The best sports betting books are not always the ones that teach you about the fundamentals or even “proven” winning strategies. Some sports books talk about emotions and mindset, while others simply tell the story of successful bettors that took an epic risk that paid off in spades. At the same time, in order to improve your odds of winning, it’s worth gathering as many tips and tricks as you can and learning the fundamentals of betting is really the very first thing you are doing as a sports bettor!
This is why knowledge is key to the big wins in sports betting and why books can help you become a more profitable bettor. But what makes a good sports betting book?
What we cover
What Makes the Best Sports Betting Books so Good?
The truth is, you should want to learn every last thing about any author that was once a professional bettor. For instance, many sports betting books showcase specific strategies and that might be just what you need right now but it’s important to remember that no amount of strategy can help you manage or contain your emotions.
With this in mind, it’s always a good idea to mix things up and read just as many books about mindset or personal stories as books about tips and strategy. In this article, we take a look at some of the best sports betting books this year and while some entries are not as recent as others, they are still just as relevant as ever.
1. The Logic of Sports Betting
The Logic of Sports Betting is one of the best sports betting books to hit the market in recent times and teaches not only how the industry works but also how sports books can help punters gain an advantage over the bettors. This involves teachings that you might call “winning perspectives” and strategies that help illustrate how to decide when the time is right to go on the offensive as a bettor. It explains basic principles in betting such as the break-even percentage and why bettors lose a lot on parlays. While the math is pretty light in this one, it’s sufficient to help illustrate the various concepts that you will need to learn and it also does a good job of explaining the many moves that take place in the market. It’s true, The Logic of Sports Betting won’t turn you into an instant winner but it’s a step in the right direction and offers a lot more depth than many of the other best sports betting books on the market. It’s also nicely written and filled with technical information and both authors are experienced poker players than know exactly when and how to beat the odds in any given situation.
Buy The Logic of Sports Betting on Amazon here.
2. The Greatest Gambling Story Ever Told
The Greatest Gambling Story Ever Told is all about a the journey of a trainer and jockey that go on to win the Kentucky Derby with a horse called Winning Colors. It’s a personal story about a filly that broke into the male-dominated horse racing world and three gamblers that come along for the journey. Some readers jokingly describe this as a cross between Narcos and Seabiscuit and it’s genuinely one of the best sports betting books for the fact that it’s entirely true. The three gamblers (Dino, Bernie and Paul) believe that Winning Colors can claim an unlikely win at the 1988 Kentucky Derby but then accidentally place their bet with members of an infamous cartel. It might not explain the ins and outs of betting but if online reviews are anything to go by, this is a fascinating story and one of the best sports betting books you will ever read!
Buy The Greatest Gambling Story Ever Told on Amazon here.
3. Sharp Sports Betting
Stanford Wong wrote this fantastic book that teaches not only fundamentals of sports betting but also the terminology and methods that enable experienced bettors to get ahead. While it does largely focus on football, the same principles apply to any type of betting and try to help readers improve their skills in the long term. This is one of the best sports betting books for anyone looking to take their betting more seriously and although a little dated at times, the recurring focus on maths should help provide a decent understanding of why you might want to trust the methods in this book in the first place. There is also a lineup of charts that will be useful for beginners and the emphasis on football also makes this especially ideal for those who favor football betting in particular. As mentioned above, some of the information is outdated and this is certainly true about the NFL statistics but Wong’s strategies still work and online reviews suggest this old or irrelevant data should be ignored for the sake of reading one of the best sports betting books of the decade.
Buy this Sharp Sports Betting book on Amazon here.
4. The Everything Guide to Sports Betting
The Everything Guide is regarded by many to be one of the best sports betting books and features an array of tips and tricks that can help you create a decent betting strategy. The book explains the different type of bets and how to identify a profitable opportunity and the overall strategies take all sports leagues into account. As if that’s not enough, The Everything Guide goes on to talk about beating the casinos and pull off some major wins that should help cancel out any of the smaller losses. It’s an ideal book for beginners and teaches the reader how to be smarter and more responsible when it comes to protecting their capital. After all, most first-time gamblers risk too much and place random bets with hope rather than using any kind of strategy. The author also talks about how to survive in long term gambling by covering topics like money management and betting to win versus better to risk. There’s also a piece about contrarian betting and a plethora of tips and tricks that can help improve your knowledge of sports betting and your chances of creating a winning strategy.
