Live Sports Wagering: Tips for In-Play Strategies

Identify the slow starter- Whether it’s a football team, a tennis player or a basketball team, some of these tend to go on to win but have a habit of starting slowly before they get there. Once you’ve realised who comes under this category, you’re better off waiting for them to go behind before backing them at bigger odds in live betting, than backing them pre-match at shorter odds.

Make use of Cash Out- Just about any bookie these days offers Cash Out. Cash Out allows you to bank a profit that’s a percentage (never 100%) of what you would go on to be paid out if you let the bet ride and it went on to win. So, if you back Sweden to beat Germany at 5.0 in a football match for 10 units (potential winnings of 50 units including stake) and they are 1-0 up after 60 minutes, it might be worth banking a profit of say 25 Units than risking not securing any profit at all…and losing your stake, as well!

Beat the machine with human observations- As clever as the software that determines live odds is, it’s just that: software. It’s not so sophisticated that it takes into account such things as a key player in a football match pulling up tired or injured, a tennis player reacting badly to crowd noise or the wind picking up as a golfer is playing a shot. If you can identify these things as crucial factors before the software does, you’ll at least be placing value bets, whether they win, or not. 

Research well- Arm yourself before the event with stats and trends that you can use to your advantage as the event unfolds to make good live betting decisions.

Watch closely, bide your time- The closer you watch the event, the better prepared you are to assess what’s a good bet. Take notes of important things you’ve picked up on. And remember, you don’t need to place a bet five minutes into the match. Sometimes it’s better to wait a bit until the ideal time to place your wager at optimal odds. 

Fast connection, fast pictures- Time is of the essence in live betting and every second counts. Slow internet connections may limit your ability to place good bets at the right moment, while delayed TV or streaming pictures will show out of date action that may mean you draw wrong conclusions.  Speed is essential in both cases.

Gamble responsibly- There’s a temptation to place more and more live bets on the same outcome as the odds get bigger. This may occasionally work out for you if it goes on to win against the odds but often it just means you’re going to end up losing more. Set yourself a betting limit per event and stick to it.

Use more than one account- This applies to pre-match betting but particularly, to live betting, where different bookies lay different odds. Let’s say Manchester United go 1-0 down to West Ham and your stats tell you they’ve got a great chance of recovering to go onto win. If you only have one account, you have no option but to bet them at 3.2 But if you have multiple accounts with the latest odds open, you might find other bookies offering 3.5 or even 3.7, which makes a huge difference.