Esports - a betting perspective
With esports becoming increasingly popular, you only need to see how established bookmakers like 888sport , 10Bet and many others have embraced the esports markets to illustrate their growing appeal in the betting world.
One of our tipsters, Matt, who provides the Aurum 21+ Esports service on Tipstrr, has contributed the following insights into how, in the right hands, esports can become a lucrative betting environment.
Whatever the sport, the simple objective of betting is to find a way to make more than you lose - ie, to make a profit. In an ideal world, that profit could be achieved by winning just every other bet at odds of better than even money. Sounds easy, right?
Well, apparently it’s not so easy, or else everyone would be doing it. However, with a combination of experience, practice and an understanding of your chosen market, you can turn things more to your advantage. That applies to all sports betting - and esports is no exception.
In many sports there are more than two main winning options in any one event. Horse racing is an obvious example, of course, but even with football, you have the three outcomes of home win, away win or draw.
Focusing on a match-up that carries only a win-lose option limits you to only two outcomes, or to put that simplistically, a 50:50 chance with any one bet.
Virtually all esports matches carry that a win-lose betting option. This is the factor that gives you the opportunity of finding 'the value bet’ that you're looking for, by minimising the possible outcomes. You can still go for score bets and map bets and other options in esports if you like, of course, but the better value can be found in this win-lose market.
Two teams playing on a level esports playing field means that both teams technically start their match with an even chance of success. Most matches are best of 1, 3 or 5 games, leaving no room for draws. Someone must win, and this usually produces an odds-on favourite and an outsider, each ostensibly starting with a 50:50 mathematical chance of success.
Obviously, a betting market is built around form, history, and perceived quality, which combine to produce probability and expectations. Teams are established as 'favourite' and 'outsider' for a reason, so it is here that your experience and practice can shine through. If you can choose the right outsider in the right match-up, then you can grab some huge value on that bet. Outsiders do win in all sports, and esports is no different in that regard.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that you just bet on every outsider in sight. Choosing the right balance between outsider bets and other value bets is key to a successful esports portfolio service, and it is here that the 50:50 factor can assist with identifying that elusive extra value. Take a look at the markets, and you’ll find that some of the odds available in what is technically a two-horse race seem very generous, whether it be on the favourite or the outsider.
So now you have to combine your knowledge and experience into a sustainable formula that can weigh those odds up against the value of that outcome, and you're onto a winner. Win at least as many as you lose and you could have something special blossoming.
It sounds easy, but like we said, if it was that easy, everyone would be doing it. The path to successful esport betting, just like with any other sport, requires research, patience and discipline, plus the accumulated experience of recognising that extra value when you see it.
With all that in mind, there seems a clear argument for adding an extra dimension to your betting portfolio by considering one of the many esports tipsters available on Tipstrr.