While there are some arguments that you should bet on your favorite teams, and it is great to start with what you know, this shouldn’t be your only strategy. Solely betting on teams you like and follow has some big potential pitfalls that we explore below.
Sports can be followed from all over the world, and sports betting sites offer more markets than ever before. Being able to broaden your horizons could lead to the best results.
You’re less likely to follow form
When it is your local team or a team you know and love, you might not look at the black and white of the form. Instead, you might think you have a gut feeling or knowledge about injuries and trades that may not actually be relevant. You might think you know exactly where James Harden is going in the off-season, or act on other rumors of trades.
Most gamblers who are looking to make a good return tend to study the form in some detail.
You might make an emotional decision
It is possible to let emotion come into things with your favorite team. For example, betting on things that you really want to happen.
Some people even choose to bet against their favorite team as they see it as a sort of win-win situation. Either their team wins or their bet does. Actually, you might just be losing bets for the sake of it this way.
It is easy to let emotion get the better of you when you are backing your favorite teams. We’ve all seen what sports can do to peoples’ emotions.
You may never be backing the favorite
Your favorite team might be one of those “forever underdog” teams. Of course, the times when they do win there is the potential for a bigger return, but if you are constantly backing a team that isn’t the favorite then you may win less often.
You are limiting potential parlay and accumulators
A lot of the big wins you might see online come from big parlay bets, and we’ve all seen examples that land for lucky gamblers.
For making the most out of parlays and building up the potential odds, you will probably need to be open to backing more teams than just those you follow. A lot of people will choose something to back in all of the football or basketball games on one particular day.
Parlays are long shot bets, but if you can do your research then you always have a chance of making an accurate prediction.
You might not be able to find as much information
Your local team or your favorite team might not be one of the biggest, which means that when you are doing your research you might struggle to get the information you need.
People that take gambling seriously rather than just using it as a long shot tend to do a lot of research and this can include checking out the statistics on one team, the opposition, even the referee…
Naturally, the most information and the most statistics are found on big fixtures and big teams, so only backing your favorite might limit how much research and planning you can do.
You may limit access to markets
A lot of sportsbook betting allows you to choose from loads of different markets such as how many points or goals are going to be scored, and even individual player bets like who will be an MVP. You may also be able to combine different lines to make a longer odds bet.
If your favorite team is one that not many people have heard of, you might still be able to bet on them, but the book probably won’t be open to so many different markets. You might not know what you think the winner of a matchup is going to be, but you might think you’re in for a high scoring game. Your favorite team might not give you access to those markets.
Conclusion
Betting on your favorite teams isn’t necessarily a bad thing at all, especially if you are the kind of person who is capable of separating your emotions, as you will probably have a good idea of what your team can do, what form they are in, and even knowledge like who is injured or whether they might be tired from a previous fixture. However, there are many more sports and markets to explore that can lead to more success, depending on your willingness to do the research needed.