A Beginner's Guide to Fantasy Sports Betting Online
Fantasy sports betting as an actual concept had been established back in the 1950s, with the first known league being focused on golf. Since that time, many others have wanted a piece of the action, and as a result we have seen many leagues formed throughout the 20th century. However, online fantasy sports betting did not take off until the boom of the internet changed our world forever. The first online league actually came out of Canada, with the introduction of an online fantasy hockey leagues. Of course the focus here was primarily on the NHL, but it paved the way for numerous other fantasy sports leagues to emerge. Soon enough, the world of fantasy sports betting became thoroughly established with leagues becoming available for the MLB, NBA and NFL. This craze created waves during the latter part of the 1990s, and soon enough there were leagues that became popular for European sports too, with leagues such as the English Premier League or the UEFA Champions League are still enjoyed by thousands today.
While the history of online fantasy sports betting is very different to mainstream sports betting, so too is the way it is played. In a nutshell, you are required to choose your fantasy team (usually on a weekly basis) ahead of each week’s sporting events, and if your selected players perform well they may be entered into the official fantasy sports team for that week. If you are able to accurately predict the individuals involved in the fantasy sports team enough times throughout the season, you could win some big prizes at the end.
As mentioned previously, this style of play applies to a great number of leagues including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, Premier League Soccer and many other fantasy sports betting leagues from around the world.
Different Types of Online Fantasy Sports Betting
Online fantasy sports betting operates quite differently to the usual forms of online sports betting. To begin with, the fantasy sports sportsbooks look nothing like their traditional betting counterparts. So instead of seeing the odds for the outcome of a game within a sportsbook, contained in fantasy sports sportsbooks you will find prices for individual players along with their statistics.
High profile players will cost you more money (which is usually fantasy money), but will increase the chance that you will have picked a player that makes it into the weekly fantasy team. Aside from what you will see in the fantasy sports sportsbooks, there are three forms of bets that are commonly available for fantasy sports leagues.
- Seasonal Prize Pool Leagues
This is probably the most common form of fantasy sports betting that is seen today. Essentially, this league will require a one-time entry fee that allows you to participate in the fantasy league all season long. You will need to pick your fantasy team on time, and if you perform well you could win some large prizes at the conclusion of the season.
- Fixed Price Competition
Unlike the season prize pools, this type of bet can be for a seasonal or a weekly competition. It still requires that you pay the necessary one-time entry fee, but depending on the league you have chosen it can be for one week or one season. Should you want to reduce your playing time even further, this type of competition can be accessed for specific daily contests as well.
- One on One Competition
Rather than competing against all other players on a particular platform, you can pay a one-time entry fee to play against a specific individual. In this case, you only need to beat the other player to ensure that you win a cash prize. In terms of the overall selection for online fantasy sports betting, you are far more likely to win through this competition – especially as a beginner.
All of these three forms of fantasy sports betting are available for all of the major North American and Canadian leagues, as well as high-profile European sports leagues.
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What League Should I Choose?
With so many different leagues and different bets contained within the fantasy sportsbooks, it can be overwhelming for what league to decide on. Despite all of the various factors going on with fantasy sports betting, there is one fundamental rule that you should follow when selecting your league, and that is to choose a league that you are already interested in! Not only will this make it more enjoyable, but also you will naturally have a greater chance of performing well due to having some background knowledge of the sport. For example, if you were a major ice-hockey fan you would not go and enter a fantasy baseball league. This would consume hours of your time to try and research baseball players when you could have chosen a team within minutes for ice hockey.
Important Advice for Fantasy Sports Betting
We have identified two key factors that you should follow with online fantasy sports betting, particularly as a novice to the concept.
- Pay attention to the headlines
The media is so effective these days at covering sports and sports news that there is always something emerging. Stay on top of your chosen sports headlines and news, as this can greatly influence your fantasy team decisions.
- Look for hidden gems
As a beginner, you will naturally want to pick the best players for your particular league week in and week out. The problem is that there are thousands of other players doing the same thing! So try to do a little bit of research and look for hidden talent. They will be cheaper and you could gain a big edge on the competition.
Finally...
Online fantasy sports betting can be an extremely enjoyable form of betting. Make sure you find some leagues where you can even participate with your friends to get the most out of it, and try to enter a league as soon as you can to get the ball rolling! There are contests available many times throughout the year, and a simple Google search will reveal what you could get started with right now.
Good luck with your fantasy sports endeavours!
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