Esports seems to be taking the sports betting world by storm. It’s risen dramatically lately and offers a lot of different things to gamble on. However, not everybody really understands what the Esports market really is, and this could cause some confusion about how it works, what live Esports gambling is, and the dos and don’ts. Let’s dive deeper into the Esports market and figure out everything there is to know about it.
What Is Esports?
Esports have been growing rapidly over the past few years and it doesn’t look like they’ll slow down anytime soon. With the rise of many social media platforms such as TikTok on top of streaming/recording platforms such as YouTube and Twitch, games are taking over. Esports uses these games that grow in popularity and takes the best players from all over the world to compete against one another in these games. Throughout Esports history, players have been able to commute with their teams from wherever they are located in the world to practice for upcoming competitions. There are also other live events that gather all of these players in person and have them play the game on a stage in front of a large crowd of people and some announcers.
It hasn’t even been a decade since Esports has really been coming around and already the industry is expected to be over $1 billion. There’s a lot of players and organizations that you can watch compete and there are a few different games that they play. It isn’t always just the newer games either. Other top tier competitive games such as Dota 2 and League of Legends are both at the top of the popularity list while coming out years and years ago. You don’t have to visit these in-person events to watch these people compete either. You are able to watch Esports competitions from the comfort of your own home by just tuning into streaming sites. Some competitions are live streamed on YouTube while others utilize Twitch to stream.
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What Games Can You Bet On?
There are a lot of different games that you can bet on for Esports, but you first have to determine what type of genre you are looking to utilize. The first genre of games could be ones that can be classified as an arena type of style. These include aforementioned games such as Dota 2 and League of Legends. If those don’t intrigue you in any way, then you can take your betting over to first person shooter games, which always end up being the most popular genre. These include games such as Call of Duty, Rainbow Six Siege, Team Fortress 2, Valorant, CS: GO, and Overwatch. Then of course there’s sports simulators which include, well, sports games. These involve FIFA, Rocket League, NBA2K and on occasion, Madden.
Finally, there’s a bit of an extra section which includes games that are difficult to fit in any of those previously mentioned genres. These extra games are Street Fighter, Clash Royale, Fortnite, Player Unknown Battle Grounds, Hearthstone and StarCraft 2.
The bottom line is that most games that might be popular as of late will be available to bet on. Once you figure out the team and player you are looking at watching, then it will be easy to just go ahead and place a bet on the game that they might be playing.
Where To Research Esports Bets
The most important thing to do before trying to wager on an Esports event is to research the games, teams, players, and format of the competition. If you go ahead and learn all about these categories, then you will be able to make the best bet possible. Some sportsbooks go ahead and give you all of the statistics that you might need before an event to help you make a solid bet, though other information will have to be figured out on your own. Sometimes your own research can be done by just playing and understanding the game that you want to gamble on.
Once you fully understand how the game works, you can go ahead and read up on the rules for the upcoming matches to know how the rounds work. After that, then it’ll be easy to wrap up by learning the teams and players on them. All of this information will help you make the best bet possible.
How Does Live Betting Esports Work?
Now, you might be wondering how live betting works when it comes to Esports. There are a few different bets that you can make in a live setting. Some of them are for more complex bettors while others are created to be simple and easy for the average gambler. When it comes to the types of bets, you can wager on the total number of maps played in a specific round of game. You can gamble on the first kill of the game, the total number of rounds throughout a match, and even the winner of that particular map.
Most of the time, the best sportsbooks are going to give you much of the live statistics that you could be looking for along with live results to help you place and know what happened on a specific wager. There shouldn’t be much worry when it comes to figuring out how to place live bets on Esports events, as most bookies tend to make it as easy as possible while offering multiple different categories to bet on.
Common Esports Betting Mistakes
You’re going to miss a bet every once in a while; that’s just the way gambling goes. However, you can limit the number of times that you miss one by avoiding common mistakes that everybody seems to make when it comes to Esports gambling in particular. Let's go over some of the most common missteps, so that you can avoid them.
Get Familiar With The Game
The first mistake is that people simply aren’t familiar with the game itself. You’d be surprised to hear the number of people that attempt to gamble on Esports events without even really knowing the basics of the market or how the match is set up.
Do you know what League Of Legends is all about? Do you know how maps are won in Valorant? Are you familiar with what ‘First Blood' means?
