Whilst everyone’s main aim is to make money from online sports betting, there will be many that look for advantages, tips and tricks that sportsbooks and bookmakers will hope do not get discovered by their punters.
One such thing that many consider using to try and “beat the bookies” is a sports betting algorithm. These programs and tools, which are highly complex, are designed to try and help online sports betting fans position themselves in favourable positions by analysing the markets and spotting trends and profitable betting opportunities.
What is a betting algorithm?
Those that are new to the online sports betting world might not know what a sports betting algorithm is, whilst those that are more experienced may have heard of it but might be unaware of what they do or how they can work.
Indeed, the simple definition that can be provided is that a betting algorithm is a computer program that has been designed to identify the most profitable betting opportunities that are available in the world of sport. These computer tools will use a large array of data from past sporting events to try and identify patterns and trends that may have happened in the past, whilst they will also calculate the probability of certain outcomes that may happen.
The outcomes will then be compared to the odds that are offered by bookmakers and sportsbooks, thus being able to identify the bets that are worth placing when they arise.
Different types of betting algorithms are available
There are two main types of betting algorithms that are available to use, with one being better than the other depending on the desired outcomes.
The first is called a ‘Betting Arbitrage Algorithm’ and this is where punters can take advantage of continually changing odds for a certain outcome. This is where bettors will place a bet at favourable odds and then will place a bet against their original bet once the odds have moved to guarantee that they receive a profit.
The other type is the ‘Value Betting Algorithm’. A value bet is described as being a bet where the odds for an outcome are favourable, based on the probability of it happening. These are typically the type of bets where a load of data has been collected from past events and used to predict the outcome of what may happen in the next meeting or event.
Can sports betting algorithms work?
There are many sports betting fans that have found using a sports betting algorithm to have worked for them, although it could be argued it is not a sure-fire way of making money all the time.
Naturally, the algorithm will need to be able to find profitable bets and values that are around, otherwise a profit simply can not be made. If they can do this, then punters can rest assured that they will be able to make money. Most successful sports bettors will have been made successful down to the use of an algorithm, however the biggest challenge will be to find one that simply works.