Michael McKean is an experienced writer with a portfolio that includes work on the subjects of sport, gambling, travel and finance. With a background rooted in journalism, Michael first ventured into the professional writing world based in Switzerland, where he wrote for a number of language and travel sites and magazines before moving into the world of sports writing and gambling sites.
As an avid soccer fan, who follows everything from the Scottish lower leagues to the European elites, he has earned himself a solid reputation as a reliable football betting tipster and predictor. Outside of work, Michael has always gotten involved with grassroutes football everywhere he has worked and lived - UK, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and Brazil - and still isn’t shy when it comes to pulling the boots on himself. As well as soccer, he has also developed a love of North American sports, particularly ice hockey - a love which began in Switzerland and saw him venture across the pond to follow the NHL. Moving away from dry land, he’s also a keen longboard surfer and is happiest when writing with a view of the ocean.
Think about this, it’s a Tuesday night and the Golden State Warriors are playing the Indiana Pacers. Between this two, who is the favorites to win the game? Definitely that has to be the Golden state warriors. Naturally you would want to put your money on the Golden State Warriors. If you did that, you just simply betting favorites to win the game which is evidently the Golden State Warriors. Let us take a further look at this topic.
The odds for betting heavy favorites to win are typically very low.
Betting favorites in Detail
Betting favorites is another betting type we are going to fully explore in this article. In sports betting or horse racing, when the word “favorite” is mentioned, it refers to the team, individual or horse that is expected to win. Therefore, bookmakers give the favorites odds which indicate the extent to which they are expected to win. In sports, higher negative odds such as these (-270, -450, -800, etc.) mean there’s a higher possibility of emerging victorious. This is also similar in horse racing, however, the odds are written in a different way (1/7, 2/9, 5/2, 8/3, etc.). Sometimes, the terms “heavy favorites” or “the chalk” are used to refer to strong favorites of sporting events, whether a player, a horse or a team. Though, this is when the subject is strongly fancied in relation to the rest. Therefore, when there’s a marginal difference between the favorites and second favorite, the term “chalk” is hardly used.
If you’re wondering how “chalk” made its way into betting vocabulary, it’s hard to pinpoint that out , but it seems to be in connection with horse racing between the late 1800s to the early 1900s. Previously, the betting companies were set up on and off the racetrack betting stands with the use of large blackboards which displayed the chalk-written names and odds of the racing horses..
As sports bettors’ bets poured in and tips circulated, the odds continuously changed , particularly odds of the favorites. As a result of the frequent changes made to the odds, the favorites usually had more chalk dust round their names than the other competitors this then led to “favorites” being referred to as ‘the Chalk’. Due to this this term is still popularly used by horse racing sports books and bettors, and has even drifted into other sports. For instance, as illustrated below.
For example,
Golden State Warriors vs Indiana Pacers are playing in the NBA league.
The odds on the result (1X2) market are Golden State Warriors to win @1.10 odds whereas Indiana Pacers to win @ 16.0 odds. With the sports books selecting Golden State Warriors as the heavy favorites to win, they can be regarded as the Chalk.
When laying a wager on the heavy favorite, this is called ‘betting the chalk’., Although the heavy favorites are always the most likely to win, it’s not the most popular option. In this illustration , Golden State Warriors vs Indiana Pacers, you’d have to lay a wager of $1,000 to make a $100 profit.
The Betting Strategy and Its Flaws
Among soccer punters, backing the heavy favorites is a very common tactic. It's really easy, likely to return quite a good number of winners. These are two major merits that punters concentrate on. However, among the major errors which casual punters may commit include betting only on favorites. It’s true the favorite will win most of the games, but solely relying on this tactic will swiftly and easily spoil your bankroll. Why? Well, this is because the heavier the favorite you lay wagers on, the heavier the risk involved in returning a good size profit. For instance, If a player constantly bets on favorites in the -200 range, such a player would have to risk $200 every single time to win $100. A loss and such player will have to win another two bets just to recover the $200 already lost. Where such player has a multi-game losing streak, this places the player in a really bad hole and destroys the bankroll.
Blindly laying a wager on the favorite is the laziest tactic you can adopt when handicapping games. Generally, majority of the sports bettors do that and most times side with the higher-profile team, which makes smart bookmakers inflate the odds of the favorite side and consequently attract bets on the other side. What you should take note of is that while a favorite has a higher possibility of winning the game outrightly, this doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be more likely to cover the point spread compared to the underdog.
Depending on the betting system you’re using, betting on the favorite can involve certain differences. When the betting system is the point spread, the favorite will have to lay points. What this implies is that they are beginning the game trailing the other side. The bookies will provide odds such as -3.5, this means the favorite needs to win by four points or more to reward bettors who may have bet on them.
However, when the betting system is money line. The favorites usually have a negative value (-) attached to their odds such as -120, -250, -500, etc. What this signifies is that for you to profit $100, you have to bet that set amount. Also, the greater the negative value , the greater such a team is considered the heavy favorite . For this reason, the real question; do the big favorites usually wagered on win often enough to make this strategy profitable?
Optimizing the betting favorites Strategy
We've laid down that the major merit of this strategy is the possibility of a high win rate. It’s also been established that the biggest demerits are the low odds. Therefore , there are two pretty recognizeable things to focus on for improvement . A cool tactic for putting money on heavy favorites is to include several selections in an accumulator. One can bet the chalk and also make reasonable profit by placing an accumulator or combination bet. There’s still risk involved because even the Chalk will lose once in a while , so you have a part to play, you must apply due diligence and carry out a number of pre-betting research. These processes are needed to locate the best chalk bets in the market. Our Sports Betting Comparison page has been created to save you all this stress as you will see the best sports bookies offering the juiciest odds on betting favorites with inclusion of combination bets
Another option to be tried is only backing the heavy favorites when they play home games. This should boost the win rate. However, the disadvantage, is that the average odds will possibly reduce when this method is used. We attempt only betting on the favorites when odds are placed above a certain level, but this could cut down our win rate.
Which Bookmakers Offer the Best Betting Favorites Deals?
Betting favorites has become very common and as a result of this, there are many bookies out there who offer odds, some cool and some not quite. But the good news is, you can still find sports bookies who offer nice odds and we have made it really easy for you to do just that. To find good sports bookies that are trusted, just visit our sports betting comparison page to choose the sport bookies which attracts you the most and you won’t be disappointed. You can also read our individual operator reviews, such as our “Is Betfair scam?” guide for in-depth information.
The well-researched information contained in our Sports Betting Comparison page gives you of a lot of choices and you get to choose according to your own taste and preferences. Hence, we advise that you visit the sports bookie comparison page to make your betting money!
Of course, we also recommend that you pick up a decent betting bonus before you get started - such as the TVG promo code or Twinspires offer codes, both of which offer a neat deposit bonus for new players.
Conclusion: Betting Favorites and the Smart Routes
As discussed in this article, your choice laying wagers on the favorites is reasonable, because they usually win. However, if you intend making regular and reasonable profits, you cannot simply put bets on favorites based on sentiments and few winning records. You have to reason smartly. Instead of throwing away your hard-earned cash, it is advisable to set some basic parameters as your guide, and research each team separately before deciding who to bet on. You should never select a team simply because they're the big favorite. Rather, you should have a thorough review of the team considered to be the favorite, the opposing team and you should also consider all the conditions leading up to the game, such as whether it’s a home game or not. Try optimizing this strategy with combination bets to boost profit. And to find a nice operator, just visit our sports betting comparison page and select the best operator according to your own standards.
