Anyone who’s ever used a tip to improve their fantasy position or come good on a bet will know the value of information. Taking a word of advice or researching the match conditions before kick-off leads to informed decisions, which generally means better returns.
There are ways to take that to the next step by using guides like Point Spreads betting to go deeper with your analysis. No one can predict correctly 100% of the time, but it’s possible to use all the information available to improve your chances. Here’s a rundown of how reviewing past performance can help.
Team Past Performance
If you’re making a selection, whether that’s a bet or a fantasy team pick, you have to deny several candidates and focus on one option. To narrow the field and justify discarding some potentially good choices, you need details.
One of the key factors to help you make your decision will be the team’s or individual’s past performance. You can start in general and look at their last 10 performances. How many minutes did the individual play, how many goals did the team score and are they on a winning streak?
Once you have a rough idea of recent performance, you’ll want to dig deeper. If you’re faced with a particular match-up, you could check the home or away record as appropriate. On top of that, you could see the history of wins and defeats for all historical matches, or at least as far back as you’re willing to go.
It’s up to you to use the information wisely. Depending on what it tells you, you should adjust your approach. For example, if the team you want to back hasn’t beaten that particular opponent on the road in the last five years, you might want to reconsider.
Your Past Performance
The teams aren’t the only part of this equation. Your betting behavior or fantasy performance is added into the mix. Analyzing your successes and failures will also help you refine your approach.
Check your betting history for your wins and your losses. For fantasy players, it might be harder to go back and review what went right, but it can be beneficial to try to work out if there were key triggers that led to your better performances.
It might be that you make better predictions when working on over/under markets, FA Cup games or when you bet in-play and watch the match. In addition to the bet types, take a look at the odds and your stake to see if there are any patterns.
For fantasy players, look into whether it paid off when you set up your team to defeat your opponent or if aiming for the best result possible was the way forward. Perhaps your wins came from being more skilled at last-minute picks or trades.
The Bigger Picture
The bottom line is that one piece of information, like a tip or a betting guide, can make a difference. However, it turns into a game-changer when you start piecing together several data points to look at the bigger picture.
It’s possible to get involved in the details at a fun level as a fan without taking a degree in statistical analysis. When you love the sport and learn and improve along the way, you’ve got all the motivation you need to put in a little extra effort.