Betting on esports has become a valuable part of the sports betting industry as a whole and, as such, it’s not going to disappear anytime soon. With that said, if you are looking for a way to start betting on esports, you’re at the right place!
Since you’re most likely a beginner, it’s best to take things slowly, especially if you’ve never even placed a single sports wager in your life. There are many “tourist traps” in esports betting circles, which is why this page is going to be of crucial importance for your first steps.
It will guide you through some of the most common esports mistakes, help you understand them, and teach you about the best ways of avoiding them. Essentially, our esports betting guide here aims to eliminate all the issues that might occur during your first month of real money esports betting!
What Are the Most Common Esports Betting Mistakes?
Now that you know we’re focusing on the most common esports betting mistakes today, it’s time to stop beating around the bush and dive right in!
Have you guys heard about chasing losses? That’s when people lose a ton of money on esports betting (or any other type of online betting, really), and they dive even deeper, wagering with even more money. Often enough, people who chase losses aren’t even betting with their own money. They either take loans or bet with rent or food money.
We reckon you already see where this is going… Never do this!
This is the easiest way to get yourself in serious financial trouble, and you don’t want that! If you’ve lost a promising wager, come to terms with it as soon as possible and call it a day! Tomorrow is another day, and your decision-making skills will be much better after a good night's sleep.
Is there such thing as betting too often or betting too much? Of course, there is! As with everything else in the world, you have to take esports betting in moderation. Too much of it, and you’ll either have a massive dent in your budget or you’ll be forced to go into debt to cover your growing esports betting expenses.
What we recommend is taking a pause after every wager you win. You can treat yourself or put the extra money in next month’s betting bankroll. Either way, make sure you pause every now and then; otherwise, your ability to make rational, fact-driven decisions will be in danger.
What’s worse than betting too much? Betting with money you don’t even have. Yep, some people do this. There are people who take out loans and try to cash in on a fiery special. Needless to say, this is an awful idea on so many levels.
For starters, betting with money you don’t have is the start of another wicked cycle. Even if you win the first wager, you’ll get greedy and go on a betting spree that could seriously endanger your personal finances. Long story short, never bet with the money you don’t have or can’t afford, period.
Let’s say you’ve placed several high-risk bets, one of them comes through, and you end up winning a whole bunch of money. Obviously, this is the perfect chance to finally spoil yourself! Go out and treat yourself! You don’t win big every day (if you do, please teach us).
Unfortunately, lots of people get greedy after getting a major “W.” As soon as they get a taste of winning, they want more. They want to double their win, then again, and again, and again… It’s a vicious cycle—one you should never be a part of! Contrary to popular belief, there’s no place for greed in betting.
Make sure you remember that!
Use attribute "a" for answer.
A ton of esports betting enthusiasts only place match-winner bets. Yes, we understand that match-winners are the simplest, most straightforward bets out there, but there’s really no reason to limit yourself so drastically.
Most of the time, the highest-value bets are hidden away in the esports specials section. It can be a bit time-consuming to find the greatest deals. But if you’re keen on being profitable, that’s definitely one way of drastically increasing your chances of success.
Do we really need to elaborate further on this one? Come on, you should all know that betting when high or drunk is never a good idea. No matter if we’re just talking about a few glasses of beer or a few joints, the results are always the same and terrible for your personal finances.
People make terrible decisions while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. That’s an outright fact. With that being said, if you’re not capable of driving when high or drunk, you’re not capable of betting either. If you are intoxicated or have impaired judgment, just save yourself the losses and call it a night.
Save your money for another day!
Yep, there’s a ton of people who, even after years of experience, still don’t have a full grasp on the basics of online betting on esports. If you’re among them, or if you’re a total beginner, our esports betting FAQ ought to be a good place to start.
It features a massive number of frequently asked questions as well as their respective answers. Most of the questions are based on the basics of esports betting, but there’s some advanced stuff in there, too. There’s bound to be something that’s right up your alley, so make sure you go and check it out!
The same story goes for betting when overly emotional. Whether we’re talking about personal life issues, business issues, or financial difficulties, you should never partake in esports betting when your emotions are driving your daily routine.
If you do, we guarantee you’ll end up losing a ton of money and end up being an even bigger emotional mess. Do you really want that to happen to you? Come on, of course, you don’t! In that case, don’t bet when you’re overly emotional and you’ll be alright!
Never ignore relevant stats! No matter how silly and one-sided they may seem, a relevant stat should always be taken into consideration.
Of course, we’re not talking about stuff like, “The last time Astralis lost on Nuke was on a rainy Tuesday; today is Tuesday and rain is just about to start, so what am I waiting for? $50 on C0ntact all the way!!!”
You need to understand the relevance and learn how to differentiate useful stats from irrelevant, obsolete ones. It’s not something that can be taught. It comes with experience and requires a lot of patience.
