this is we want to make sure you realize
that by waiting, the sportsbook is not just magically giving you a better price
because they’re nice like that. They are doing it because it has become less
likely that the Cowboys will win the game. Something will have to occur for them
to move that line in that direction. If you think the first drive or whatever
causes the line move is negligent, then take your better price and be a happy
camper 🙂

Capitalize on Bad Lines

Live Betting Guide Free

We discussed this extensively in the odds section above. If you happened to
skip through it, we highly recommend going back and reading it as it actually
gets fairly heavy into strategy. In recap, we were drawing attention to the fact
that with pre-game, traditional bets, the sportsbook has an infinite amount of
time to set their lines and research to make sure they are perfect. They lose
this luxury with in-game betting and are much more likely to make a mistake or
set a line that does not take everything happening into account. There is just
too much going on and too many intangibles for them or a computer to keep up.
This will result in lines that you can jump on to make some easy money.

We also talked about the fact that the betting public is typically not that
smart and likes to bet more with their hearts than their heads. When they do
this with in-game betting, the lines can move quickly and can create some
favorable situations for you to pounce on. Watch for situations where you think
the lines and the bets are too dependent on minor or emotional factors. If you
can uncover these situations, you can put yourself in some great spots to make a
lot of money.

Live Betting Guide 2019

It’s important to reiterate that just because you find a bad line, it does
not mean that you are guaranteed to win that bet. It just means that you have
put yourself in a favorable situation where you have the chance to win a higher
payout than you should for whatever the bet is. For example, you could find a
bet that should be +200 for a team to win, but it is actually listed at +600.
This means that if you bet $100, you stand to make $400 MORE than you really
should. That being said, you are still an underdog and still supposed to lose
mathematically. Putting yourself in enough of these situations is the key to
being a long-term successful bettor.

Know the Interface

This should have been number one on our list, but let’s say we just saved the
best for last. Live betting interfaces can sometimes look a little different
than your traditional odds charts you are used to. They are constantly updating,
and the ever changing numbers can seem a little daunting at first. The best
advice we have is to take some time to learn the interface and see where
everything and all the options are BEFORE you start betting.

Don’t wait until right before the game to start learning how to make in-game
bets and what all the different options are. You are bound to make a mistake or
not be able to find something you need to take advantage of a hunch before it’s
too late. The numbers and betting lines change rapidly with in-game betting, so
you have to be on the ball to be able to get the bets in that you want.

Don’t Start Here

If you are absolutely brand new to sports betting, live betting is probably
not the place you want to start. We recommend starting with some basic
traditional bets and learning the ins and outs of those first. Don’t worry, live
betting will not be going anywhere anytime soon, so you have nothing to worry
about. It will be here for you when you are ready to give it a whirl. Trying to
push into this too early before you understand the basic types of bets and how
they work and payout will just cause headaches and mistakes that will make you
have a bad experience. It’s not that it is that complex, but crawl before you
walk my friend.

The Wrap-Up

As you can see, live betting is an incredibly fun style of betting that is
only possible thanks to several incredible technological advancements. If you’re
a sharp better who knows how to analyze games and feel the momentum, you have
the potential to be very successful at live betting. Make sure you’ve fully read
through this guide and fully understand all the different aspects of live
betting and how to do it. Also, make sure you read through the strategy section
so that you can attack this as an intelligent bettor poised to make some serious
cash. The sportsbooks should fear you now.