Live Football Betting Dos and Don’ts

Online sports betting has given way to a much easier form of live betting. While punters used to enjoy some degree of live betting through traditional in-person bookies and telephone betting, the immediacy was certainly lacking.

Today, the many online apps and platforms we have access to right from our pockets let us play RTP slots at casinos.com, join live table games, and make live bets on any sport imaginable. We can seamlessly follow the match in granular detail and make wagers in seconds, adding multiple layers of engagement to the game. We’ve now got dynamic odds to reflect the trajectory of the match, instant updates, and the thrill of placing bets in the heat of the moment.

But with all this newfound freedom comes a variety of challenges, such as impulsiveness and the potential for many unintended losses. That’s why live betting can be a slippery slope—it might immerse you deeper into the action but requires you to play it smart. Before you start or continue live betting, join us for a quick look at the dos and don’ts of live betting so you can make smarter and more profitable betting choices.

The Dos of Live Betting

Making the most of a live football betting experience means implementing these key practices every time you place a wager.

Avoid Impulse Betting

Gambling is inherently driven by impulse because its main draw has everything to do with instant gratification. Sports bettors are no different than traditional gamblers in that they’re seeking out the thrill of a financial reward from a major win. Countless emotions are involved in gambling—being overjoyed from a win can lead to more bets being placed, while frustration from a loss can mean putting down more wagers to make up for those negative emotions.

Because gambling is also based on luck, making spur-of-the-moment bets is also common. There’s an added urgency with live betting, which is why impulse betting becomes such a problem in these cases. Sit yourself down and make proper plans for yourself before the game begins, whether it’s to do with strategy, budget, or both.

Monitor the Game

Make sure you’re actually tracking and watching the game when you’re live betting. Oftentimes, people make the mistake of relying on recaps and general overviews, which don’t often give you the full picture of what’s going on. When you’re fully engaged in every moment, you can pick up on in-game dynamics that statistics won’t tell you. As a result, you’ll be able to make better strategic decisions right away.

Don’t Chase Losses

Losing isn’t fun in any sense of the word. But chasing losses in hopes of making the money back is a worse trap that could leave you at double the loss—or more. When you’re down or experiencing a loss, don’t immediately try to make up for what you just lost. Instead, stick to your plan and budget and conjure up a new strategy for the match tomorrow.

Do Your Research

The beauty of sports betting lies in the fact that it involves knowledge and skill, unlike slots, for example, which are purely luck-based. Effective sports betting does require you to understand the sport, its dynamics, and the teams and players involved. The more you know, the more likely you’ll be to win. None of us is born with the sports knowledge we have now, especially since sports are always evolving and new players come out of the woodwork over time. Many statistics platforms, articles, and knowledge bases will give you valuable insight into player performance, win/lose trends, and head-to-head performances that can inform your betting strategy.

The Don’ts of Live Betting

While you’re making use of these good practices, you’ll also want to steer clear of these don’ts.

Don’t Rely on Emotion or Gut Feeling

Maybe you’ve always had a hunch that the Spurs would beat Sheffield United in the upcoming match but didn’t realize that the team’s top performers were injured and out of commission. Your emotions and biases can definitely affect the way you place bets, which is why hard facts and real data need to come in to save the day. During the game, you might find that things aren’t playing out how you thought they would, but you could take this as a chance to reassess what you know rather than letting your emotions drive your next bet.

Pay Attention to the Odds

Live odds can shift just as fast as a well-coached play can shape the rest of a game—which means you need to keep an eagle eye on the fluctuations in odds. Perhaps the opposing team has recently scored and shifted the odds in their favour for a while. This could be a make-or-break opportunity to put money on the currently losing team if you think they’ll ultimately come back to win the game altogether.

Avoid Betting on Too Many Markets

It can be tempting to spread your budget across a variety of markets. After all, it can be fun to track a bunch of different bets, right? But with live betting, it can be hard to focus on the game as well as all your wagers. Betting on several markets can be challenging and exciting, but it’s smart to concentrate on the markets you know most about and feel most confident in. Doing this will improve the quality of your bets, reducing your risk of making mistakes and spreading your budget too thin.