Always double-check everything you read online, even if it’s coming from a reliable source! You never know what can go wrong. Perhaps it’s just a typo, or perhaps there’s something more to it. Either way, you should never invest large sums of money into your wagers without previously double-checking all the information you’re working with.
On top of that, never invest your money into bets recommended by so-called industry experts. While we don’t want to get into the whole scam discussion here, we still feel it’s important to emphasize critical thinking. Use their picks or predictions only as a portion of the whole story, and try to corroborate it with additional stats and valuable insights.
That’s how winning wagers are made!
Yep, this is the last common mistake people tend to do when betting on esports. It’s well-represented, just like all the aforementioned ones. Luckily, though, it’s pretty straightforward. There’s no place for unrealistic expectations in the esports betting sphere and in the online betting sphere, in general.
Why? Well, thinking you’ll become rich overnight with a juicy tenfold accumulator will just make you lose more money with each passing day. Chasing massive wins is a never-ending cycle. A cycle that could put your finances in a world of trouble if not addressed in a timely fashion.
For this one, the best advice we can give you is to pace yourselves and take things one step at a time. You probably won’t get rich by betting on esports. It’s a fact. Only a small portion of bettors will be able to live without having to go to work every single day.
The rest will have to suffice with occasional wins and thrive for small profits at the end of each month. It’s just how things go.
Don’t mess around with this one! If you’re not putting enough time into your pre-bet research, you’re going to be on the losing end of most of your bets. We’re not even exaggerating here; investing money in half-baked bets won’t get you anywhere. Well, it can lead you somewhere—to the bankruptcy queue, that’s where!
Research is of crucial importance yet we see so many beginners avoid it altogether. It’s okay if you’re just going to place one or two bets and that’s it… But it’s not okay if you plan on doing it for the next few months. If you belong to the latter group, don’t take pre-bet research for granted. It’s essential!
We all know the internet is packed with misinformation and good old fake news. The sports betting section, unsurprisingly, offers pretty much 90% misinformation. Things wouldn’t be as dangerous as they are if it wasn’t for so-called esports betting experts.
Google tends to emphasize such sites when people search for esports match predictions, which is obviously a bad thing. Beginners flock to them and end up losing a bunch of money either paying for premium “inside tips” or just following randomly-selected predictions instead of doing their own research.
What’s the best course of action here? It’s simple, don’t trust Google and don’t trust random esports betting sites! Only trust in your own research; nothing more and nothing less!
You have to follow the latest trends if you are to remain a threat to esports bookmakers! When talking about trends, we’re referring to stuff like meta (most effective tactics available) alterations, as well as roster changes, transfers, and news surrounding notable teams and players.
If you’re in this for the long run, you need to stay up to speed with this stuff all the time! Go through your social media channels, follow prominent teams and players, and follow their every move. The same goes for your favorite esports titles too!
Sooner or later, you’ll see something groundbreaking first, and you’ll be able to react before the bookies. That’s the charm of esports betting!
People prefer singles, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Singles involve much less risk, but their payouts are (typically) far lower than anything accumulators bring to the table. How come?
Well, let’s start from the basics. Accumulators are wagers that involve several different selections. Instead of betting on each line separately, accumulators allow you to combine multiple bets. The odds are then multiplied with each other and with your stake, which drastically increases potential returns.
Of course, we’re talking about great risks here, but risks that tend to pay off—if you know what you’re doing, of course.
Mind you, we are not saying you should only bet on accumulators. However, spicing things up every now and then could bring you a ton of green!
Esports betting is the most dynamic market out there. You, as the bettor, need to stay on top of its dynamic nature, especially if you want to be profitable, month in and month out.
What do we mean by “dynamic?” Well, things change quickly, no matter which esports titles you’re interested in. New weapons, new items, new playable characters, map alterations, and all sorts of other balancing changes happen all the time.
We often see beginners being way too static. If you want to win bets, you need to be the exact opposite. You need to keep track of all of the above. That will help you in always being one step ahead of the bookies! At the end of the day, it’s what’ll get you more winning bets, and that’s what matters the most!
Last but not least, failing to recognize the most important esports events. This, obviously, depends on the esports title you’re betting on. But the same rule applies to the most: You need to know the starting dates of key events long before they’re due.
Knowing a month in advance (if the information is available, of course) will give you a head start as you’ll be able to research potential participants, watch their games, and take notes as to who’s underperforming and who’s stepping up for the occasion.
In addition to that, you need to learn how to differentiate important from unimportant events. Liquipedia is your friend here; browse through your game’s Liquipedia tournaments hub and you’ll find your answers in minutes.
Wrapping Things Up
If you’re just starting out, make sure you carefully read through these most common esports betting mistakes. They will not only help you make new mistakes but prevent you from repeating your old ones by giving you deeper knowledge on why something shouldn’t be done.
Don’t let such a complex piece on common esports betting mistakes discourage you. We all make mistakes; it’s how much you learn from them that will separate you from others.
With that in mind, thanks for reading the whole piece and good luck in your future esports betting endeavors!
