What kind of sports bettor are you?

Placing wagers on any sporting event automatically makes it much more interesting to watch, especially if you are not emotionally invested in it (you don’t support any of the two teams in the game). The more money is involved in the bet, the more exciting match becomes, bringing the ultimate level of adrenaline together. Sports betting has grown in popularity significantly over the last few years, particularly following the rise of the online gambling industry. 

As a consequence, major betting operators (primarily those located in the United Kingdom and the United States), such as Bet365, Unibet, FanDuel, DraftKings, or William Hill Sportsbook have grown into massive businesses. After all, this is why we are witnessing the birth of loads of new sports betting websites all over the globe these days. These sportsbooks have a small group of punters they don't particularly like, while at the same time looking to attract as many recreational bettors as possible. Have you ever thought of these groups? To which one do you belong? 

Sharps

This is the type of professional pundits the sports betting operators are kind of afraid of. Luckily for them, the sharps are also the smallest group out there. They are regarded as professionals who look at sports wagering as a full-time job. They put in hours and hours analyzing all possible statistics and getting all the relevant information possible every single day to get the right pick. 

Sharps usually place their bets shortly after the lines are released by the sportsbooks for the purpose of taking advantage of potential mistakes (and there are plenty of these in such a wide market). 

Arbitrage Bettors 

They can’t be regarded as professionals, but arbitrage bettors are still certainly much more successful than most of the other types. For those who are not aware of the arbitrage betting term, it refers to betting on all possible outcomes of a particular event across distinct sportsbooks. Thanks to the wide range of the betting operators at our disposal at present times, we can easily find those with the best odds for each outcome. If you bet the home win, the draw, and the away win at three different operators, getting the best possible odds for each of your wagers, you will come on top for a guaranteed profit regardless of the result of a game. Have in mind that some sportsbooks could eventually block your betting account if they assume you are an arbitrage bettor. 

Recreational Punters

This is the most common group of bettors. They just place wagers to have fun times while watching the games. Do not get us wrong, they are obviously doing so to win, but the lack of proper analyses of a game and the overall pre-match effort prevents them from winning in the long run. If you fall into this category, we advise you to learn how to handle loss and not let your emotions get the best of you. 

Fans

Last but not least are fans. They are very similar to recreational bettors, but instead of looking for an in-form side, they will always back the team they cheer for. For example, a New York Knicks fan will back his favorite team to beat the likes of Los Angeles Lakers despite knowing they have very little or even zero chances of seeing off one of the strongest teams in the NBA. 

Of course, there are gambling addicts who will place wagers on pretty much anything on the menu. Even if they have never heard of any player or the team they are betting on, they will go on and place these picks because of the addiction. We hope you are not one of these.