Live Betting Cash-Out Strategy
As mobile betting becomes legal in more states, live betting is becoming more and more popular amongst bettors. It's a great way to get better odds on bets — and to get adjusted lines that before the game would have seemed too good to be true.
But like with any other type of bet, live betting is not easy. It is something that you will need to practice and study to become great at. In order to create your best possible return on investment, you'll need to know how to avoid obvious traps and when the best times to cash out are. If you're unfamiliar with cashing out on a live bet, it means that you can cash out on your bet before a game or contest is over. Vegas will make plenty of enticing offers, but it is about knowing which ones to take and which ones to avoid.
Below, I will offer some advice on when to cash out and when to keep your bet open, but before saying that, you must understand that live betting is much, much easier if you're actually watching the game that you're betting on. You'll be able to get a feel for the game flow and see if a team is winning because they're better or because of flukes. Let's take a look at some other strategies that you can impose in order to create the best return on investment by either taking the money or waiting on live bets.
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Know Your Parlay Schedule
While the parlay you create won't be a live bet, there will be plenty of times that Vegas tries to get you to cash out of your parlays once the bet is live. This is generally the easiest way for Vegas to convince you to cash out. Sometimes it's with good reason, other times it's just because they can offer you a discounted price and prevent their own losses.
The key to this will be knowing in what order your parlays occur if they take place over the course of multiple games, especially if the games are at different times or are on different days. If you have your underdogs or longshot bets early, and they all hit, Vegas is probably going to offer you a pretty good offer to cash out. However, it won't be as good as what you would win if your safer bets hit later. So why take the cash out? You shouldn't. This is a way for Vegas to save a few dollars. Now, if you hit all your favorites and your longshot is later, then maybe it would be worth it to take the cash out, especially if you can get a good return on your initial bet. Knowing the order of your parlays is crucial to creating a good return on investment.
Cashing Out on Underdogs
Maybe you were high on the Texans this season. Maybe you really thought they had a chance to defeat the Chiefs straight up in the AFC Divisional round. You watch the beginning of their game, and your eyes light up. It was an easy bet, and you knew it all along. But if you're a seasoned bettor, you also know how good the Chiefs are. You know their offense can score seemingly at will, and it could just be a matter of time before they start to string together points.
If you had the Texans on the moneyline in that game, maybe you didn't even bother opening up your sports betting app. But it's never a bad idea to take a look at cash out options when you have an underdog because it is likely that Vegas is willing to pay out more than what your initial bet was if they are able to build a huge lead. Now, leading 24-0 may not seem like the most opportune time to back out of a bet, and it's not, but what about when the Chiefs started to put it all together? When it was 24-7, 24-14 — again, you must watch the games, and you must watch them closely. If you are, you'll be able to see when a favorite is starting to click on all cylinders and preparing to make a run for the victory.
Waiting it Out For Favorites
This goes hand-in-hand with my previous point, but it is so easy to get caught up in a favorite playing poorly early in a game. Frustration sets in, and you want to throw your phone across the room. But don't fret. They were favored for a reason. There are some times that you should consider backing out, such as if a key player gets injured during a game, but for the most part, you should give your team time to turn things around. They won't always, but better teams do tend to win games.
Vegas will try to lure you toward an early cash-out, maybe offering $5 on a bet of $20 because your team is losing, but sporting events are long, and there is plenty of time for a good team to start to figure things out. Again referring to the Chiefs vs. Texans AFC Divisional round game, not only did the Chiefs win that game, they covered the original point spread — and covered the spread with a six-point tease on it. Of course, there are times when you should bail on a favorite, but don't do it early. Don't fall into the trap of knee jerk reactions. Sometimes it makes sense to take the $5 and count your losses, but there are other times when you should let the game develop before cashing out.
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Philip Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Philip, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.