The 5 best types of esports bets for beginners
If figuring out which odds are better is rather straightforward, finding the best types of esports bets for you to wager on is a bit more complicated.
It’s normal to feel a bit overwhelmed when you visit end-up on a bookmakers site and find out the esports match you’re looking for has 40 available bet options.
We feel you, we were once there. Nevertheless, what we discovered is that the hundreds of hours of playing LOL, CSGO or Dota 2 can be put to good use, as they gave us a deep knowledge of game mechanics. Knowledge which can be put to good use.
Long story short, to alleviate some of that potential stress we came up with a straight to the point list of five types of bets recommended to new bettors. The bets below were picked based on 2 criteria: simplicity and unambiguity.
The best types of esports bets for newbies are:
- Moneyline Bet
- Top Player / MVP Bet
- Total / Over / Under
- Most Kills Bet
- Map Betting
They all require varying levels of game mechanic knowledge but somehow, we’re sure you’re good on that.
Read on to learn about the criteria behind each bet type and so that you can understand its components and make an inspired decision.
1. The Moneyline Bet
The Moneyline bet (sometimes called a Straight Up) is the most straightforward type of esports bet you can find at an online sportsbook. It refers to a wager placed on the winning team. All the odds that you find in our odds comparisons tables are covering these bets.
The moneyline bets are all about who you think will win the match. As a matter of fact, regardless of you ever betting online before or not, chances are you’ve already placed a few straight up bets before.
Did you and your friends ever bet on an outcome of a certain event, let’s say competing on who can do the most push-ups? That’s a moneyline bet. You wagered on you winning the competition.
Here’s how it will look online:
The Pros
The unambiguity of the moneyline bet is what makes it ideal for all new players. It doesn’t require a lot of prior knowledge about the team or for you to go through a lot of statistics to make an informed decision as you’ll figure it out instantly, just by looking at the odds associated with each team who’s a favourite and who’s not.
This is particularly useful in the early stages of an esport tournament, where a very experienced team, might face some newcomers. Odds for the favourite might not be the highest ever, but placing a moneyline bet on the favourites will most probably be a certain win.
The Cons
The advantages of a moneyline wager are obvious when the match has a clear favourite. If both teams are equal in skill and talent then things are no longer that simple.
If the odds for the teams are very close in value, then the match doesn’t have a clear favourite and placing even this simple bet might prove risky. At this point, additional knowledge is required to make an informed decision.
2. Top Player / MVP Bet
Although rare, it’s not unusual for online bookmakers to offer their players bets on the outcome of a specific criteria for individual team members. Such as “bet on the players with most assists” or “the tournament MVP”.
More complicated than a simple moneyline bet as it requires you to choose a winner from a list of players rather than two teams, this type of esports bet should definitely be on your list if you’re a bit more accustomed to the esports scene or you follow a particular player.
As we speak, there are players who dominate certain aspects of their game or are constantly regarded as the best in the world, so if you manage to stumble upon such bet and feel confident don’t avoid it, especially if it comes with great odds. The highest chance to encounter this bet option is for single-player esports tournaments such as Starcraft or more recently, Fortnite.
The Pros:
Another pretty straightforward type of bet, especially if you’re familiar with the current shape of a particular player or you follow them closely.
The Cons:
As we’re talking about individual players rather than teams, a bad day will have a greater influence on the outcome of a specific event. Higher risks usually mean higher rewards but you should only bet on individual players if you are at least certain of their current form.
3. Most Kills Bet
A more complex type of esport wager, the Most Kills Bet requires first and foremost a deep knowledge of the game mechanics. This types of esports bets are usually associated with MOBA titles, as in their case, the team that wins the match isn’t necessarily the one that also scored the largest number of kills.
In League of Legends or Dota 2 a team could still win the match even if scores less kills than their opponent. Therefore, you don’t need to be a pro bettor to gamble on this, but it helps considerably if you are very familiar with heroes play styles and team synergies.
If a team manages to pick a very offensive roster of champions, chances are they are on a good spot of scoring a high number of enemy kills. Similarly, if you’re familiar with individual players skill with certain heroes that can also indicate you’re in for a bloodbath.
The Pros
It’s very easy to tie this wager to a Moneyline bet. If a team is seen as a clear favourite to win the match, then chances are, it will also probably score the most enemy kills.
The Cons
Being a favourite to win a match doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll end up scoring the highest number of kills. Pay attention to what heroes are being picked or banned and try to figure it out what play style each team will try to adopt.
4. Total / Over / Under Types of Esports Bets
The Totals Bet, or the Over / Under how this type of wager is also called, is a more complex type of bet that doesn’t focus on the outcome of a match but rather on a specific element of it.
Better put, it takes a match component, let’s say, “Total Champions Kills” , associates a value to it and then it invites bettors to wager on an outcome “Over” or “Under” that valuel.
Furthermore, it can associate this with individual rounds or Maps and even game NPC’s which means it can look something like this:
On the same level with the Most Kills Bet, the Totals bet requires a deep understanding of the game and individual team’s history to make it worthwhile.
The Pros
Simple and straightforward, well-suited for gamers who have extensive experience playing a specific game. The odds offered on this type of bet are most of the time better than the ones of offered for a Straight Up wager. .
The Cons
An Over / Under outcome can be influenced by quite a lot of external factors: team pick, the map or even tournament stage. An esports team, already qualified for a higher stage might decide to play more defensively or try new play tactics which means the outcome of a specific event might not be the one expected.
5. Map Betting
As most esports tournaments adopted a Best of 3 or Best of 5 format, the competing teams are usually facing each other over 3 or 5 game rounds. This allowed the esports bookmakers to include Map betting in their offer. What this means is that you can bet of a specific outcome for each game round.
How is this useful?
Well if one of the team is a clear favourite and you have a deep knowledge of how they usually perform you can bet on multiple outcomes for a specific map.
Here’s how this can look:
Based on the example above, Griffin is the team favourite to reach all the “First to… Champions Kills “ which means that, if you’re sure Griffin is the type of team has few chances of losing its lead once it starts dominating, a combination bet with way better odds instead of a singles bet with poorer odds on each outcome should be a no-brainer.
The Pros
If it relates to the same map outcome, could mean some easy (larger) wins if you’re certain a certain team usually tends to dominate a specific element of the game. Group the wager into a combination bet to receive more profitable odds.
The Cons
In esports, early game performance can differ very much from late game performance. Keep an eye on champions picks and bans if you’re wagering on LOL or Dota 2 to make sure consistency can be kept across the entire round.
There they are! The best 5 types of esports bets you should consider if you’re a new bettor but an old gamer. Before you decide to give them a go, remember to stay through to the geek way and make sure you only bet on the teams or games you’re familiar with.
