Betting Outside Your Sports Expertise

Usually it is a good idea to stick with betting on sports you are intimately familiar with.  Betting is complicated enough as it is, and it only makes it more difficult if you are struggling to understand a sport you do not regularly watch.  If you never watch hockey, for example, why would you want to put yourself through the hassle and confusion of learning about hockey just to place a bet on a sport you don’t know?  While avoiding these situations usually is a good idea, now and again you may want to step outside of your expertise and your comfort zone to bet on a sport you are not so well-acquainted with.  Here are some of those situations:

• When information is readily available.  Sometimes with high-profile games, it is easy to pick up on what is going on, even if you do not usually watch the sport.  Oftentimes these are games where the public gets heavily involved (usually with little or no expertise themselves).  If you can figure out where the smart money is on these games, you may be in a good position to place a wager.

• When the sport is closely related to one you are familiar with.  If the rules of a sport are similar to one you already are great at wagering on, you may be able to make the transition without too much grief.

• When your preferred sports are off-season.  If your betting income is becoming a big part of your life, you may struggle to get by when your favorite sports are off-season.  At that point it may pay off to make the effort to diversify.

When you start betting on unfamiliar sports, it is wise (in most cases, especially if you are learning to diversify) to bet on paper at first, and hold off on betting with real money until you get the basics down.  When you start learning the ropes and getting comfortable, you can start betting small, and work your way up to more aggressive bets like those you are used to placing on your preferred sports.