Live Betting & Strategies to Win More Bets

Live betting is quickly gaining in popularity.

Key Points

– Live betting has many advantages over placing bets before a game.

– In-game bettors can employ a number of different strategies to ensure their success.

Live, or in-game, betting is all the rage today. Sports betting has taken off dramatically over the past several years in the U.S. with changes in legislation making it legal in 32 states now.

Improvements in betting software and technology have allowed sportsbooks to offer more live bets. The evolution of sports betting has created a frenzy of improvements. Streaming games live through a sportsbook app is now common for bettors. 

So, what is live betting and how can bettors use this new phenomenon to win more bets?

It’s not a trick. In-game betting is exactly what it sounds like. Bettors wager on a game that is already underway and has not yet been completed (wouldn’t that be something?).

Bettors now have the ability to bet on a point spread, moneyline, or total while a game is actually being played. Sportsbooks continually update odds as the game goes on. Typically, odds and lines are updated when there is a stoppage of play.

This has some advantages for sports bettors.

If you have never partaken of live betting, you are missing an absolute thrill ride. Watching games that you have placed a pre-game bet on are exciting. Betting live while a game is going on is exciting on steroids.

Besides the thrill and excitement of in-game betting, there are other benefits as well. There are times when bettors simply miss the pre-game bet. For whatever reason, they weren’t able to place the bet they wanted before game time.

In-game betting allows that bettor to still get in on the action. The bettor can wait for the first available live lines and oftentimes can get a number similar to what was available before the game started.

Live bettors are often able to find more valuable bets in a live situation. Take the following example in an NFL game.

The favorite leads at the half 21-7, but the underdog has turned the ball over twice in the favorite’s red zone. Live bettors can react accordingly to the live odds with the benefit of having watched the first half.

While some see a blowout coming, others see value on the underdog and the comeback. The beauty of live betting is that the bettor has more accurate data. That can make sports gamblers better at what they do.

As mentioned, live betting can make you a better sports bettor. There are some simple strategies that the live bettor can put into action to help improve the chances of being successful with live bets.

The easiest and simplest of all in-game betting strategies is this – Watch the games you are live betting. Don’t place live bets on games that you are not watching. Watching a game as it plays out is where the advantage lies in finding value in live bets.

Another easy live betting tip is to shop for the best live lines and odds. Bettors do it with pre-game bets. Why would they not with a live bet? If you like the Bulls at +250 on the live moneyline but another sportsbook has them at +265, that’s an extra $15 on a $100 bet.

One thing live bettors can look for are pre-game favorites that are trailing early in a game. There tends to be an overreaction by sportsbooks when this happens.

A great example of that came in the 2018 AFC championship game. The Kansas City Chiefs were a 3-point pre-game favorite. They fell behind the New England Patriots 14-0 prior to halftime. The odds adjusted and suddenly, Kansas City was a 6.5-point underdog late in the first half. 

This example brings us to another benefit and winning strategy related to live betting. Sports bettors can use live bets as a hedge. In our example with the Chiefs now a 6.5-point underdog, we have a situation where we can hedge our pregame bet on KC.

When the Chiefs fell behind early, the smarter bettor placed a bet on Kansas City at +6.5. The Patriots would ultimately win the game in overtime by a score of 37-31. The pregame bet was a loser, but the live bet was a winner.

There are many advantages to live betting, but because of the speed of games and the necessity to place bets at the right time the live bettor cannot wager on too many games at once. It’s just too hard to keep up. It is also important to keep track of your bets.

Bettors should also not use live bets to chase a bad bet or a bad loss. In-game betting should be used properly and used when bettors find value in a live bet.