Top 10 Mistakes to Avoid When Betting on Cricket

We all love the spectacle that is a thrilling cricket match. Opposing teams doing their best to outdo each other with skill, strategy, and teamwork are the hallmarks of a good game. 

With the rise of online betting platforms, cricket betting has also experienced a boom recently, with many new bettors getting in on all the action and thrill that comes with online gambling. 

However, smart bettors know that maximizing one’s chances of winning is a hard skill to learn and even harder to master. Today we will take a look at the top 10 mistakes that bettors make when betting on cricket to help you win more! 

10. Not knowing the formats

Just so we are all on the same page, let’s quickly go through some of the fundamental aspects of cricket. If you are unfamiliar with the rules, making large bets won’t do you much good, learning the sport is relatively easy though. 

Go through how the different formats change the dynamics of the game. In general, T20s are very short matches jam-packed with action, ODIs maintain a healthy balance with a whole day of play, and test matches are long affairs going on for days on end. 

Although these are the biggest names, T10 and 100 ball are also catching up and offer unique challenges to the team and unique betting conditions for you. 

Go through all the basic rules of the format and familiarize yourself with the ways teams generally play in said formats. Knowing is half the battle, after all, and even seasoned bettors and cricket fans would be surprised by how many new ways of playing cricket are popping up. 

9. Ignoring the fundamentals

A lot goes into predicting which team has the highest likelihood of winning a cricket match. Things like the toss, weather conditions, player form, and pitch conditions all play a vital role in deciding which team has the higher odds. 

The team that wins the toss takes the advantageous option, giving them a higher likelihood of winning. Weather conditions like rain bring their own problems by slowing down pace bowlers and making batting and fielding harder. Pitch conditions like wear and tear, moisture content, and dryness can also significantly impact the ball, which also adds to the difficulty. 

All this to say, going in blind is never a good strategy, and knowing all the conditions can help you make a more educated bet. We get it, it’s an emotional game, and your favorite team has all your support, but sucessful betting needs a neutral eye. 

8. Betting with your emotions

We all want our favorite team to win, but betting requires nuance, as we discussed previously. Betting with your emotions can be disastrous in any setting but in cricket, it can drain your bankroll quickly. Making a plan when placing bets and always sticking to it makes you successful. 

Cricket teams have their highs and lows, and although you may be invested in their progress, your money should not. Making rational decisions based on the format and fundamentals is ultimately a more rewarding experience for you. Also, consider winning streaks or recent losses, which can make you bet impulsively, chasing your wins or losses is a bad idea.

Always stick to your research when betting and go through in-game stats before the match or after an inning to make sure your decisions are factual. Your gut instinct might not always be right, so always find ways to back it up with data and stats. 

7. Not following team news

You don’t want to make your strategy and get ready to gamble only to find out the key players are injured or unavailable. A cricket team needs teamwork and coordinated effort to win, and knowing the players and their conditions can quickly make your research irrelevant or even useless. 

Cricket players often pick up injuries during practice or matches, which is important to consider before strategizing. News about injuries and recovery time are notoriously late to arrive, so keeping your favorite team’s latest news can help you know the starting 11 and their strengths. 

Furthermore, player performance can also be impacted by their form and familiarity with the team, so keeping up with recent transfers and their stats helps. 

The batting and bowling lineup is also important, as you want the team to have a healthy mix of batsmen, bowlers, and all-rounders. 

6. Not comparing the odds

We all have a stigma against window shoppers, but looking around before settling for a bookmaker has a lot of advantages. With so many options, both online and offline, you want to make sure you get the best odds available before putting your money down. 

Different sportsbooks have slightly different odds on the same match as they have their own set of data analyzers. Therefore, you may not feel the pinch in the short term but maximizing your profits in the long term would be an issue. 

Beginners might find it to be a difficult process to go through, but there are plenty of websites that will calculate all the data for you and show you which bookmaker has the best odds. 

Your overall profitability is also important if you take online cricket betting seriously. It’s so easy to find the best odds that it never hurts to check once before you place your bets. 

