One topic that arises a lot among sports bettors is whether or not we should ever pay for picks?I used to be of the thought that it was never a smart idea to buy sports predictions, but that tune has changed over the years.
There are multiple reasons why you may be interested in buying sports picks. You may not have the time to research and handicap your own picks or you may just not be very good at predicting sports. Whatever the reason, there are definitely pros and cons to purchasing sports picks off of a handicapper or “tout”.
Just like anything else on the Internet, you need to do your homework. Thousands of undocumented touts are lining up online to sell you picks, but you need to weed out the vast amount of losers. If not, you’ll end up broke quickly, as most handicappers that sell picks only sell picks because they’re not profitable in the first place.
You could play lottery online instead if you’re not going to spend time researching the touts you want to follow. Think of it this way, you’re betting your hard earned money on sports predictions from a complete stranger. You’re going to want to vet the stranger as best you can to determine if there’s a high likelihood of making a ROI.
Pros:
A lot of great handicappers are willing to sell their picks because they can only get done a certain amount themselves and have likely been restricted at the majority of online bookies. There are some tipping services that show a profit on an annual basis, but you’ll need to make sure you can get enough action to make it worthwhile.
Short on time already and find the task of handicapping sports daunting? It’s a full-time to properly handicap sports and find consistent edges to make long term profit and most of us don’t have time for that.
A lot of the services will provide complete analysis with their picks and this can provide you a lot of insight into the world of handicapping, which will be beneficial to everyone, but especially those new to sports betting. If the service doesn’t provide insight on why they’re picking a bet it’s not a big deal as long as the service has been profitable.
Cons:
When a tout service becomes popular, getting the same odds as the handicapper is tough. Some tippers are so well respected that bookies join the service and change prices immediately after tips are released. This is especially true when dealing with popular sports, such as horse racing or football.
Coming out of pocket for picks isn’t ideal, but if you’re betting big enough you can negate this con. If you’re betting $50/game then paying $20/pick doesn’t make sense. However, if you’re betting a nickel ($500) or dime ($1000), then paying for sports predictions from a trusted handicapper starts making a lot more sense.
The one thing every handicapper that sells picks should have is an updated record. Never trust a tour service without an updated win/loss record that’s verifiable. There are countless services that verify handicapper picks, so any serious tipping service will ensure that they have win/loss data, often dating back many years.
It can make sense to pay for sports predictions depending upon your circumstances, such as how much you bet, how much time you have to handicap and how serious you are at turning betting into a profitable investment.
