Football Manager Expert and Political Betting Specialist across Exchange and Spread Betting Sites
14 Betting Tips and Guidelines
Daily we get a host of enquiries about betting especially from those new to betting who need some advice t
The following guidelines should assist you in making better betting decisions.
All these guidelines are featured in more detail across OLBG.com.
Many of the guidelines were put forward by members and we hope you find them useful.
| Number | Betting Guidlines |
|---|---|
| 1 | Make sure you always take the best betting odds on offer. |
| 2 | Take advantage of all bookmaker free bets. |
| 3 | Take advantage of all bookmaker concessions such as money-back offers. |
| 4 | Always bet using a betting bank. |
| 5 | Never bet more than a small percentage of your betting bank. |
| 6 | Specialise in one sport and learn that sport completely. |
| 7 | Understand all the betting markets available to you. |
| 8 | Put yourself in the shoes of the bookmakers' odds compilers and understand how they create betting markets and odds. |
| 9 | Use OLBG to tip without risking any funds. |
| 10 | Test your strategies over a period of time. |
| 11 | Learn and study implied probability so it becomes second nature. |
| 12 | Learn how to create your own tissue of prices. |
| 13 | Understand how betting exchanges and spread betting works. |
| 14 | Take advantage of your superior knowledge to build bets on multiple selections using the numerous request a bet options |
| 15 | Get organised and keep detailed records, this will tell you where you are going right and wrong. |
1. Make sure you always take the best betting odds on offer.
This should be stamped on our foreheads and if forgotten maybe a tattoo would be helpful!
There are now so many bookmakers offering betting odds that there should be no excuse for any of us.
By always taking the best prices you have a much better chance of achieving long term profitability.
The top line would see you break even, but by getting a daily 1 point bigger price would give you an extra £910 profit.
Yet on too many occasions we stick with the same bookmaker because it is convenient…. Don’t!!!
We have 000's of articles imploring you to always try and take the best price.
We daily update the best betting sites so you are always aware of who is offering what.
We have articles on every sport and guide you to which bookie is best in that specific sport, + every page has a review of each bookmaker, a star rating and if applicable the latest free bet offer.
2. Take advantage of all bookmaker free bets.
There is a misconception about free bets that the bookie always benefits from free bets.
In their trading rooms I expect they feel differently when they see a free bet winner at 10/1.
Free bets need to be seen as a bonus for us, as punters we don’t get much for free.
Treat the free bet with the same care as if you were using your own money.
Do not waste the free bet, but wait until you have a confident value bet, you are risking nothing, but the benefit should always be ours.
Take your bookmaker free bets seriously as it can make a big difference to your bottom line.
3. Take advantage of all bookmaker concessions such as money back offers.
The same as above, if you have a bet lined up wait for the opportune moment to use the money back concession.
Don’t let the bookmaker dictate to you, if there is money back on Women’s Netball and you never bet on Women’s Netball then ignore that money back concession.
Only take advantage of these concessions and bookmaker promos when you know the sport and event, and you were already planning to place a bet.
4. Always bet with a betting bank.
We should all keep our betting funds away from our day to day household expenses.
All of us have monthly commitments that we need to meet, once you have those covered you should set aside money that you wish to bet with.
A betting bank will make you more disciplined as a real Barclays or HSBC bank does in our daily lives.
Keep everything separate and diligently keep betting records, by doing this you can also check which style of bet is bringing you most reward.
Look to increase your bank over a period of time from money won via your bets.
Members have discussed various betting bank scenarios over the years, much of the discussion is packed with helpful advice and from this we created the following article.
Make Money Betting, Have a Betting Plan and Be Businesslike
5. Never bet more than a small percentage of your betting bank.
This guideline is incredibly important.
You need to block out the noise from other punters and tipsters and just focus on your betting and your bank.
You should only ever be risking a fraction of your betting bank on individual bets.
You are going to have losers, and by only risking a fraction, say 1% or 2% you should never go broke.
As your bank increases in size that 1% or 2% becomes a bigger amount, but still protects the other 98% or 99%.
6. Specialise in one sport and learn that sport completely.
When you were at school I expect you did well and enjoyed one subject more than any other. Now in betting the same principle should be your guide.
There will be a sport that you enjoy, have most knowledge of, do not find boring, and follow intently.
Make sure you visit our articles to enhance your knowledge, which include best football bookmakers and best betting sites for horse racing.
This learnt knowledge can benefit you in your betting endeavours, keep on reading and watching this specific sport and you will have the wherewithal to make confident bets.
The Best Football Betting Sites
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025
7. Understand all the betting markets available to you.
So you have your sport of choice, but do you know all the betting markets on offer on that particular sport?
On football, for example, I counted nearly 150 markets for a midweek Champions League Games.
Now many of these markets are niche, but if you can find a market and learn all about it you can profit whilst others go ignorantly by.