5. Sticking to a platform

Going off of the previous point, some bettors might also have a hard time switching platforms if they get too accustomed to one. This can hamper your overall profitability as you won’t be taking advantage of better odds or special offers on other platforms. 

With such a huge market, we understand that you would be cautious of betting on unreliable platforms. However, simply doing a Google search and reading reviews by other websites will help you find platforms that have a good reputation and are deemed, to be honest. By having different platforms for betting, you get the chance to find the one with the best odds for a particular match. 

You also get to enjoy all the special offers, like sign-up bonuses and daily promotions that these platforms regularly dish out for new and returning customers. 

4. Not having a betting strategy

Bankroll management is one of the most important aspects of a healthy gambling life. Adding to that is always having a betting strategy and some ground rules that you follow no matter what comes. With cricket, it’s easy to see your team doing well in the starting overs and going all in, but that’s not a good strategy. 

A well-defined plan stops you from making impulsive bets and losing more money than you are comfortable with. You don’t need to make up spreadsheets and such, just remember to only spend as much as you are comfortable losing and only bet if it fits your budget. The amount of the bet also needs to be consistent with the chances of winning rather than your hopes. 

Set a limit and frequency if you struggle to bet, it could be after 5 or 10 overs or even after an inning, depending on the format. A logical and statistic-driven approach to betting will help you conserve money while still enjoying your session.

3. Betting on popular opinion

We definitely recommend checking out what people are saying about the match in advance but settling on public opinion is a risk. Blindly following the crowd means you can easily get swept up into thinking you’re right without much evidence. 

When a large percentage of bettors bet similarly in a situation, it creates an artificial bias that can be hard to overlook. People often support the popular team without doing much research, and betting based on these factors is unfair. 

If you come to a conclusion that is backed by evidence, it’s always better to believe in yourself, especially if the other side has no data to back them up. 

We know how turbulent cricket matches can be, and the crowds can sway from one extreme to the other. Always conduct your own research and go through expert opinions before jumping in with the masses. 

2. Not managing expectations with odds

Online cricket betting can be an exciting and thrilling experience, but having unrealistic expectations will kill that joy quickly. Understanding odds and managing your expectations accordingly is a much better way to approach betting in cricket. 

A higher likelihood of happening means a lower win, while a lower likelihood of winning means bigger payouts. The catch is the risk that you take with the lower likelihood option, which might not even materialise. 

Going for a safer bet means smaller but more frequent returns, which is much better than trying to win it big and hoping for an unlikely scenario.  

Remember, you started because of your love for the sport and your willingness to predict correct outcomes. If your goals are to become filthy rich, it might not materialize, which is why we recommend treating the extra money as a bonus. 

1. Trying to make prop bets

There are various types of bets available to you when betting on cricket matches. Depending on your bookmaker, these can range from wide bets, like which team wins, to very specific ones, like which player gets how many 4s or 6s. The narrow bets are called prop bets which pay more but are also very hard to predict. 

Both beginners and experienced bettors tend to be swayed by the bigger payouts that these bets promise. However, these events can be notoriously hard to call out and have little data to back them up. Although they can be an exciting way to place a couple of bets, we would recommend you steer clear of these bets as the potential of winning is severely limited. 

Instead, go for the wider bets, like betting on which team wins the match. You could also try in-play bets, which give you better agency and control over your bet as you can see how the match is going. You can also go for handicap bets which give bettors the option to bet on a team or player crossing a certain threshold. 

Cricket fans are going to have plenty of action to look forward to in 2023. This is the perfect time to study betting and ensure you know what to avoid if you want to get into cricket betting. 

Your research, strategy, and discipline when betting will improve your experience and give you bragging rights when you win. The question is, are you ready to set foot into the exciting world of cricket betting? 

With these tips and tricks under your belt, you know exactly what to avoid. Now check those tournament dates and get ready to sit back, relax, and make some money betting on cricket! Check out the best cricket events to try your luck at with your betting skills.