How to Spot an “Edge” in the Market Before the “House” Does

Being able to spot an “edge” is where you can identify bets that offer good value where the balance of reward makes the risk more worthwhile. In sports betting, experienced bettors can sometimes find sports bet odds that have been mispriced by the sports book.

If you can spot these inefficiencies before the bookies adjust them, you can take advantage of the edge that you have found. For example, a sports book might provide odds before team news comes out for an NHL game and if you have been checking injury updates, you might be aware that some players are likely to be unavailable, giving the other team a better chance of winning. If the bookies have not factored the injuries into their odds, you can bet at favorable odds before the bookies adjust their odds.

For casino games, finding an edge is quite different to sports betting. If you are playing a game like blackjack against the dealer, you don’t have odds that adapt around other factors.

However, developing strategies where you improve decision-making by working out mathematical probabilities based on total hand value and the dealer up-card will give you a slight advantage.

These are some of the ways you might be able to spot an edge in the market:

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Identify Good Value Bonuses

Sometimes online casinos will offer better bonuses than usual, particularly if they are trying to attract new players or are promoting a new game. They might only offer the promo for a short period or until a certain number of players have claimed the bonus, so acting quickly to redeem the bonus can work in your favor.

Free bets that don’t require you to place any of your own money sometimes come up and can help you to boost your betting funds. Even if they don’t relate to your usual type of betting activity, it is always worth a go with free bets, as long as it does not lead to you placing more bets that you wouldn’t usually be interested in.

Don’t get caught out by bonus terms that make it really difficult to claim a bonus or that will make you wager more money than you would usually do for a certain game or event. High wagering requirements can turn a seemingly good bonus offer into a much less valuable one.

Bet on Niche Sports or Leagues

For sports betting, you are more likely to find favorable odds when betting on soft markets such as lower leagues and not the major teams or events. So, rather than betting on one of the top NHL teams, if you follow a local team in a smaller league, and have a lot of knowledge about the team, you are more likely to find good value bets.

The bookies might not have a lot of analysis to base their odds on and your expertise could play into your hands by identifying value odds. If you prefer to bet on major sports, you should spend time researching information such as injury news, form, head-to-head, tactical announcements and even weather changes for sports where this can have a big impact, like horse racing. Use this information quickly to place bets before odds change as more bettors become aware of team news etc.

Play Table Games with Less Skilled Players

While this does not involve beating “the house”, you can improve your odds of winning games like blackjack online by choosing 3:2 blackjack instead of 6:5.

For poker games, choosing tables where you are one of the more accomplished players will help to be more successful. You should be able to spot less experienced players or overly loose players during a game and you can make better decisions around when to raise stakes to take advantage of this.

The more you play at a specific casino, the easier it will be to recognize regular players who you are less likely to win against. If you have the option of table selection, you are best sitting to the left of inexperienced or loose players.

Conclusion

Finding an edge is most common in sports betting because slots and games against the dealer have consistent odds/average Return to Player payouts. However, if you are playing online table games against other players then you can find your own edge by being selective with who you play against.

You can also stay disciplined with your betting to prevent avoidable losses. For example, walking away instead of chasing losses or taking breaks to help maintain focus will give you an “edge” by increasing your chances of long-term successes at your chosen game.