Football betting has become a very popular activity in Nigeria in recent time, and you shouldn’t be surprised that the population of people interested in football betting will double in a few years.
The craze for football betting is fueled by the fact that people like easy money and enjoy the pride behind being able to predict the outcome of events taking place around the world.
Football betting is popular in this part of the world because of two reasons primarily. The first is that football is something that the average dude can relate to. A large majority of us are football lovers and take our time to follow how things unfold in major leagues around the world. Now we have a chance to make money from something that we have interest in. Interesting? Yes, interesting.
The second reason is the bewildering thought of making so much money from just little stake.
Some would say ”This N100, normally I would use it to buy La Casera which I would drink and piss back out… but now I can put that same N100 on something and get a chance to win thousands of naira.”
Another interesting fact is that there is no judge over your talents. If you predict a game correctly, you would definitely be given your money. There is nothing like a panel of judges than have to decide whether you are worth being given the win or not.
Still, so many people resent football betting because they see it in the same light as gambling. It is seen as an addiction, dirty and an activity not meant for responsible people. Yet, even professionals these days, delve into football betting.
It is however a demented psychology to think that football betting does not have its bad sides. These pitfalls are not in the setup, but in what it does to you. Football betting CAN wreck you. Yes! This is a fact. So many people have spent so much money betting, and most gamble their money away senselessly.
Cash from Sports betting in NigeriaSome individuals are really good with predictions, yet still find it hard to win… Why does this happen? Well, here are few tips to help change that.
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1) KNOW YOUR LEVEL
Yes… This is number one. Do not do more than your level will permit. Know how much is free for you to gamble in a month. Whether you choose to admit it or not, football betting is gambling. After you have taken out the money you should need in that month, then you can consider what you want to save and what you want to gamble. Remember… Only gamble ”FREE” money. Like a wise man once said ”Never gamble with scared money.”
Scared money here means money that you cannot do without. You should be able to gamble without being afraid of losing that money.
2) HAVE A STRATEGY/PLAN
This is the mistake most of us made when we entered sports betting. No plan… No strategy. We just picked games as we liked and wasted money.
In truth, no matter how you want/choose to analyse or see this, there are only three major strategies. Then other strategies can be derived from them.
The first strategy is staking small amounts on high odds. This involves using N100 N200 and at most N300 or N500 (depending on your level of free money), to stake on high odds that can earn you big money.
The second strategy is staking high on lesser odds. Some people believe this is safer because have lesser games to worry about. The longer the ticket, the easier the chances of an upset.
The third method is roll over. This involves starting with smaller stakes (usually more than the amount used in the first strategy), then using the entire winning to as stake in the next game, till a certain goal amount is achieved, and the original amount is staked again from the beginning.
While these are just ‘major’ or ‘primary’ strategies, you need to have a more precise strategy. For example, if you choose to use hugh stakes, then you should set a maximum number of odds that you won’t exceed. For example, you can choose to always stake N5000 on 2 odds each time. A strategy helps you maintain focus. A friend of mine once concentrated on 2 odds.
He played with N2000 daily, starting with early games. If that game ends up ”cutting”, then he picks another game of 2 odds and stakes 4000. If that messes up, he picks another of 2 odds and stakes 8000. These games are usually single games. According to him, if he picks second half highest scoring half at 2 odds for each game… 4 different games cannot mess up.
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3. DEAL WITH YOUR GREED.
Yes, the reason why so many gamblers fail is because of their greed. In truth, the more games you pick, the more the likelihood of your ticket getting messed up. Also, no matter how good a punter you are, you simply cannot correctly predict all the games in the world.
However, there are some that you can be ”absolutely” sure about. Note that ”absolutely” is a relative term… as nothing in gambling is ever 100%. What you should do is to first of all pick these games that you can be sure of to a reasonable extent and find a good strategy to play them with.
There are usually two options… Increase number of games, or increase stake. Think wisely and choose. Note that from that moment onwards, the games you will be picking would be more risky. I advise you work with the games you have and probably stake a very low amount on the other games (added to the ones you initially picked, if you like.)
4. LISTEN TO YOUR INSTINCTS
You cannot always see all the angles to a game, however, as a lover of football, or an ardent follower, your brain would catch some things subconsciously. You might want to pick a game and your subconscious says ”no”. Don’t ignore it.
5. DON’T BE RESTRICTED TO ONE MARKET
There are numerous options to bet on in a game. Don’t just be looking at straight wins, double chances or goals. Some high tempo games always produce many cards or corners. Don’t force yourself to decide who wins the game.
Also, sometimes, two markets can offer the same result, yet have different odds. For example, win or draw double chance for a team is as good as giving the team a goal ahead and giving them the win. If a game ends 2-2. Either team has won a double chance win or draw.
If you give either team a goal, it automatically makes them winners. So it is the same thing. You are just saying… If I give this team a goal, they would win. With a draw, you are still okay, which is the same with a double chance. Hence, you should pick the market with higher odd.
6. DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH
Research is not hard. It just involves checking leagues and teams performances overtime, either generally in the league or comparatively against their opponents. Stats are very important. Doing your own research gives you a clearer perspective to games.
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7. USE BET/PREDICTION SITES
These sites have a primary job of providing analysis on games and offering professional tips. Some give in percentages, the likeli-hood of each outcome.
While some sites work on all the matches for the day, others select a few matches only. You can either pick games from those ones and make your own further research before picking, or picking your games and checking these sites for predictions.
Almost like a permission to proceed. If you think a team will win and a site says otherwise, you should not ignore such. However, you are always the primary decision maker. Besides, some of these sites rely mainly on statistics, and many a times, statistics are just figures. You simply cannot expect a team to play the same way they played 5 years ago unless things have not changed much.
8. START PREDICTING EARLY
Early prediction gives you time before the games start. This way, you won’t miss games you should have played and force yourself to play other games just to make up for it.
9. GET THE EPL/WEEKEND MENTALITY OUT
The English Premier League is not the only league in the world, neither are weekends the only time games are played. Some other leagues are more predictable, and games are played across the world daily. Having the EPL/WEEKEND mentality can limit you and you will be left to the highly unstable teams in England and other major leagues, who would likely ruin your tickets.
10. GATHER EXPERIENCE
Gathering experience is not just about being somewhere for a long period of time. It is about observing trends and how things are done or occur. Experience gives you a different perspective to games. You can smell upsets. You can correctly predict how matches would turn out. You don’t even have to analyse or forecast at times before you can tell in which direction things would go.
But you have to learn to use your experience. When you think Manchester City might find it hard to win a game, don’t ”just give them the win” simply because everybody is giving them the win. It’s better you stay off the game or you stake as your brain informs.
Remember however that your brain functions differently under different conditions. You tend to see things better when your mind is settled. Make sure you are not hungry (eat well before your final decision), don’t predict and stake with sleepy eyes, don’t predict and stake when you are immensely busy (unless you are staking on someone else’s ready made game).
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11. NOT ALL THAT GLITTERS IS GOLD
The general mindset is that bigger teams or favourites will have smaller odds, and vice versa. Okay… here I will expose you to something.
First, you must be familiar with the word ‘bookmakers’ by now… or ‘bookies’. Your bookies are your bet companies that set odds and regulate the markets as games progress. You should know that your interests are taken into consideration by regulatory agencies, so bookies cannot unnecessarily ‘cheat’ you. Still, in the gambling game, if one person must win, another must lose.
If you win today, your bookie loses. Right? So it is only right to assume that your bookies will devise means to ensure that you do not win regularly.
Yes, one of these methods is giving ‘crazy’ odds. For example, two teams are to play in the evening, and from their odds, one is the clear favourite with odd of 1.18. But in reality, those two teams are almost evenly matched. What does this mean? The bookie wants you to pick this game with confidence and stand a chance to experience an ‘upset’. Other times, teams that are supposed to have really low odds are given higher ones to scare people.
Your bookie is not your friend. Your bookie does not want you to win. Simple as that. Don’t be deceived by odds.
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12. FIXED MATCHES
Matches are fixed in football, especially in smaller leagues. These match fixing schemes are made to benefit either some set of people (gamblers too), one of the teams playing, or some other third party.
Match fixing information does not just fly around in the air. This said, most people that say they have fixed matches for sale are scammers. If someone has sure absolute fixed matches, he does not need your money. The fixed matches can make him a millionaire in days.
These guys are just good punters who predict well with trends. Most do not even play the games they drop. Even if you notice that the first game the person dropped worked perfectly, still don’t be deceived. I can as well forecast that Ajax will draw at halftime and score and win in the second half. If it works, you will be tempted to take a bold step to pay me to get more tips. I don’t even have to play it myself.
Now, you should be careful to watch out for potential fixed matches in some regular leagues. If a game’s outcome is too ”irrelevant”, maybe you should stay away from it. For example, the first leg of a cup tie ended 6-0. Stay away from the second leg.
The first team most likely won’t use their original team. Potential fixed matches include ”Manchester City Vs Bayern Munich”. Remember Bayern had already qualified, and Man City were a big team with better potential. In the first half of the second leg, Bayern were already 2-1 up.
The second half was most likely fixed so that Man City could qualify. Arouca Vs Olympiakos was probably fixed where Arouca won 0-1, but Olympiakos went on to win in extra time. These are major fixes. In smaller leagues, things are more tricky.
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Stay away from these kinds of games. Whrn a game has no effect on things, stay away from them. They can easily be manipulated. Barcelona were 2-0 up against Deportivo at half time, thanks to two goals from Messi. If Deportivo lost that match, they would be relegated. Surprisingly, Deprotivo were able to draw level at 2-2 in the camp Nou at full time. How? You would ask? Negotiations, I would answer. Stay safe, and remember, bet responsibly.