If you are new to online sports betting, you may have come across people mentioning tailing bets, which essentially involves following other people’s advice or takes on various sports wagers.
In the sports betting world, everyone is looking for an edge so they can make some long term money, to do this, you need to become a successful handicapper. Sports gambling is full of touts, models, podcasts, and experts who like to provide information on how they think a sporting event will play out and how you should bet accordingly. If they are right in their advice, they will get some notoriety, but the truth is most people in the sports betting world either bet without revealing their wagers or just tail others’ bets.
Although there are lots and lots of strategy guides out there on how you can become an expert bettor, there isn’t much content around how to perfect tailing bets. Understanding how to process and use all of the information can make you just as much money as doing all of this analysis yourself. It is also a massive time saver.
In principle, you might think tailing bets is simple, but it does require some skill. With that said, let’s take a look at tailing bets in more detail.
What is Tailing in Sports Betting?
We’ve touched on what tailing means in sports betting above, but let’s get into it in more detail. Also referred to as betting the tail, this is a sports wagering strategy where you follow someone else’s bets. The principle behind this is to follow the bets of professional or experienced bettors who are called ‘sharps’. By doing this, you can save time and effort looking through stats and doing research and instead piggyback off others.
There are some similar terms that you may come across that essentially mean the same thing as tailing that you should be aware of. Some of these include:
- Shadowing: This is just copying a range of bets from a gambler who has been successful.
- Piggybacking: This is like shadowing, where you are following the bets of someone you think has a lot of knowledge. They could be placing moneylines, props or totals.
- Betting the public: This is following the crowd and the trends of where the majority are placing their bets.
Some sportsbooks will have other terms, but those above are used regularly.
How to Tail Bets
There are numerous things you can do to help you with your tailing bets strategy. Let’s look at the most important factors to consider when tailing a bet.
Choose the right experts
There are so many options to choose from and it can be quite an overwhelming exercise picking out which tipsters are genuinely good and those who are all talk but no substance. Determining which people to follow comes down to personal judgment and takes time, but there are some clear red flags to look out for. For example, anyone who deletes losing bets isn’t a good sign, and should make you wary. Also, look out for tipsters who genuinely hate losing and take their gambling activities very seriously.
Reputation
Look at the follower numbers for anyone who you think is worth tailing. Having a big following is typically a good indicator of someone who has succeeded, and can also give you confidence that they will have future success. It is not that every big account is great and will always come through, there are some smaller ones that can be successful so bear that in mind as well, but it is likely those with huge numbers are worth a look.
Also look if there are handicappers out there who have connections with well-known websites or even have celebrity endorsements. This shows you that they have built up a good reputation and companies or celebs are willing to associate their brand with them, which is clearly a good sign.
Don’t just stick to one tipster
There are too many people who are good at this and it is impossible to follow every single one. So, don’t start tailing every good handicapper you come across. The key thing is finding the ones that are the most suitable and that works the best for you. But, they say, variety is the spice of life, and you should look across a range of different people to see how they go about things, and if you like their logic and approach to betting.
Bankroll management
You should always have a set budget in place when gambling and you should never deviate from it. Stick to this budget when placing your bets at the best US sportsbooks. Never bet more than you can afford to lose, as you will end up chasing the losses and that is not somewhere you want to be.
Take a long term approach
If you want to make a success of your sports betting experience, you need to be in it for the long term. This is also the case for tailing. You shouldn’t give up on a strategy because you might go through some short term pain and encounter a few losses. It will rarely go smoothly and everyone will have a rough patch, so it is just a case of riding it out when a bad phase occurs. At the same time, you need to realize when it might be the right time to bail, and there is nothing wrong in seeking a fresh start somewhere else.
But you should be making those decisions on how you think things will play out over months and years, rather than weeks. If you just want instant profits you are in the wrong game, as you can get into trouble very quickly. Although there is also no assurance that a longer term strategy can work, it has a far better chance of survival.
Why do Bettors use Tailing?
The simple fact is that players follow the picks of experienced handicappers or experts as they provide a good guide as to how to place successful bets. By following the advice of experts, you can benefit from their insight, research and experience, saving you time while also increasing your knowledge.
For example, an amateur bettor who may not be familiar with all of the intricate soccer stats might decide to tail a bet from an expert bettor who specializes in soccer betting, as you can lean on their knowledge of individual players, form, history, team performance etc.
Pros and Cons of Tailing in Sports Betting
Now that you understand the basic concept behind tailing bets, lets take a look at some of the pros and cons of this sports betting strategy.
Pros
Using expert insights: You can tap in the knowledge of some of the best sports bettors in the industry.
Reduce risk: As long as you choose wisely, following the picks of experts will reduce your risk.
Time-saving: This is a big one, it is less work for you as you are using someone else’s research.
Expand your knowledge: As you go along, you will learn more and more about how to bet and the sports you are betting on from the pros.
Cons
Nothing is guaranteed: Just because you are using an expert doesn’t mean you are guaranteed to start winning bets.
You can become lazy: If everything is centred around using experts, you can become lazy and you may never want to do your own research on anything.
Tailing Bets can be a Successful Strategy
Ultimately, any sports betting strategy, such as arbitrage betting or each way betting can most certainly work to your benefit. Tailing bets is a good one to start with and is especially beneficial for new bettors, as you can just get in on the action via other people as you get to grips with how things work. These experts are there to help you make an informed decision, and this can then help you to hopefully make some money.
