The importance of statistics in sports betting for beginners

Generally, data collection is a very important part of forecasting. The link between informed research and successful bets is a testament to why statistics is key in predicting the outcome of a sporting event.

Consciously, unconsciously, or even sub-consciously, the psychology of parties involved in a match is influenced by experiences and past results. Although statistics are crucial to achieving accurate forecasts, it is also premature to fully depend on statistics.

Several other factors affect the outcome of a game. Factors like weather, festivity, or even the uncertainty of a coach's job affects the following matches.

However, having such information is not enough; it is also important for pundits to know how to utilize them in the odds market. First, the statistics obtainable on the internet are almost limitless, so bettors need a bit of direction with its use.

Beginners can use basic statistics like a team's position on the table or previous matches, for starters. But there are deeper and more advanced statistics behind these basic ones.

Nevertheless, players do not want to be caught up in too varying statistics, which can easily become counterproductive. Until one knows the implication of data on the next match, there is no need to consider it.

Sports betting and statistics

The unfortunate reality of betting is that it is a probability tussle between bookmakers and players who hope to win a bet. The betting companies are banking on the player's inability to accurately predict the outcome of a sports match.

If they depend on all kinds of statistics from different databases, there is no reason why players shouldn't too. Also, the effectiveness and relevance of the statistics depend on the market.

For example, the number of corners by Liverpool in their last four matches are 5, 7, 5, and 7. Bettors can also find a similar pattern in the scorecard of individual Red Sox players or any other team. Such markets show a higher dependence or correlation with statistics.

However, the market is not limited to sports as it can also be less polarising, like predicting the outcome of celebrity events. Fortunately, these sets of information have become easily accessible.

What should one bet on as a beginner?

Betting has become very diverse over the years, with numerous forms of sports and games to bet on. One of such sports that has been around for a while is horse racing.

As a beginner, one can stick to the basic wagers, which are Win, Place, and Show. All of which enables cash out depending on the position of one's selection. Horse racing has different markets, and the most popular one is the outright victory market.

In all of these, an important source of information is veteran trainers and jockeys like Peter Scudamore, who shares his top horse racing tips. They know the stables, and their opinions on a horse's chances can be incredibly reliable.

Bettors can also check the form of a particular horse in previous races or trials to determine the one to bet on. Also, the weather and track formation go a long way in affecting the performance of horses.

Final thoughts

One important question that always comes up when doing sports research is how far back should one go? There is no one method to this; some players stick with as much information that will not cloud their betting instinct or confuse them.

For example, if a pundit bets on a footballer to score, it makes sense to consider the player's goal ratio in the previous season and his current form. Bettors can go back more seasons as far as the statistics do not become inconsistent and can form steady patterns.

Nonetheless, even the best use of statistics is never a guarantee for an accurate betting forecast.