Is betting on All-Star games worth it?
Key Points
– There is a lot of uncertainty when betting on All-Star games.
– One group of bets offers more value than others when betting on All-Star games.
Betting on All-Star Games
Late January and into February, three of the four major North American sports leagues hold their All-Star festivities. The NFL Pro Bowl will change its format in 2023. For the first time, there will not be a contact football game. Instead, the two teams will play a flag football game and compete in various skills competitions.
The NBA and the NHL also hold their All-Star festivities in February. Each league holds a weekend full of events for players, coaches, and fans alike to enjoy. Bettors can get in on the action as well. Betting on All-Star games is available. The question for bettors is whether or not they should.
The NFL Pro Bowl occurs during the two weeks between the conference championships and the Super Bowl. The other three leagues also have a short break in their seasons where there is no action.
Some bettors just can’t wait that long to get back after it. If you are one of those or just want to get into betting on All-Star games, you should work to avoid a big sports betting loss. Here are four tips for you to maximize your chances of winning.
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Motivation
In theory, participating in an All-Star game should be one of the highest honors a player could receive. That is not always the case.
While players chosen to play in the game participate in the events leading up to the game, players not chosen get days off and spend time with their families. It’s a nice relaxing break for those that don’t play.
Star players will tire of making and playing in multiple All-Star games. In the NFL, the Pro Bowl became a joke. Players didn’t want to play in it for fear of getting hurt. The game became one that resembled a flag football game. That’s why the league changed it.
When betting on All-Star games, consider who is motivated and who is not. When players aren’t as fired up to be there as they could be, they won’t play as hard. One team may have a significant advantage over the other if it has a number of players that really don’t want to be there.
Recent Player Performance
When handicapping games during a season, bettors would spend time analyzing how a team and its players have been playing. They may even use betting trends for greater success.
Bettors don’t need to take any recent performance into account. The format of All-Star games results in play that is very different from what players are used to. They are playing with different teammates, different coaches, and, in some cases, different rules.
The conditions in an All-Star game are so different from the regular season that it’s far from certain that recent performance carries over. Even for players that have been on a hot streak or in a slump, their recent performance really doesn’t matter.
Keep that in mind when betting on All-Star games.
Betting on All-Star Games & Style of Play
Each All-Star game is unique, but there are some similarities among them all. In the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB; players play a much simpler version of the game. Players participate in each game much less than they do in a typical game during their regular season.
For example, MLB pitchers typically throw five to seven innings when they start a game during the season. They will pitch a single inning in an All-Star game.
NBA players that play 35 to 40 minutes a game during the season might play half of that in their All-Star game. It’s the same for NHL players.
Remember, the players are playing for coaches that they don’t really know. Thinking of the coaches and players on an all-star team, bettors can infer what a game’s style of play might be like.
Once you know that, you can then figure out which team is best suited for that style of play. That can help when betting on All-Star games.
Look at Prop Bets
When betting on All-Star games, it is extremely difficult to place confident bets. There are far too many variables in play that you just cannot be sure of. You don’t know how dedicated a player is heading into an All-Star game. There is the player chemistry, the coaching efficiency, and plenty of other factors that are difficult to analyze in this type of situation.
That is why prop bets could very well be the go-to wager when betting on All-Star games. Picking winners and even game totals is too hard with all of the different variables. All-Star game prop bets, just like daily MLB player props, can offer bettors some value.
There may be less uncertainty on whether or not LeBron James will go Over or Under 25 points in the NBA All-Star game. Because of the greater certainty with some All-Star game props, the simplest way for All-Star game bettors to find value is on player props.