In which sports can you make money by betting on favorites?

Basketball and handball, possibly tennis, are the author's personal favorites. To be sure, not all of the games in the mentioned sports:

• Basketball (men): World Championships, Olympic Games, Euroleague, NBA, United League, Adriatic League, championships of Spain, Australia, Argentina, France, Greece, and Lithuania;
• World Handball Championships, European Championships, championships of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Spain, Germany, and France;
• Tennis Grand Slam tournaments, fights only between tennis players ranked in the top 100 worldwide.

Avoid lower championships and be cautious of women's competitions. Youth, regional, and amateur competitions are not eligible either.

Basketball and handball are particularly well suited since matches are held over longer distances than in other sports. A sufficient number of points are earned at the end of matches, implying that a "black swan" is less likely.

In tennis, the outsider is unlikely to win by coincidence. Tennis players at the top and bottom of the TOP-100 rating are of considerably different calibers. There aren't as many unexpected games as there are in football or ice hockey.

Important: the preceding material is the author's personal opinion. Unexpected outcomes occur in all sports, including basketball, handball, and tennis.

Betting on favorites with low odds is not a good idea, especially if they are chosen blindly and without analysis, either for single bets or when combining them in parlays, especially if there are more than three events. Click here if you want to register with multiple bookmakers to shop for the best line.

Making a parlay bet raises the bookmaker's profit margin. A single bet with odds of 2 is more profitable on average than a parlay bet with the same value.

Accumulator with favorites are only justified if the results are chosen based on analysis rather than the bookmaker's line.

Despite this, many gamblers attempt to hit the jackpot by combining obvious options. If the majority of people attained this goal, the bookmakers would have gone bankrupt a long time ago.

Why is it so foolish to rely just on a betting line?

The selection of the outcome of the bet based on the odds is an incorrect strategy that allows you to win sometimes, but it is too naive to expect a consistent income in this manner.

It's ridiculous to pick a favorite based on the line before the game. The chances are not always in your favor. The difference in team strength and winning probability may not be as significant as the difference in individual team success rates. The majority of the "vig" usually goes to the favorite.

Bookmakers are well aware that the majority of gamblers, place their bets based on odds. If the odds are low, they believe the chances of winning are high. It is difficult to get rid of this hoax. Furthermore, because the majority of the money is directed precisely toward the favorite, the already low line gets worse.

Few people consider bets on outsiders with odds greater than two because the bettor is certain that the event has no chance. These bets might be beneficial in the long run (value betting).