By: Michael Saladino
As an avid sports fan who loves watching the best players in their respective leagues or best teams in theirs, compete at the highest level. Betting on the games brings a whole other element to watching the games. 30 of the 50 States in the United States allow sports gambling to be legal. Living in the state of Pennsylvania, it allows it. From 2020, I will bet from time to time on the games throughout the season. So the question at hand and the pinpoint reason for this piece, is it worth it?
I’ll be honest, the answer is, are you lucky or not! For example, just the other day I bet on the Los Angeles Dodgers to beat the Washington Nationals. You would think with the Dodgers being the best team in the National League, winning 5 in a row, the Nationals on the bottom of the NL East, and it being played in LA; the Dodgers would win the game. On FanDuel, the app we all use to sports bet over here, had the Dodgers moneyline at -225 and the Nationals Moneyline at +350. This means if you bet 100 dollars on the Dodgers and they won. You would make a profit of somewhere around only 40 dollars and of course your money back. On the contrary, if you bet 100 dollars on the Nationals and they won. You would make a profit of 350 dollars and of course your money back. If you do not bet a lot or at all, you may be tempted to take the Nationals because of the return. The thing is most of the time with high winnings like that, the bet is highly unlikely not to happen. At least most of the time on paper that is what is supposed to happen. Cut to the chase, the Nationals won 4 to 1 over the Dodgers. Make sense to anyone?
The Washington Nationals’ Juan Soto, left, smiles after being forced out at first base by Dodgers starting pitcher Tony Gonsolin during the first inning on Monday night at Dodger Stadium. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Another prime example just talked about on the pod. Juan’s hot pick was the Phillies winning over the Braves on Monday. I was in full confidence that the Braves coming in hot and the Phillies coming in out of shape getting swept by the Cubs. I think I said at one point to Juan’s pick, I would throw a lot of bread on the Braves. Thank God I did not. The Phillies came back from being down 3-0 early and down one in the late stages of the game. They went on to win 6 to 4. Another one that did not make sense to me. Outside of luck, I think betting in the form of parleys gives you a good chance to win. Parleys are where you can stack up teams to win their respective games and combine the low odds to make a profit. It looks like that would be an easy way to win money but games like the Dodgers losing to the Nationals and the Phillies coming back to beat the Braves make it hard.
I think to answer the question at hand straightforward, it really is luck. There is no rhyme or reason to if you win or lose at sports betting. It all depends on what will happen and what team will be victorious. In sports any team or any player can win on any given day, no matter what the record is or where it is being played. So for my personal use, I have decided to delete my app from sports betting. I think if you want to participate in sports betting, bet on events once a while that hold major results or bet on a championship winning team before the season starts. This way is almost less of a bet and more so as an investment over time, not instant. Similarly investing in stocks you more than likely will want to invest in stocks over time instead of the risks of day trading. Same kind of concept. Going back to what I alluded to earlier, sports really give us the best content when anything can happen. So to all my sports fans out there; enjoy the games and make money if you can but know your limit. Please gamble responsibly and be safe out there!
Commenti