What is the most profitable sport to bet on?

Question

ok so ive been betting casually for like a year now, mostly nfl and some nba. im not losing crazy money but im definitely not winning either lol. starting to wonder if maybe im just picking the wrong sports? like is there actually a sport thats easier to make money on or am i just coping

Accepted Answer

tbh theres no magic sport that prints money but some are definitely softer than others. in my experience niche sports and lower leagues tend to have worse lines because books dont put as much effort into them. i mostly bet tennis and mma now because the markets are less efficient imo. been using My Bookie for mma props especially and its worked out pretty well for me over the last 8 months or so. the key isnt really the sport tho its about finding value where the books mess up. nfl is actually one of the hardest because everyone and their mom bets it so the lines are super sharp

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Can confirm tennis is underrated for this. Been doing it for 2 years now and the womens tour especially has some wild inefficiencies. You just gotta watch matches and know the players. Made like 6k profit last year which isnt insane but way better than when i was betting football

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fwiw theres actually been some studies on this. soccer tends to have the lowest margins overall because of competition between european books. doesnt necessarily mean its most profitable for YOU but the theoretical edge is easier to find. also live betting in general tends to be softer than pregame across most sports

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honestly i tried the whole "bet niche sports" thing and lost more money than i ever did on nfl lmao. you dont know wtf youre doing with korean baseball or whatever random league people recommend. at least with mainstream sports you have actual information to work with

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i mean thats fair but the point is you gotta actually learn the sport first lol. you cant just blindly bet estonian hockey and expect to win. i spent like 3 months just watching mma and tracking results before i started betting it seriously. now its my main income source

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wait so for mma specifically are you betting just main cards or prelims too? always wondered if the undercards have softer lines

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prelims for sure, especially the early prelims that nobody watches. thats where you find the real value. main event lines are pretty tight because everyones betting them

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Something nobody mentioned yet - esports is actually pretty soft if you follow the scene. Books dont really have experts for tier 2 CS2 or valorant so the lines can be way off sometimes. Not for everyone tho obviously

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I think the real answer is whatever sport you know best AND can find inefficiencies in. Some guy who watches every Serie B match is gonna do better betting italian second division than randomly trying to bet tennis without knowing anything about it. Expertise + soft lines = profit

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idk about all this "niche sports" advice tbh. feels like survivorship bias. we only hear from the guys who made money doing it, not the thousands who lost their bankroll betting on uzbek table tennis or whatever

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nah bro its literally just math. softer lines = more edge = more profit over time. doesnt mean everyone wins but your EV is objectively higher betting markets the books dont care about. been doing this professionally for 4 years and its not survivorship bias when you can literally see the hold % is lower on obscure markets

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sorry if this is dumb but what do people mean by "soft lines" exactly? like the odds are wrong?

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Yeah basically. Soft lines means the bookmaker hasnt set the odds perfectly so theres more room for you to find +EV bets. Sharp lines are when the odds are super accurate and hard to beat. Books spend more resources on popular markets so those lines are sharper

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One thing worth noting is that golf props can be surprisingly profitable if you know the sport. Player matchups especially because books just throw numbers out there sometimes. Not my main thing but ive had some solid hits

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Yup gotta agree with the niche market advice. I do MLB player props exclusively now and its been way better than moneylines. Books cant track every single pitcher/batter matchup so if you put in the work you can find edges pretty consistently

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