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All posts by David MyersWant to know what does tailing mean in betting? Indeed, if you’re new to online sports betting, you might have heard about tailing bets, which involves following other people’s takes on sports bets.
Most people tail bets from professional bettors, but this can also include betting with the public sentiment as well. There are also a few key areas of this kind of betting strategy that you need to know before you get started. So, keep reading to learn more about tailing bets.
What is Tailing in Sports Betting?
So, what does tailing mean in betting? Tailing, or “betting the tail,” is a betting strategy where you essentially follow someone else’s bets. Basically, the idea is to follow betting trends or the bets of more experienced bettors, who are called “sharps.” This way, you can cut out any work and research that you would usually put in to instead follow the bets of others.
There are a few different terms that can relate to similar practices that we think will be a good idea to go through when following them at most sportsbooks:
- Following the sharp money: Copy the bets made by the pros and place wagers at the sharpest betting sites.
- Shadowing: This could be copying the moneyline bets of another successful gambler who has simply been quite profitable, not necessarily a professional.
- Betting the public: Betting on the trend of the public in terms of where the majority are placing their bets.
- Piggybacking: Similar to shadowing, where you place the same bets as someone you believe is making informed choices.
- Tapping into the wisdom of others: Using the collective knowledge or experience of successful sports bettors to guide your own bets when wagering at crypto betting sites.
How Does Tailing Work in Sports Betting?
Knowing the answer to “What does tailing mean in sports betting?” means knowing where actually to get this information from. There are a couple of steps you need to take to lock down tailing in betting, and here is what we recommend.
- Finding Reliable Bettors: The first thing you need to do is find a reliable sports bettor that you want to follow. There are many of them out there; you just need to do a bit of research into the ones that are either the most successful or the ones that are betting on the sports that you like. You can usually find them through betting forums, tipster betting sites, and social media platforms where expert picks are shared.
- Research Track Records: While you can find plenty of sports bettors claiming to be experts and successful tipsters, it’s a good idea to have a look at their track records before you start tailing a bet or two.
- Tracking Bets: Track records are one thing, but you might want to court these sharp bettors for a while, checking out the bets they suggest and seeing how they pan out before you start using them yourself.
- Betting Communities: Get involved with some of the betting communities, especially ones that let you know about some of the best sharp bettors and their experiences following these sharps.
- Diversify Your Sources: You don’t have to stick to just one betting sharp. Instead, choose a couple that you can easily follow and also compare notes – some maybe experts at live betting.
Why Do Bettors Use Tailing in Sports Betting?
Tailing bets is a strategy where bettors follow the picks of experienced handicappers or experts. Basically, bettors can learn how to wager at gambling sites more thoughtfully, and they can use these good handicappers as a guide to learn how to place more successful bets. By relying on expert picks, they can benefit from the research and experience of others, saving time while gaining potentially valuable information.
For example, a novice bettor who may not be super familiar with NBA stats might tail a good bet from a professional bettor who specializes in NBA betting, trusting their knowledge of player performance, team form, and game dynamics.
Tailing in Sports Betting Example
The reason that bettors choose to follow sharps or experts is because, a lot of the time, they have inside lines on the events that are happening. For instance, following an expert who analyzes niche sports like Esports or college football might give you access to specialized knowledge, such as insider player performance data or team trends, because they themselves are a lot closer to the sport than you could ever be.
A good sports betting tailing example would be tailing a horse racing betting expert who focuses on jockey performance or tailing a handicapper who has a strong track record of past success betting on the UFC. You might not have the same level of insight into these sports, but you can lean on their expertise to help you out.
Betting Strategy: How to Tail Bets
There are a couple of things that you can do to help you with tailing betting. Let’s check out how you can make the most of this type of betting strategy.
✅ Choose Reliable Experts: Always research the tipsters you follow. Check out their history before actually following their tips and start tailing sports betting.
✅ Diversify Your Sources: Try to check out a few different top sports betting tipsters to diversify your resources.
✅ Understand Their Strategy: Don’t tail blindly. Learn the reasoning behind the picks to ensure you agree with the logic of such a popular strategy.
✅ Bankroll Management: Always make sure that you set a budget for your gambling and also stick to this budget when placing your bets at your favorite betting sites. Never wager more than you can afford to lose.
✅ Limit the Number of Tails: Pick a reasonable number of bets at any one time to use. Juggling too many can be confusing and difficult.
✅ Stay Consistent: Don’t chop and change through different tipsters; everyone goes through some bad patches.
✅ Verify Information: Always fact-check the info given by these tipsters; this gives you more involvement in the process, and also make sure that the info makes sense.
✅ Follow a Schedule: Tailing works best when you consistently follow your experts. The one moneyline bet you missed could be the one that hits big.
✅ Avoid Emotional Betting: Don’t bet based on emotion; stay disciplined, and don’t let losing bets push you to make rash decisions. Be focused on responsible gambling.
✅ Track Results: Keep a record of every tailing bet you place so you know which experts are actually helping you win.
Is Tailing Bets Online Legal?
Now that you understand the answer to the question “What does tailing mean in betting?” you may still need to know if this is legal. The answer is yes; tailing bets is legal, since the PASPA was overturned in 2018, as long as you are placing wagers through licensed sportsbooks. In fact, you can find plenty of reviews of these reliable offshore sportsbooks on our website.
Pros and Cons of Tailing in Sports Betting
Now that you know the tailing betting meaning, you can easily answer, “What is tailing in betting?” or “What does tailing a bet mean?”. So now, let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of tailing in sports betting.
Pros:
- Access to Expert Insights: You can gain insights into the minds of some of the best sports bettors.
- Time-Saving: It saves you time, and you don’t have to do any research yourself.
- Beginner-Friendly: It’s a great option for novice bettors who may not know much about sports or online betting in general.
- Risk Mitigation: Following expert tipsters can help minimize your risks.
- Expand Your Knowledge: You can begin to learn more and more and improve your own betting by following the pros.
Cons:
- No Guaranteed Wins: These experts do not guarantee you betting wins.
- Over-reliance on Experts: You can be at risk of relying too heavily on these experts, which may make you lazy and start placing similar bets without doing your own research.
Tailing in Sports Betting FAQ
What does tailing mean in betting on sports?
Where can I find tipsters and handicappers to tail?
Does tailing mean following the sharp money?
