Betting Systems
Betting systems are ways of analyzing and using any kind of data in order to predict the outcome of a football match; it can also apply to different sports but we will be discussing the systems specific to football. Some people may think that a betting system is a scheme that sports bettors use to cheat, but that is far from the truth. The reason bettors use a system is to help them better prepare and predict which team will win, or at least win the bet. Think of them as a helpful guide that a bettor can follow in order to continue their success.
There are already many different betting systems out there, and if you want to use any one of those, be my guest, but it is always important to note that not everything is as reliable and trustworthy as your own experience and knowledge. This is why creating your own football betting system is such a powerful tool, since the bettor knows how it works and how well it performs. There are a few simple steps that a bettor needs to undertake in order to start their creation process; record everything, determine how or why a certain team or player performed the way that they did, and put it into the simplest form possible.
Record Everything
This is something a sports bettor should always be doing, recording any and all useful data. There are some obvious pieces of data that need to recorded, like the team and player stats, which will get them the starting blocks for their betting system. Other pieces of information that they need to record is the news/weather.
Team Stats
Team stats are the easiest to find and record, a bettor can find this information on sports news websites, or simply by looking up the team’s websites. These stats usually come in a very general form and can be written as following.
Offensive |
Amount |
Rank |
Average Score |
19 |
23 |
Total Yards |
421 |
17 |
Rushing Yards |
151 |
16 |
Passing Yards |
270 |
8 |
Defensive |
Amount |
Rank |
Average Score Against |
16 |
9 |
Total Yards |
329 |
9 |
Rushing Yards |
219 |
21 |
Passing Yards |
110 |
10 |
This gives a bettor the general overview of what the overall team performance is like, along with the rankings and actual figures. As this is the overall team performance, it will only give the bettor a glimpse of what a team can actually perform like.
Player Stats
This is where a bettor needs to take their time, as it is a lengthy process. Recording the individual stats for each player can get tiresome and tedious, but once it is done, it can give the bettor so much more insight than they could have imagined. For example, let us take the Quarterback stats.
Completed Passes |
Attempted Passes |
Percent |
Yards |
Average Yards |
Touchdowns |
Interceptions |
12 |
17 |
70.5% |
240 |
20 |
5 |
1 |
These numbers will change weekly as the football season progresses, so the bettor should always be updating their stats in order to get a more accurate prediction. The great thing about stats is that the more data a person gathers, the more accurate it will prove to be. The bettor will have to gather this type of information on the other players; some bettors stick to the key players, but it would be better to have at least the defensive, offensive, and special team starting lineup stats; it would be roughly around 25 players per team.
News and Weather
Keeping up with the news is essential, as it can give the bettor some insight into what a team or player will be performing like. They can get updates on trades, injuries, and anything else related to football that cannot be found through just looking at the data. One piece of extreme importance is the weather. The weather affects football is such a grand way that there are experts trying to figure out just how to minimize its effect. During cold weather the ball will feel heavier, and it will also be harder to grip due to the cold and wetness. The same thing would go for a hot day or a windy day or a rainy day. Looking at how a team performs during these weather conditions or even by seeing how much a team is used to one type of weather can be useful.
Analyze the Reasons
Just simply recording all the data does not mean that a bettor is ready to start their betting system. They also need to make sure that the data recorded is valid, and not just a one-time fluke. This is why a bettor needs to ask themselves several questions to make sure. Asking at least 5 – 10 Why, How, and What, questions should help narrow down which data can be used with more prejudice.
A few examples could be:
- Why did the team win?
- How did the team win, is it repeatable?
- What did they do in order to beat the other team?
Questions like these will help the bettor understand why a team stats are the way they are; even help understand why a team may perform better against one team and not the other.
Putting It All Together
Once a bettor has all of this information and has analyzed it, they can start formulating predictions based on this information. They may want to use different data depending on the type of bet they want to make. If the bettor wants to wager on the Money Line, they would need to take into account each of the team’s in the matchup and analyze which would perform better; they can do this by comparing and contrasting the stats recoded for each. Say the bettor decides to wager on the Point Spread, as this bet relies more on how well a team scores or how well a team defends against the score, they would not need information regarding aspects that have nothing to do with scoring.
Bet Type |
Possible Data to Use |
Money Line |
|
Spread Bet |
|
Totals (Over/Under) |
|
Once a player has determined which team and betting type they are going to wager on, the next step is to simply record (yes, more recording!) how well their wagers performed.
Wager Type |
Based On |
Performed |
Money Line (-110) | Team 1 vs. Team 2 stats | Won |
Spread Bet (+3.5 +120) | Total points for each team | Lost |
Spread Bet (-2.5 -110) | Average Points for each team | Won |
Money Line (+130) | Underdog home performance stats | Won |
Totals (Un 39.5 -110) | Total points for each team | Lost |
Totals (Ov 39.5 -110) | Total average points for each team | Won |
Money Line (+110) | Team 1 vs. Team 2 stats | Won |
Using a mix between what types of wagers were placed and what information was used to determine the outcome is what a betting system is all about. As you can see by the above example, the bettor has a good winning ratio of 5:2. They should try to keep improving by continuously using the bets that were accurate and discard or change the bets that did not work.
This way, when there is a matchup, the bettor can simply look at their betting system, fill in the applicable data, and will be able to accurately predict the outcome. The bettor would need to assign “points” which would be the equivalent of how much weight one team’s stats has over the other.
Team 1 |
Team 2 |
Points Given For |
10 | Better Overall Offense | |
10 | Better Overall Defense | |
8 | Higher Average Points Scored | |
8 | Higher Average Points Stopped | |
6 | Better Passer Rating | |
5 | More Interceptions For |
After the list of reasons to give a team certain points is made, the bettor can simply award points based on the team’s stats, and at the end compare which team has more points than the other. Be aware that this is just an example, and each bettor should determine the point structure themselves based on their own research.
The bettor now has a football betting system at their disposal and can start to test it and use it.