Why You Should Consider Watching the Sports You Bet On

You do not have to watch the sports you bet on.  In fact, the very first thing I want to say about this is that some punters actually do better if they avoid watching the games they bet on.  There are some drawbacks to watching games, and certain personality types can be tempted to go on tilt.  Watching games has a number of benefits, however, and can really help you to develop your skills and betting strategies.  Note that you may decide to watch the games you are betting on, but you may decide to forego that and still watch games surrounding those ones. 

Here are some benefits to watching your sport:

• You will become a genuine expert on the sport itself.  You will have a much deeper understanding of the action that takes place on the field, in the court, in the ring, or on the track.  You will also get a better feel for how judgments and decisions from the sidelines can impact outcomes.  This will give you an edge when it comes to interpreting data.  If you do not have this in-depth knowledge, you simply may be unable to properly interpret what you read. 

• You will have a better contextual grasp on information you read.  Even if you choose not to watch the games you are actively wagering on, watching games leading up to it featuring the same teams can help you to assess form, fatigue, strategy, teamwork, and more.

• You may notice things that nobody else does.  Maybe a certain player is injured, but hiding it.  Analysts may miss it, but maybe you will catch it.  Even if it is a mere suspicion, it may help you out.  In fact, opportunities like these can be quite lucrative, if you are betting against the grain.  You may be able to get excellent odds. 

• If you are watching a game you are actually betting on, odds are you will be very closely focused on it, which represents a great learning opportunity. 

• Watching the games you are betting on also gives you the chance to get into some in-play action.  Sometimes you can make adjustments to wagers you made beforehand by placing in-play bets.  Other times, you may want to exclusively use in-play bets.  Either way, betting in-play without actually watching is a more difficult prospect for most bettors because you are lacking important information.

Reading this, you might wonder why anyone would avoid watching games.  There are actually a few good reasons, which will be the subject of my next article (Cautionary Notes for Watching Games).  If you do decide to watch games, it is important to have the potential drawbacks in mind.  And remember, if you do find those drawbacks are too much when watching games you are wagering on, you can always stop watching those, but still keep watching your sport enough to build up your knowledge and perspective over the course of a season.