While the simplicity of pre-game esports betting markets make them ideally suited to novice bettors, in-play betting is becoming increasingly popular with more advanced bettors. Want to know how in-play esports betting works and how it can help you make a profit? Read on to learn how.
Once bettors know how to bet on esports and have refined their game-specific knowledge, in-play esports betting offers a great opportunity to find inefficiencies in the odds provided by a bookmaker and make a profit from betting on esports.
What is in-play esports betting?
In-play esports betting (sometimes referred to as live esports betting) has one main difference compared to regular esports betting; it’s live. That means all markets are offered between after the match starts and when it finishes.
If you want to succeed with in-play esports betting, you need to know what the different markets mean and what can change the final outcome during a match.
Odds can change within seconds of in-play betting so it is important to react quickly when you want to place a bet. If you’re a fan of esports you obviously want to keep your eyes on what’s going on but if the aim is to make a profit from your bets, you need to be able to analyse the odds and find value at the same time.
The benefits of in-play esports betting
The main benefit of betting on esports once the game has started is that it allows the bettor an opportunity to assess what’s happening, how the teams are performing and produce a more accurate assessment of the game compared to pre-game predictions.
That isn’t to say research prior to an event isn’t important; it’s a crucial part of any esports betting strategy. However, combining the work completed before an event starts with an eye for important details once the game begins can help bettors find value in live esports betting markets.
In-play esports betting options
Pinnacle offers a wide range of live betting options for esports with Dota 2, CS:GO and League of Legends (LoL) being the most popular amongst our bettors.
Money Line and Handicap live betting is available at Pinnacle, as well as individual game wins. In terms of game-specific markets, bets can be placed on the first kill (LoL), first blood (Dota2) and who will win the full buy round (CS:GO). Live betting is available on all major tournaments for the aforementioned games with plans to offer more live esports betting options in the future.
In-play esports betting strategy
Although there are plenty of things bettors must consider in terms of live esports betting, if you want to develop any kind of strategy you need to focus on individual games - not only are the markets different but the game type, rules and format are crucial elements of any live esports betting strategy.
In addition to improving your understanding of different games, learning more about the strengths and weaknesses of individual teams in certain in-game situations and how their players adapt throughout the match will be of great benefit for betting on live esports.
The main benefit of betting on esports once the game has started is that it allows the bettor an opportunity to assess what’s happening, how the teams are performing and produce a more accurate assessment of the match.
In LoL and Dota 2 betting, knowledge of hero matchups, teams/players record with heroes and any relevant grabs in the pick phase will certainly help bettors with their assessment of how the match will pan out. Watching out for lane matchups or swaps, the impact of early kills/objectives and how swings in gold and experience could change the final result is also important.
One of the most important factors in in-play CS:GO betting is knowledge of the different maps and how teams perform on those maps. Because some maps suit Terrorists or Counter Terrorists (and some teams are stronger on either side), knowing which team is likely to be in front or behind after the first half will inform your betting.
Patience is important within in-play esports betting to make sure you get the best possible odds before placing a bet, but bettors also need to anticipate what might happen in order to get an edge over the bookmaker.
Final things to consider
If you want to succeed with in-play esports betting, you need to build on basic knowledge of how betting works and what the different markets mean as well as what can happen or change the final outcome during a match in different games.
Learning more about the composition of teams, how they start a match, how they react to certain situations and previous performance stats from those situations is also a must.
The speed of the feed you use to watch esports is crucial when it comes to live betting. You could be reacting quickly to what you are watching, but if someone else is watching on a faster feed you will have already missed any potential advantage you might have.
The key to in-play esports betting isn’t just identifying these trigger events before the market, but also judging their impact on the overall chances of each team/player accurately.
