The word middling is used a lot in the context of sports betting. It’s derived from how gamblers describe something that is neither good nor bad when they analyze their performance after each session or day’s worth of activity. Those who are better than average will probably have longer streaks of really successful days, while those who are consistently below average will have a lot of days that are average.
Middling can also apply to people who do well in one area, but struggle in another. As we look at middling strategies in sports betting, it’s important to understand where these terms and predictions came from.
What Is a Middling Strategy?
A middling strategy in sports betting is usually a betting scheme which provides a middle-of-the-road profit. It is not high enough to draw attention and it is not low enough to raise eyebrows.
The idea behind the strategy is to remain neutral and hedge bets instead of making emotional bets with the hope of gaining large profit.
For example, on a sportsbook singapore site, you may see a team like Seattle playing against Green Bay, with Seattle as a 4 point underdog. A moneyline bettor would simply take Seattle because they can back them at +100, whereas the spread or handicap bettor sees that Green Bay is -140.
What’s interesting about this difference between these two types of betting strategies is that you’re only really risking $28 to win $9.60 on Seattle for a simple break even of $9.32 (28 x .40), so Seattle is worth risking $28 to win only if you believed that Green Bay would be favored by 4 points more often than not in the upcoming season, which they aren’t.
Another middling strategy used by spread or handicap bettors is betting 3 points instead of 2. If you bet $28 to win $9.60 on Seattle, then betting them at +3 would be worth it if you felt that the point spread would be 3 points in 1 out of 4 games played by these two teams during the season, which isn’t a terrible idea.
Which one is “right?” Well, actually, different situations call for different strategies.
For instance, if you owned Seattle and Green Bay in real life, betting the spread on your team would be more advisable than moneyline bets because it will allow them to gain more karma (moral victories).
“What’s important to note is that these middling strategies are just that — middling. They aren’t huge risks and they won’t break the bank, but they’re not exactly safe bets. You should only try them if you believe in your knowledge of a team’s true talent level, or at least their true ability for the current season,” says Mr. Ong, the current CEO of WS88, a legal online sportsbook singapore-based site.
What Sports Are Best For Middling Strategies?
Most of these middling strategies can be applied to just about every sport, but they are geared towards the ones that have large amounts of money wagered on them. Middling strategies are the best tools for sports betting when it comes to professional football, basketball, baseball and hockey.
Here is a list of middling strategies that can be utilized in these particular sports:
All-star Voting Contests In Any Sport
Choose your favorite player instead of the obvious choice that will take some gambling effort without your favorites winning.
Baseball
If you bet all of the top 5 finishers in a given category (diamondbacks, triples, runs batted-in, hits and wins), then you have covered the money line, run line and total. If one or two favorites win at a better price than what you predicted, you will increase your profits from winning the other selections at their higher prices.
Another middling strategy for baseball is to pick the most hits, total bases and runs scored by a team or player in a game and then make your bets on that action. You will win money if one or two favorites win as long as you don’t bet all of them.
College Basketball
Bet both the over and under on the total number of points scored by both teams in a particular contest.
In baseball, bet $50 on every team when they are facing each other for a three-game series to increase your chances of winning money.
Horse Racing
Make sure you have at least 2 horses showing when you place an Exacta, Trifecta or Superfecta bet. If the two horses win, you will have a guaranteed winner on your ticket.
Tennis
If you are betting a set prop, make sure either player scores at least three games or it is not considered a complete set and therefore your bet will be lost. You do not want to watch the action only to see that neither player scored more than two games resulting in your losing wager.
Olympics
Bet on the official medal count. If you are having trouble picking a winner because they are evenly matched then you can always pick the winners in each category and then decide which team to go with when you see what their competitors have done at the end of the event.
There is no fun in picking a favorite that isn’t even in the running because he or she has been eliminated before it is all over.
Takeaway
It could be said that middling has two phases: losing and winning. In between these two phases, you are just there waiting to see if you will win or lose. Your middling strategy is not for the faint of heart because it can be both frustrating and demoralizing at points.
But when compared to other sports betting strategies, being middling gives you a better chance of long term profitability because it has a 50/50 chance of winning. This is what makes it a good strategy for the long haul.
