The Guide to Becoming a Professional Football Tipster

There are no specific personality traits required to becoming a football tipster, with anyone determined to become successful able to. There are however certain attributes betters require if expert betting is the end goal. Below are four of the key factors required to become a professional football tipster:

1. Watch as many matches as possible
2. Improve your knowledge
3. Research, research, research
4. Choose your favourite markets

What becomes clearer in football betting the more bets are placed is that there is no luck, good or bad, involved whatsoever. Everything is numerical and comes down to mathematics. It’s all odds and variables that change throughout the season.

The most crucial aspect to becoming a football betting tipster is choosing the bets with most value. Perhaps it be an underrated underdog, an underrated favourite, or a particular market, a punter will be able to find value in many ways.

Anyone can become a professional football tipster.

How to identify value

1. Don’t look at the odds

Whilst this may seem a peculiar place to start, it’s best for research to be done before seeing what odds the bookies are offering, as they may cloud the better’s judgement.

2. Predict the outcome

Decide which outcome is most probable. For example, in the WDW market, which team would take the three points or progress to the next round.

3. Make the prediction

Rather unfortunately from a betting perspective, no one can see into the future. It’s important therefore to estimate the chances of the event happening, quantifying it into a percentage. For example, when Manchester City welcome Premier League newcomers Fulham to The Etihad Stadium, the chance of The Citizens beating The Whites would be around 75%.

4. Set the odds

To calculate a percentage into either decimal or fractional odds, an implied probability calculator can be used. For example, 75% is 1/3 in fractional form, with 1.33 in a decimal format. On our prediction pages, it’s possible to view odds in either of these ways, as well as in American odds.

5. Compare odds to the bookmakers’

Now that the odds have been calculated, check what bookmakers are offering and compare. If the bookies are different, why? If the odds calculated are more accurate than the bookies’, or should they offer better odds than those calculated, go ahead, place the bet!

Tips to becoming a football tipster

Understand numbers

As mentioned, getting familiar with numbers is crucial. A punter doesn’t have to be a mathematician, as the maths required is fairly straightforward and easy to comprehend. Understanding how odds and probability works is highly recommended. If wanting to learn more about odds, check out our odds article.

Keep track of betting records

If eager to improve winnings, it’s a wise move to keep track of all bets made. This allows tipsters to keep an eye out for patterns in both wins and losses, analysing strengths and learning potential weaknesses, which can be used advantageously when placing the next bet. For example:

• Do I win more selecting the underdog or favourite?
• Do I win more in a particular market?
• Do I win more on a certain day of the week, or time of the day?

Keeping track of your betting records is a great idea.

Necessary characteristics for a football tipster

Be confident, but realistic

As punters, we all know the feeling of when our success rate is lower than usual, as there is no such thing as constant success. During these periods, tipsters may choose to place safe bets out of fear and a lack of confidence, such as betting on under 5.5 goals or in the Double Chance market. This isn’t always a bad thing. Want to know more about why the double chance market can be advantageous?

Control and discipline

Control and remaining discipled is massively important when betting. Getting carried away is easy, so it’s vital to set rules and stick to them when there’s money at stake. This may apply to spending habits, but also schedule. The schedule will enable a tipster to allocate the appropriate time to each bet, whilst maintaining focus. It’s important not to get jaded and frustrated.

Never let emotions take over

Placing a bet simply because you want your team to win is ordinarily a recipe for disaster. You’ll find yourself doubly sad if unsuccessful, as both your bet and team have lost. Always rely on analytical skills. In addition, it’s important to remove emotion when experiencing a long streak of wins. If feeling too confident, a silly error could be made, placing a big bet that hasn’t been thought about as much as usual.

Knowledge and passion

Finally, the most obvious characteristic required is a love of the beautiful game. The promise of money may not always be enough to keep you engaged. Professional punters are sponges, always wanting to learn more about the sport and the teams they bet on. Although the element of chance always plays a factor, football betting isn’t reserved just for the lucky, skill is involved.

KickOff allows betters to see what tipsters are doing by following them and even copying their bets. It’s also possible to sort tipsters by league and market.

Written by Sasha Isaacs for kickoff.co.uk