Staying Informed

When talking about staying informed, it means getting as much information on your betting subject as you can. This includes matters that affect your betting subject, like the weather, injuries, etc, not just their skill.

Why it is Important to Know What You are Betting On

Imagine the scenario, a cricket match, India vs Pakistan. Knowing nothing about the sport, but being a great fan of India from your last holiday there, you decide to bet on India. Unfortunately for you, you did not read the newspaper explaining how India’s star players have all mysteriously come down with fever and they are playing their second rate players against Pakistan. The match predictably ends in Pakistan’s favour and you have lost your bet.

You can see now how important it is to know the circumstances surrounding your betting subject. Having said that, it is important to know your betting subjects capabilities and that of its competitors. Had it been Holland instead of Pakistan, India could well have come up as winners.

Remember that the more effort you put into betting intelligently and staying informed, the more likely you are to get a return. Treat your gambling more like an investment rather than a game and you are more likely to profit from it.

How Can You Stay Informed?

There are many information websites on the web which will allow you to get a feel for the sport you have chosen. It is also beneficial to read the local newspapers of the teams playing, some of which can be found online to get information surrounding the team. Keep your eye on weather channels where the event is to be hosted if that may affect things.

Another thing to do is to keep your eye on what odds the bookmakers are laying and especially notice when there is a large change in the pricing. Bookmakers have to stay informed themselves to keep on top of the game.

There are a number of tipping lines out there that people subscribe to, where people who stay informed try to predict results. When going for any of these, pay attention to their statistics to make sure they get it right more often than not and remember that bookmakers are aware of these lines, some subscribe to them, and the prices on those selections tend to drop quickly, so make sure the odds are favourable before betting.

When playing poker, your information consists of the reads that you have on your opponents and their betting patterns. Observation pays a big part in poker and can get you through a bad run of cards by outplaying your opponents.