Online sportsbooks permit gamblers to place wagers on sporting events for everything from football to mixed-martial arts. There are really no sports-betting secret strategies to guarantee a winning pick, and even professional handicappers will tell you picking a winner require time, effort and research. Here are 10 tips to help you tip the odds in your favor:

1) Be Practical with Money Management
All-too-often beginning bettors start off betting their entire bank on one event. To maximize your chances of winning you should spread your money out by making bets on different events. 

2) Find Value
Before betting on a favorite you should always consider the odds being offered. If the odds are too close to even money you may want to consider betting on another event with a greater payout potential.

3) Betting the Over-Under
Neophyte sports bettors commonly lack experience calculating outcomes totals, but the process is fairly straightforward. Add what you think the final score will be and if your prediction is higher than the final score the “over” wins, but if actually final score is lower than your prediction the “under” wins.

4) Betting the Props
Prop bets are wagers that have no direct bearing on the outcome an event, such as which football team will have the most penalty yards in game or which team will win the coin toss. 

5) Betting on Futures
The fundamental rule for betting on futures is to place you bet as soon as the odds go up.

6) Online Sportsbooks Parlay Bets
You do not have to be a mathematician to win a parlay bet. Parlays offer the potential for a big return from a small bet as you place bets on multiple events and you must win all your bets to get the payoff. 

7) Live Betting
After placing a wager on a televised event many sports bettors like to park themselves in front of the big-screen TV and commit to watching the entire game. While this may seem like you have a little more control over the outcome, this is just magical thinking and won’t bring you any closer to a windfall. Remember, a sport betting is for entertainment purposes and should not be taken too seriously.

8) Follow the “Trends”
If you’re not already on Twitter take the time to set up an account, as the social-media platform allows you to get up to the minute news on any teams and players you chose to “Follow.”

9) Bet the Second Half
The pure excitement of betting on the second half a game will help keep you interested, even if the first half hasn’t gone your way. 

10) Take the Time to Learn the Betting Tools

Top online sportsbooks make betting simple by offering direct access to tools such as trend sheets, schedules, injury reports, standings, league news, matchup reports, current stats and even up-to-date weather reports. Having this information at the tip of your fingers can make the difference in making a smart bet or just donating your money.