Buy The Everything Guide to Sports Betting on Amazon here.
5. Sports Betting for Winners: Tips and Tales from the New World of Sports Betting
The author of Sports Betting for Winners is a sports writer for a tabloid in Las Vegas who spent one year with various gamblers in Sin City. During this time, he interviewed odds-makers and spent endless hours watching the day-to-day life in the gambling business. It should also be said that Sports Betting for Winners follows professional gamblers which means you can expect insight into the habits of experienced players. It’s also filled with stories that add entertainment along with answers to questions that you might have about the sports betting world. This is also not just a how-to book but rather a well-researched account of the history of sports betting and while it reads like a work of fiction at times, it’s very much a fact-by-fact book by a seasoned journalist.
Buy this Sports Betting for Winners: Tips and Tales from the New World of Sports Betting on Amazon here.
6. Fixed Odds Sports Betting: The Essential Guide: Statistical Forecasting and Risk Management
Fixed-Odds Sports Betting is a book by Joseph Buchdal that targets the more experienced sports bettors out there. It focuses on winning strategies and proper analysis which makes it one of the best sports betting books for serious bettors. More specifically, you can learn how to identify values in various sports markets, while improving your bankroll and analyzing your chose strategies with the use of data. Some reviewers cite this as a great book to take out from time to time in order to sharpen your skills and measure your record in terms of betting over time. With this in mind, it’s not a book that tries to make you more profitable but one of the best sports betting books in terms of teaching you how to create your own strategy. That being said, you will still find a lot of information in the book including a run-down of value betting and a collection of staking strategies. There is also a chapter on avoiding bankruptcy and fantastic insight in terms of learning how to compare the odds. Fixed Odds Sports Betting is also a practical book that explains the mathematical calculations behind sports betting and the fact that most gamblers will only ever win approximately 70% of their bets regardless of what they know or do.
Buy this Fixed Odds Sports Betting: The Essential Guide: Statistical Forecasting and Risk Management on Amazon here.
7. Sharper: A Guide to Modern Sports Betting
Sharper is one of those sports betting books that goes super niche and tackles bonus spreading in great detail. It emphasizes how to use bonus spreading to inflate your bankroll and how to separate sports from sports betting. Because according to the author, sports betting is only half to do with sports and the other half of this equation requires one to know as much as possible about betting. There are no “easy systems” in this book but there are ideas and formulas that will help you turn certain numbers into bets. It’s also a book of advice on how bet sensibly and how to identify a positive value that you might expect on a particular game/occasion. You should find a lot of this book is about statistics and trading and with thirty chapters, it’s a relatively long read. Sharper also outlines a more recent approach to sports betting than other books on this list and the simplicity of its content makes it a worthy contender that you might want to keep in mind for protecting your bankroll and learning more about bonus spreads.
Buy this Sharper: A Guide to Modern Sports Betting on Amazon here.
8. Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts
Annie Duke is the author of Thinking in Bets and a poker champion that uses her experience as a business consultant to help readers make better decisions. Because while there is always an element of luck to betting, there is also a lot of information hidden from view and Annie Duke tries to enlighten readers of how to gather this data and learn how to use it to their advantage. The author does this by drawing on examples from sports, politics and poker and showcasing tools that might allow you to make better decisions in spite of the inevitable uncertainty. When you understand this approach, it’s easier to see why professional gamblers are okay with the fact that things might not go their way and that great decisions do not always lead to great outcomes. In many ways, this is probably one of the best sports betting books for learning how to properly assess the risks associated with sports betting and creating a more profitable gambling mindset. It’s also a great option for gamblers that want to take back control of their emotions and ensure their decision making is calm and calculated and not based on irrational, knee-jerk reactions.
Buy this Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts on Amazon here.
Final Thoughts
Reading as many of the best sports betting books as you can find is never a bad idea and only likely to improve your knowledge of the betting world. With an improved arsenal of information, you are likely to make better informed decisions and the tools in these books can help you create winning strategies to become more profitable. On the other hand, without knowing how to control your mind or emotions, your odds are still up in the air and that’s why the best sports betting books are not always the ones that become best sellers. That is to say, it’s worth knowing every tip and trick related to betting but also pay attention to stories that illustrate important lessons and any author that writes about the mindset which enabled them to become a pro bettor!
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