Beginner Tips for Betting on eSports
Bogdan LashchenkoThe viewing figures of esports is rising, as is betting interest. If you’re thinking of putting down some money but have no experience placing bets here are some basic tips to help you get started.
Betting Basics
For beginners, understanding how odds work is the first thing. Many sites still use old-fashioned fractions, such as 3/1 (so if you bet £1 you would make £3 and get your stake returned if your bet wins). However, many sportsbooks (as well as betting exchanges) now use decimals. In this format, 3/1 becomes 4, and with 2 being evens and anything below that being odds on. This system is popular because it makes it easier to be precise, especially for laying bets. Laying a bet means betting against an outcome occurring. This has become more commonplace since the birth of exchanges which have back and lay odds on every single bet. Exchanges work by having players bet against one another, with the site making money from a commission on the winnings. (NB there are many other types of odds, but fractions and decimals are the most common internationally).
As a general rule of thumb, it’s a good idea to have accounts with at least one sportsbook and exchange, and several sportsbooks accounts is no bad thing. This means more bonuses to take advantage of, as well as the benefit of marginally better odds. Five percent extra might not sound that much but it can add up over time.
It can also be a good idea to follow esport betting tips early on to get an idea of what to back. Regardless of whether you do this or not, start off betting with small stakes and try not to get either over-excited or despondent if things go well or poorly for you. Part of betting is accepting sometimes luck will hand you a victory or snatch it away, and that’s why it’s crucial to never bet more than you can afford to lose.
Make the Most of No Deposit Bonuses
Many online sportsbooks give away free bets as part of introductory promotions to welcome newcomers, or as recurring small (often around £1 or £5 levels) rewards to regular bettors. These offer a good opportunity for backing value long shots (explained in more detail below) as there’s no chance of loss and a nice return if you win. However, you can also use these in more cunning ways to guarantee profits. If you have two free bets at different sportsbooks and can back alternative outcomes (team A to win and team B to win in an A versus B match, for example) you’re going to finish in the black. However, you can even do this when you have just one free bet bonus.
This is best done with an account at a betting exchange. All you do is back a certain outcome with your free bet, then lay that same outcome at the betting exchange, taking care to get the stake and odds to line up so you finish ahead either way. Using these two techniques turns a free bet into free profit. Be careful not to try using your free bet and the counter-bet at the same sportsbook as this will invalidate the promotion.
When there are no esports games on, or you feel like a change for variety, then a similar deal is possible with online casino betting. There are various types of no deposit casino deals such as free spins and free cash which enable to chance to win real cash without having to deposit and risk losing anything at all. These are great bonuses for those who fancy trying casino games and regular players alike. But even if casino games aren’t your cup of tea, no deposit casino deals offer the chance to win with no chance of losing, and are well worth exploiting for your own benefit.
Picking the Right Game and Keeping Things Simple
There are three games that are the main markets for esports in terms of both viewership and betting, and these are League of Legends, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (better known as CS:GO). However, other games also have a healthy level of betting activity, including Valorant, Overwatch, Rainbow Six, and more. When starting out, it’s much easier to pick a game with which you’re already familiar.
Games have the typical win/lose style markets but because each has its own particular approach the other markets can vary quite significantly. For example, when betting on CS:GO it’s possible to back pistol round winners or map winners, as well as predicting the correct best of 3 scoreline. And some sportsbooks are more into esports than others, which can affect the available markets.
To start out with, it’s advisable to keep things simple and stick to the main win/lose markets, as these are the most straightforward to predict (and are also always on offer). Take your time to understand the detail not only of the game in question but also the intricacies of the esports teams involved. The history of a CS:GO team and how well they stack up against their opponents are factors well worth bearing in mind.
Value and Predictive Betting
Value in betting terms means when the odds offered by a bookie are longer than the odds in reality, so that if you consistently back value bets you should finish ahead. That’s not to say every value bet will pay out. It’s entirely possible to have a 60/1 shot that should be only 20/1, giving a small chance of it coming off, but the odds are still so much longer than they should be that it’s worth backing.
Predictive betting is much simpler and focuses on backing what you think will happen. This can be a good approach with free bets but with your own money, this does put you at the whim of the sportsbooks because of the lack of weight given to the odds (and the odds are critical). Overall, value betting is a better idea. Identify when odds are mispriced (perhaps a big name team has been underperforming recently or just scraping victories and are facing an in-form but little known side who have longer odds because of lack of name recognition) and back accordingly.
Team Composition
Generally speaking, esports is a collection of team games and this introduces another critical factor: the best team beats the best players. What this means is that a team has to be composed of players who understand one another instinctively and will act to support one another. One good team will beat a handful of talented individuals every single time because teamwork makes four players more powerful than four individuals. As the World Cup-winning football manager Marcello Lippi once said: 'Best players don't always make up the best team'.
And that wraps up our look at some of the basic tips for beginners to consider when betting on esports. Remember always the golden rule: only bet what you can afford to lose.
Bogdan Lashchenko – content manager at EgamersWorld.Bogdan has been working at EGamersWorld since 2023. Joining the company, he began fillin the site with information, news and events.