Should You Bet on Your Own Teams?

You’ll hear all kinds of people say that you should never bet on your own sports team. The type of bettors who believe this have good reasons. Teams that you are emotionally invested in are tough to bet against.

Now, if you are so emotionally invested in them that you can’t bet against them and can only bet on them, then you shouldn’t be betting their games at all. But, if you can bet both on and against them without any problem, then there’s no reason to stay away from your own team.

There are plenty of folks out there who will not bet on their own team because they believe it’s some kind of gambling law. They hear it from someone and they instantly believe it. Well, let’s just look at some pros and cons to betting on your own team before we make a decision about what’s right or wrong.

Pros

You know your team better than any other team in the league, whether it be NFL, NBA or professional baseball, plus college football and basketball. The more you know about a team the better chance you have about making a good decision on who to bet. Plus, you follow teams in their conference more closely than other conferences, so you should know more about the teams on their schedule as well.

You are going to put more research into a game that involves your favorite team than any other game. That’s because you are excited to read up on how your team is expected to do, which matchups favor them, etc. If motivation to put the time in to research games is a problem in your handicapping, then betting on teams you are invested in would be the way to go.

You’re certainly going to be on top of injuries and changes to the roster when it’s a team you are invested in. You know how greatly those injuries will impact your team compared to most other teams. If it’s a small college team that’s your favorite, then you will have an edge because these injuries aren’t widely known by the betting public.

You know the coaches in your team’s conference very well. You know their strengths, weaknesses and tendencies, which is huge when breaking down a game. If your team plays a certain opponent every year, you’ll be able to go back on that knowledge to be able to predict what might happen in the future. Knowing the coaches is huge, especially in college sports.

Let’s be honest, it’s going to take a lot for someone to bet against their own team. That means if you analyze the game and come up with the opinion that the opponent is the right bet, then you have to feel pretty confident in it because you were looking for every reason to back your team, but couldn’t come up with one.

Cons

You are the only one who knows how emotional you are when it comes to cheering for your favorite team. Some people aren’t capable of controlling their emotions and will only root for their team every time they take the field. If that’s the case, you shouldn’t be betting on your team.

I am originally from Iowa and I am and Iowa State fan. I will bet on or against Iowa State every year without hesitation. But, there’s one game that I strictly will not bet against Iowa State, and that’s the annual game against Iowa every year in college football and college basketball. I will always be rooting for Iowa State in that game, so I allow my emotions to get in the way and simply pass on betting the game, or make a few casual bets with friends on the Cyclones.

Without question, it’s never as much fun putting yourself in a situation where you have to cheer against your own team. For a lot of people, the best days of the year are getting to sit around and watch their favorite team play while having a few beers with friends. Betting against your team and having to hope they lose is not much fun.

If you aren’t objective when betting on your own team, you could make some bad bankroll decisions. Your emotions are running high and you are just sure that your favorite team is going to cover the spread, so you bet bigger than you normally would. Now, your team doesn’t cover and you lose a lot of money, which is a double-whammy. You have to be objective.

Knowing one team better than the other can also work against you. Since you know your team so well, you may not have done the homework on the other team. Without that equality, you can make some bad decisions when it comes to gambling. Whereas in any one game that doesn’t involve your favorite team, you probably know both teams equally and can make a more sound betting decision.

Conclusion

I bet on and against my teams all the time. I have learned that the results are no worse than betting on other teams. I do this for a living though, so I’m not allowed to have any biases if I want to be successful. I take the emotion completely out of it when betting on or against my teams. If you’re capable of doing that too, then I recommend that you bet on or against your favorite teams, too. But if you just can’t get yourself to take the emotion out of it, then you shouldn’t be playing games that involve your favorite teams, it’s as simple as that.

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