Learning the games and the competitions in those games is the very first thing you do before throwing money onto a team or player.
Manage Your Money
The second mistake bettors make is not paying attention to how much money they're betting. Keeping track of your earnings and losses is key to staying afloat in gambling. It's good to have a system. If you start with $100, you don't want to bet $100 on every match. You want to wager something like $5 per bet on average and maybe $10 on your stronger plays.
Come up with what your betting units are for each wager and then do one, two or three unit plays. That way, you are organized. If you're betting $73 here and $22 there, your money won't last long. Those who are more calculated with their decisions are more likely to succeed.
Don't Get Caught Up In Emotions
If you get too caught up trying to make up for past losses, you're in trouble. Each bet is an individual decision. You're going to win some and you're going to lose plenty. If you're swinging for the fences trying to get a monster payout, you are in it for the wrong reasons.
While it's fun to watch, try to keep your emotions in check. Your bets should be based on calculated decisions. If you let the losses get to you, you're likely to go off course.
Only Betting Favorites
Another mistake is that people tend to bet on their favorite teams or games. For example, if your favorite team hasn’t won a single event throughout the whole year and are massive underdogs. It’s going to be hard for you to bet the house on them to win just because you enjoy watching them. The facts say that they haven’t won a game all year and shouldn’t win this upcoming match. Your winnings are likely to increase if you stay far away from gambling simply off who you like more rather than researching the facts to go with it.
Examine Current Form
Finally, the last common mistake people make is that they ignore the team’s forms. For those that don’t know what a team form is in Esports, it is something that goes over the performance of that specific team after every match. Along with the team form comes the player form with the same type of information. These forms give your insight into how the team is playing as a whole lately and how each individual player has been playing. If you catch a few players slipping while the team is barely winning matches, then maybe it could be best to avoid betting on them and look for the other team to catch them off-guard. The worst thing that you can do is to avoid these forms and gamble purely on instinct.
Tips To Succeed
If you want to succeed in the Esports betting market, then here are a few tips that you need to remember going forward.
Understand The Odds
The first thing is to always pay attention to the odds. No matter what the matchup is, or the team, or the game, you have to know what the odds are. Sometimes the odds look like they are heavily favoring one team and opening the door for a strong underdog to take them out, another time that favorite might genuinely be ten times better. When you do your research, you have to pay attention to the odds at hand to make the most well-informed decision that you can make.
Listen To Expert Predictions
Another tip is to take some time and listen to expert predictions on the matches. If you do your research on the market, you’ll likely come across a few Esports professionals who give their opinions on the matchups at hand. These people usually offer valuable tips and statistics to the teams and players so that you don’t have to do all the research yourselves. Most of the time, they know what they are talking about and it’s hard to ignore the things that they have to say. If you want to make the most out of your bets, especially early on, then listening to these tipsters will be a great way to do that.
Track Your Bets
Lastly, you have to know the betting record you have and the profits you’re making along the way. Your betting record is going to tell you the types of wagers that you have been good at and the ones you’ve been bad at. Paying close attention to these records indicate the strengths and weaknesses of your gambling and can help you hone in on the things you’re good at to maximize winnings.
When you begin to do this, you must also keep track of the profits you’re earning. Use the betting record to make small profits here and there and don’t toss all of it away with the sole thought of trying to win it big immediately. Knowing how much money you are either earning or losing is vital to successful gambling. Utilizing this along with the betting records will only help you.
Capitalize On Betting Bonuses
Betting bonuses are offered mostly everywhere but they can be particularly useful in the Esports market. The sports book that you are gambling at will usually have some form of bonus that they are offering to you. Taking advantage of these bonuses can help you walk away with even more profit than you would have normally. Most of the time, people can earn a bonus immediately when they first sign up to the site. Other times, the site itself sends out some promotional material to draw in more gamblers.
Whatever the case may be, it’s always worth keeping an eye on these promotions and taking advantage of them when they come around. If for some reason these promotions confuse you, or the terms aren’t necessarily clear, then simply go ahead and contact the customer service team to get a better understanding of it. It’s nice to know what the bonus really is and often times there is fine print at the bottom that might catch you signing up for something you didn’t want to do. For example, some bonuses require a specific deposit or even multiple wagers before you can start to earn the bonus that you signed up for. Other times, you would have to turn over your bonus multiple times before you could even withdraw the money you have earned. Each promotio
