Value betting is an area of sports betting that provides a lot of difference of opinion. Quite simply, a value bet is one that provides good value for money. If you think the chances of an outcome happening are 3/2 and you can get 7/1 then this should be considered a good value bet.
Some people feel that looking for value bets is pretty pointless unless you are betting large sums of money. This is fair enough if you were to work with the extra return that a 0.1% increase in odds would have on a £20 bet! Many other people see value betting as the way to go in many betting markets, even if you are looking to back with a minimum sum.
These days, punters aren’t limited to three or four bookies in their inner city, or lining up to bet against an independent bookmaker at a racetrack. Now that we have the internet, many new bookmakers have entered the market and they provide us with many options and opportunities to improve the odds offered to us. With all this competition it is quite easy to find an odds improvement on a 1.0 bet and in many cases the improvement can be much higher.
Why look for value bets?
The way bookmakers price bets makes it very difficult for punters to make a long-term profit; in fact, 95% of punters don’t make it. It is up to you, as a punter, to take advantage of any odds discrepancies you see in your betting career. By noticing attractive bets, you can help shift the odds more in your favor and severely increase the chances that your sports betting shenanigans will pay off.
A bettor who follows value bets is not necessarily someone who focuses on the favorite result in a sporting event or race. Most people looking for value bets will usually bet on outcomes that provide better odds than what they consider to be the true odds. This could be a bet through a bookmaker that is 100-1, when the bettor’s opinion is that the horse should be 300-1. If you were watching a football match, say Chelsea vs Spurs, and you thought the chances of Chelsea winning were 80%, Tottenham 10% and the draw 10%, the odds should be around 1.25 (100/80) for Chelsea to win, 10 (100/10) for Spurs to win and 10 (100/10) for a draw.
Choose value bets
Most value bettors use odds comparison software to help get value. By comparing odds at the click of a button, it’s easy for them to find discrepancies that they can use to win much more money. If you’re not knowledgeable enough to find your own value bets, check out some websites to see what other people are betting on. The Racing Post is a great source of betting tips as is Sporting Life. Each site has a number of experienced professionals who can spot value in various markets.