Figuring out how to choose a sports betting service or professional sports handicapper can be a little tricky. With literally thousands of them out there, it's tough to weed out the good from the bad (and trust me there's plenty of the not so good).
Although not quite as bad as it used to be, the sports handicapping industry still has their fair share of "scamdicappers." I think I've been doing this long enough to figure out the good from the bad. Click on a link below to go to the various sections of the How to Choose a Sports Betting Service page.
Let's go over the criteria I use in figuring out how to choose a sports betting service that most bettors can affordable and can be +EV to your betting.
First of all, I'd stay away from services that tout their picks everywhere but look for those that are much more professional in how they handle themselves. More time should be spent handicapping and not marketing.
Once a sports betting service becomes to big, then the value is most likely gone because the market inefficiencies have disintegrated. That's why sharp bettors are very recluse and keep everything close to the vest.
However, there are still good services out there. Hey, if you're only hitting 45% yourself and the sports betting service bumps it to 50%, they are adding value. Granted you're still losing, but not as much (of course you have to account for the cost of the service as well).
I like services that I know have good contacts in the sports they handicap. I also prefer sports betting services that spend at least 90% of their time handicapping games and only 10% marketing their services.
Along with that last comment, I would say that 90% of sports betting services spend much more time marketing themselves than actually handicapping games. My point is that if you're a great handicapper with a proven track record then you won't have to market yourself because your past results will do the marketing for you.
In my personal opinion, if you're going to pay for picks then I would suggest only using one sports betting service or handicapper per season per sport. It's kind of like the stock market, you can never time it perfectly. So if you approach it with a buy and hold strategy, I really think you'll be better off.
You're never going to be able to time when a handicapper or service is going to get hot (or cold) so it's best off sticking with one service (as long as they have a consistent track record of winning) for the entire season and ride out the highs and lows.
Don't try to time it because you'll never win that way. Stick to one service or handicapper per sport and look at it over an entire season (not day by day), and I can assure you this is the ideal long term strategy.
Before I get into the criteria I use in determining how to choose a sports betting service, I want to touch on a few things that you'll want to stay away from. Understanding what not to look for is almost as important as what to look for when you're searching for how to choose a sports betting service.
First off stay away from handicappers that offer different levels of picks i.e. premium picks, regular picks...etc. Why they hell they do this is just marketing. A reputable sports handicapper will give the same picks to every client.
Stay far far away from handicappers that make their service out to be some kind of get rich scheme. There's no such thing as a "lock" or guarantee. There are tons of these types of services out there.
Also stay away from services or handicappers that have over the top corny websites with flashy cars and promises of winning 90% of the time. It's just not reality and please don't get caught up in the hype. If it sounds to good to be true, then it is.
Remember that sports investing is long term and while it won't make you rich quickly, it can make you rich over an extended period of time. It's just like building a business. Slow and steady always wins the race.
Also, try to stay away from services that only post how "hot" they are over the last however many games because trust me they're going to get cold. I'd personally rather see who is the "coldest" (of course they must have a proven track record) and follow them because they're soon to get hot. So try to stay away from the hot handicappers and focus on consistency. Top of Page
Criteria for Choosing a Sports Betting Service
or Professional Sports Handicapper
Are They Honest and Reputable? Yes, I know it sounds so simple but it's really much harder than that when you're learning how to choose a sports betting service. I will guarantee that just about every service website will make them out to be the best in the world, but trust me, you'll need to dig deeper.
Investigate everything you can about them. Call The Sports Monitor as listed above, check on various forums and ask what other handicappers are saying about them, email or call them to ask questions...etc.
If you're going to be paying them for their services, you'll want to make sure you're comfortable but most importantly they're not full of BS. If they're not honest and reputable then the rest of my criteria is basically worthless since you won't know what's fact or fiction.
What's Their Track Record? Obviously, this is very important when it comes to finding out how to choose a sports betting service. You'll want to search for a service that has an established, consistent record of winning (preferably at least a 55% winning percentage in the sport you're wanting to use them for since most services typically only excel in one sport).
With most of my personal recommendations, they'll list their actual long term track record right on the site (and it's legit because I've checked). However, whether they do or don't list their history, you'll always want to check with a monitoring service or someone who uses their services to find out their actual long term record.
Most services will rank their plays between 1-5 units (they're all a little different). So you'll also need to find out what their unit record is if you're going to be playing different amounts depending on the unit size. This is very important to find out.
How Long Have They Been in Business? In my opinion, you don't want to use a service that has a track record of less than three years (unless the lead handicapper had an established record somewhere else). I really think this is crucial when it comes to understanding how to choose a sports betting service.
I know, I'm sorry to all those great services that have incredible records but have been around for less than three years but that's just my rule of thumb. You want to make sure they can deliver over the long run and I feel that at least a three year track record will give you a pretty good idea.
What is Their Sports Betting Philosophy? It's very important to know and understand a services philosophy, but even more crucial is that it coincides with what you believe in. Understanding how they choose their picks is important in finding out how to choose a sports betting service.
Possible questions to find out would be:
- Do they us power rankings?
- Do they have inside contacts or access to information that isn't public knowledge?
- Do they rely on statistical models?
- Do they imply both technical and fundamental analysis?
These are just a few questions that you can ask to get a better understanding of how they handicap a game and what their overall sports investing philosophy is based on.
What Sports Do They Handicap and What Are They Best At? Figuring out what sports they handicap can be done pretty easily just by checking out their website. But finding out what they excel in can take a little more hard work.
You'll want to check with various sports betting forums to see what others say as well as do your own homework. Call and ask them questions and they'll typically be pretty up front and honest on what sports they're best at.
This is an important question to find out when you're learning how to choose a sports betting service. Put in the time to find out what sports a service handicaps but more importantly what they're good at.
How Much Does it Cost Obviously this very important because it's going to effect your overall money management strategy. Money management is absolutely crucial (as you can tell by reading the money mangement page) and plays a critcial factor when your learning how to choose a sports betting service. The more it costs, the higher percentage of games you must win to break even.
Costs can vary drastically, but as long as they have a proven record and you'll be betting enough to justify the cost (and playing enough games) then you should be ok. However, it's important to factor in the cost of the service and be able to justify it within your money management philosophy (I have some statistical charts on the money management page that should help out as well.)
What's Their Customer Service Like? The final of my criteria when learning of how to choose a sports betting service is customer service. Some questions to ask yourself are:
- Can you talk with the head handicapper anytime you want or are you only allowed to speak with the underlings?
- Will they answer your questions in a timely manner whether it's leaving a message or sending an email?
- Are they knowledgeable and do they know what they're talking about?
- Can you actually get a hold of somebody?
- Do they send their picks in a timely manner?
- Do they seem friendly and wanting to help?
These are a few questions to find out before signing up. Customer service is important and you want to make sure you're being treating as paying client...well, because you are.
I hope this gives you a little more information in how I've gone about teaching myself of how to choose a sports betting service. It takes a little time, but you'll figure it out. Definitely check out the write ups of my sports service recommendations as well.
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Check Out My Recommended Sports Betting Services By Clicking on the Links Below
Jefferson Sports Wunderdog Sports Spider Web Sports
Right Angle Sports Dr. Bob Sports Maddux Sports Tour-Tips