8. Put yourself in the shoes of the bookmakers odds compilers
The scenario here is that you are employed by bet365 or William Hill or any bookie, put yourself in their shoes and try and understand why they have priced an event the way they have.
You may think that odds for Manchester United are too short in their home game, but would you take bets from your friends at a bigger price than the bookies?
The bookmakers set their odds to make a profit whatever the outcome, the odds are based on money expected to be placed and statistical probability.
Many create their own betting odds before the bookies have priced up an event, it’s a very worthwhile exercise and should become part of your betting life.
Once the bookies have priced up a market you can compare and contrast your odds opinion to the odds from the bookies.
If you have priced up Manchester United at 2.25 and a bookmaker is offering 2.75 then that may be a value bet.
Master the Art of Value Betting and Maximize Your Winnings
9. Use OLBG to tip without risking any funds.
The OLBG Tipping competition offers you the chance to test out your betting strategies without risking any money.
If you take the competitions seriously you can view how all your monthly/yearly selections performed.
By practice you can hone your tipping and betting prowess and possibly recreate your tips into profitable bets.
10. Test your strategies over a period of time.
Whatever methods or systems you utilise the proof of their profitability is the bottom line.
Give your strategy time, use small stakes, tweak conditions, and continue testing.
Betting Systems Unleashed – Your Comprehensive Guide
11. Learn and study implied probability so it becomes second nature.
Implied probability is a conversion of betting odds into a percentage.
It takes into account the bookmakers margin to calculate the expected probability of an outcome occurring.
| Team | Decimal Odds | Implied Probability |
|---|---|---|
| Manchester United | 2.25 | 44.44% |
| Draw | 2.5 | 40.00% |
| Arsenal | 5.5 | 18.18% |
If you think Manchester United have a 50% chance of winning the game which is implied probability of 2.0, then odds of 2.25 on offer could give you a decent bet.
How Bookmakers Work and Create Odds
12. . Learn how to create your own tissue of prices.
A tissue is a set of prices created by ratings and probability.
Some amateur tissue creators collate odds without a bookmaking margin built-in, and then a small percentage for each runner to replicate the bookmakers margin.
Therefore they end up with 2 tissues and can compare their prices with the bookies true prices.
No bookmaker odds will ever be less than 100%, as they wouldn’t create a market with no profit for themselves!
| 10 Runner Race Betting To 100% | 10 Runner Race Betting To 120% |
|---|---|
| 2.7 | 2.2 |
| 3.25 | 2.5 |
| 6.5 | 6 |
| 9.5 | 9.5 |
| 51 | 51 |
| 51 | 51 |
| 101 | 101 |
| 126 | 126 |
| 151 | 151 |
| 201 | 201 |
You Can Win More Often When You Investigate and Learn Bookmakers Betting Percentages
13. Understand how betting exchanges and spread betting works.
As punters we are spoilt for choice we can bet with 000’s of traditional bookmakers, use 1 of 4 betting exchanges or use 1 of 2 spread betting sites.
What I do is visit all three options when deciding on a bet, then I can be sure I am getting the best return for my money.
In many cases there may only be slight variations, but having the choice means I never have to settle for the lowest price.
If you refer to lesson 1 then getting the best odds is key to becoming a profitable bettor, understanding and using betting exchanges and spread betting sites means you should always be able to get those best odds.
On OLBG we have a multitude of articles on betting exchanges including the best betting exchanges for you.
When it comes to spread betting we have produced the definitive Sports Spread Betting guide, alongside a comparison of the pros and cons of Sporting Index and Spreadex.
Spread Betting Advice
Best Sports Spread Betting Sites
14. Request A Bet
As your betting knowledge grows the opportunity to build winning multiple bets becomes more likely.
The bookies now allow us to mix and match events and sports and request tailored prices from them.
Whether it is Ladbrokes - #GetAPrice or William Hill - #Your Odds or a host of other bookmakers, the request a bet phenomenon shows no sign of slowing down
On OLBG we have undertaken a detailed bet builder review for all your request a bet questions.
Careful study of markets can throw up multiple opportunities especially on teams that you follow.
Request-a-Bet Builders - Which is Best?
15. Get Organised!!
Get organised and keep detailed records, this will tell you where you are going right and wrong.
Too often we think we are doing well after a couple of winners or losing big after a run of losers.
No business would second guess their profits, and if we are going to beat the bookies then a ledger of your bets is a must.
- See which races were most profitable (National Hunt, Flat, All-Weather)
- See how handicaps compared to non-handicaps.
- See which months your best months were
- See which sports you should concentrate on.
- See the prices which gave you the biggest profits.
- See whether you did better with shorties or longshots
- See whether home teams or away teams resulted in more winners
You can go as deep with your records as you wish, but the more comprehensive your record-keeping the better the chance you have of making long term profits.
You may have noticed that there are 15 sections, I intend to update this blog as members add more pieces of helpful advice, so you can expect the number to grow!!
Enjoy your betting, be responsible, and always keep it fun.
