Why Does Public Action Side the Favorite in Live Betting?
If there is one surety in any sort of sports betting it is that inevitably the public action will tend to be on the side of the favorite. The truth is that this is due to a number of reasons, and understanding them can help you to appreciate why public action behaves the way it does.
Betting on the Team to Win - Not the Odds!
Most casual sports bettors tend to choose their bets based on the team that they feel is going to win - instead of the odds. As a result, they don't look at whether or not the odds are inflated or not, but just figure that since the team is more likely to win it is the one that they should bet one.
Needless to say this isn't wrong - but it is less than ideal if you intend to profit in the long run.
In part, some sports bettors may may look to the team they expect to win because they aren't too sure how odds work and when certain odds provide enough value to bet on the underdog. At other times it may just be that they aren't too knowledgeable about the game itself and don't want to take a risk on an underdog they know little or nothing about.
Most of the time however, it is just the simple impulse to bet on the winning team.
That being said there are exceptions to this rule. Sometimes when you look at the odds for live betting you'll notice that the public action appears to be in favor of the underdog instead! Normally when this happens its because it is public knowledge that something is affecting the odds of the game - for example, an injury to a key player.
Now that you understand why public action constantly sides with the favorite, you should appreciate why these exceptions can arise as well.
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