How to Apply Poker Tactics to Improve Your Sports Betting

Let us say right out of the traps – there’s no tactic you can use to gain an edge over the house. Although some of the elite poker players in the world can use their skill and guile to showcase their superior talents, poker is an anomaly in this sense. It’s the only casino game where the top 0.01% can use their technique and skillset to emerge victorious.

Can You Use Other Casino Card-Based Gaming Strategy?

Some social media influencers might proclaim that they know how to beat the casino at blackjack, whether it’s via card counting or some miraculous technique that only they know. It’s nonsense. Don’t fall for it.

There was a time when card counting could be leveraged in a land-based casino, but once land-based dealers introduced more shoes into the game, switched dealers, and had pit bosses looking out for those who were card counting, it became much more challenging to do.

Now, those who play blackjack game online will tell you – it’s impossible to do it, given the decks shuffle randomly with each hand and use sophisticated algorithms. Poker is a more rounded game with a deeper level of strategy, with the top players having an intricate understanding of human psychology and how to bluff their way out of a tight spot.

Sports betting certainly doesn’t fall into this category – but today, we’re going to show you how there are similarities that exist between the two gambling markets and how becoming competent at poker can lead to an effective sports betting strategy that helps you mitigate losses and not let your wagering spiral.

Games Of Chance

Phil Ivey is considered the GOAT – I think he’s the GOAT anyway. While he has felt the wrath of the courts in the UK over issues that have stemmed from edge-sorting while playing baccarat in a London Mayfair casino back in 2012. It’s a shame because you get this story if you search for anything Ivey-related.

Although it isn’t his finest hour, it detracts from the man's legacy. While Ivey might have made seven figures in his career, he’s part of an elite, select group of players who have been given a generational talent at the poker table.

Ultimately, if you or I were to sit down and play a poker game, it would be a game of chance. It doesn’t matter if you have just learned how to play Texas Hold’Em or have been playing for years. Unless you are a professional – then there’s no advantage you have. Any sport you bet on is the same.

Although some niche sports fans sometimes suggest they can get better odds on niche games with less active markets, the house edge, which is the arbitrary nature of any sporting event determined by human performance, remains.

Positive Attributes To Carry Over

Poker, if anything, teaches patience. Some of the best players in the world can sit at a table for hours at a time and not say a word. Patience is also a crucial attribute in sports betting, knowing when to find potential value in the market, not diving head first into a bet or sport you don’t fully understand, and knowing when your back is against the wall so you can bank your balance and live to fight another day.

All of the skills you can take from poker experience revolve around safe betting. In sports betting, you need to understand the monetary risks involved and how to execute your strategy accordingly.

Quite frankly, betting on any sport you don’t understand is a ludicrous idea. It’d be stupid to sit down at a poker table without knowing the rules, so why would that same logic not apply to sports betting?

A measured approach is always key, as is knowing when to walk away. As long as you can do that at the poker table and carry this over to sports betting, then you will be able to place wagers on sports bets in the true spirit, and not get carried away, regardless of the sport you’re betting on.

Final Thoughts

The most important thing to remember with poker gaming and sports betting is that there are no guaranteed routes to victory. Both games are designed to be fun, and not be viewed as a source of income.

Obviously, this approach is muddied somewhat by the fact there are professional poker players, but they make up such a minute part of the industry that you should never put yourself in this bracket. I believe the term is delusions of grandeur.

While some poker players on the lower end of the scale have detailed how big wins can change their mentality – it is important to take stock and realize that these games are designed solely for our entertainment.

Learn how the game works, bet modestly and within your limits, and exercise caution in your approach to both markets, and you should be able to use your approach to poker to turn your sports betting strategy into a well-rounded one.

Article by

Alex Zlatanovic

As an avid online casino player, Alex strives to stay in touch with the latest gambling trends. He likes to share his passion for the industry with other players through his writing work. You can connect with Alex on LinkedIn .