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What’s a better way to gamble? Are you better off playing poker, or would you make more money betting on sports?

Many speculators like this site as it offers one stop shopping for both sports betting and poker playing. Although Mainly known for its sportsbook Betonline.ag is an 'ALL IN ONE' Gambling site. Bovada is our top choice for online poker play from the United States. Their poker.bovada.lv website operates on the Bodog Poker network which helps provide a ton of player traffic and extremely soft.

It’s an interesting question with a lot of factors. I once read in a book about gambling professionally that successful sports bettors make more money than any other kind of gambler, including poker players.

But that’s an over-simplification. Some people are better at playing poker than they’ll ever be at betting on football games.

The purpose of this post is to compare both types of gambling and draw some conclusions about which might be a better fit for you.

The Biggest Similarity

The biggest similarity between betting on sports and playing poker is that you can theoretically do so professionally. Everyone knows that a percentage of poker players make their living from the game. A lot of people also know that a percentage of sports bettors also make a living from their activities.

We have some statistics about the percentage of poker players who are actually profitable, and it’s a smaller number than you might think. Somewhere between 85% and 95% of all poker players lose money over time.

That makes the percentage of players who are true poker pros quite small indeed. We don’t have the same data for sports bettors, but my guess is that it’s a similar percentage, if not smaller.

In either case, the profitable poker player and the profitable sports bettor looks for inequities in the market. Then, he pounces on those inequities to get a mathematical advantage.

Another Big Similarity

The other big similarity is that, if you’re going to profit long-term from either activity, you need a bankroll big enough to withstand bad luck. Both poker and sports betting outcomes can be random. You’re not playing chess, here, and you need enough money to avoid going broke in the short run.

Any time you’re dealing with a mathematical advantage in gambling, it’s a long-term expectation that you’re dealing with. In the short run, anything can happen.

Think about it this way. The casinos have an advantage over the gamblers who show up there. But some gamblers come home having won a few hundred or even a few thousand dollars. This doesn’t hurt the casinos’ profits at all. They have plenty of losers who are covering your winnings.

But if the casino didn’t have enough money to stay in the game for the long run, it couldn’t stay profitable. The amount of bankroll you need for each type of gambling is similar.

If you’re playing poker, you should never buy in for more than 5% of your bankroll. This means that if you’re going to buy in at a table for $100, you should have at least $2000 in your total poker bankroll.

If you’re betting on sports, you should never wager more than 1% of your bankroll on a single game. If you’re really aggressive and confident, you might risk 2% of your bankroll on a single sports bet.

This means that if you want to bet $100 per game, you should have a bankroll of $10,000. And that bankroll is money you’ve set aside specifically to gamble with. It needs to be money you don’t need for any other purpose.

Both Types of Gambling Cross Borders

Until recently, this wasn’t true. For the most part, a pro poker player was limited to playing with his local buddies. He certainly wasn’t playing internationally on any kind of regular basis.

And if you’re betting on a football game, you’re usually dealing with a neighborhood bookie that you met in a bar somewhere.

But with the rise of the internet, you can now tap into a worldwide marketplace of competitors. Regardless of where you’re from, you can still find websites to play poker for real or bet real money on sporting events.

Those companies, unless you live in one of the tiny handful of US states which legalized online gambling, operate internationally by necessity.

If you’re going to play poker or bet on sports on the internet, you need to make sure you’re comfortable dealing with international customers and competitors.

Online Poker Is Dying as a Form of Professional Gambling

If you’re an average poker player, you can probably forget about making any money playing poker on the internet. Even if you’re good, with a tight aggressive approach, you’re facing all kinds of collusion and bots. Your opponents probably have more data about your poker playing tendencies than you do, and they know how to exploit those tendencies.

Online sports betting is tough, too, but for different reasons. Internet-based bookmakers charge a higher vigorish than most traditional sportsbooks. This makes it harder to win in the long run.

Think about the kind of win rate you need to have just to break even if you’re having to risk $120 to win $100, which is common online. Then, compare that with the $110 or $105 you’d have to risk playing in a traditional, brick and mortar sportsbook.

Either way, you can make a living with either type of gambling. With poker, you need to put in more hours sitting at the table grinding it out. In fact, depending on which game you play and at what limits, you’ll face a much lower variance with poker than you will with sports betting.

After all, when you’re playing poker, you’re making multiple bets every hour. Compare that to a sports bettor who’s making bigger bets but is limited to betting just once a day or even just once a week.

Another way to look at this difference is in terms of your probability of winning a bet. In poker, you can fold until you find yourself in a situation where you have a 65% to 80% probability of winning, then bet heavily when you’re in that situation.

Poker And Sports Betting Sites

You will rarely, if ever, find yourself placing a sports bet where you have that probability of winning. The best sports bettors in the world are thrilled with a win ratio of between 53% and 57%.

When you’re winning a lower percentage of bets, your variance increases, because you will unavoidably lose more bets over the long run.

Sports betting and poker sites play

What’s a Good Return on Investment?

Your return on investment is the amount you’ve won compared to the amount you’ve risked. The higher that percentage is, the better.

In poker, return on investment is usually used by tournament players to measure how well they’re doing. Realistically, the best poker players in the world are lucky to see a return on investment of 25% to 35%, which is an impressive number. (Compare that with the kind of ROI you’d see on a savings bond.)

In sports betting, your return on investment will almost surely be in the 5% to 15% range, and that’s if you’re one of the elite.

In other words, that’s the kind of ROI achieved only by the best sports bettors in the world.

Return on investment isn’t the only way to measure how successful you’ll be at a given gambling activity, but it’s good to track it and be aware of the difference.

Conclusion

Which is better to bet on? Poker or sports? This post doesn’t provide a definitive answer, because that answer varies too much from one person to another.

If you’re lousy at poker but good at sports betting, it’s obvious which kind of gambling you should do. The reverse holds true, too.

If you’re good at both, you should do both. Many professional poker players are also pro sports bettors. What about you? Which activity are you good at betting on?

Leave me a comment and let me know.

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Home » Poker Reviews » Sportsbetting Poker

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April 25th, 2018 Last updated on March 3rd, 2021
Sportsbetting.ag Highlights
  • Receive a 100% to $2500 poker bonus with your first deposit
  • Voted best new poker site for United States players
  • Offers poker - sports betting - casino

Sportsbetting Poker Review for 2021

Sportsbetting.ag is a solid option for poker players. Between being a sister site to Sportsbetting, licensed and regulated, you can feel safe about playing there. They also accept US players (from all 50 states) and have multiple products to choose from, including sports, casino and racing. What’s not to like?

How Tough is the Competition at Sportsbetting Poker?

Competition is relative. In other words, if you suck at poker, the games are going to be harder than if you were good at poker. Do you understand what I mean?

That being said, Sportsbetting.ag is softer compared to some of the other bigger poker sites. There are a couple of reasons for this.

  • Crossover traffic. Players from the sports and casino side will spill over to the poker tables. They are easy marks because they just want to gamble and show off. On top of that they’re not going to understand pot odds, hand equities and ranges.
  • Sportsbetting.ag accepts US players. That adds more players to the pool, naturally making the games softer.
  • There are fewer pros. Since the site has less traffic, you don’t have to worry about the tables being infested with good players. Pro players stick to sites with more traffic to ensure there are always games running.

Best Poker And Sports Betting Sites

Ultimately, table competition will come down to your skill level and who your opponents are. But if you’re looking for a soft site to learn how to play poker and make money from, Sportsbetting.ag is a good site for that.

Deposits and Cashouts at Sportsbetting.ag Poker

Methods

Sportsbetting.ag’s deposit options include: person to person, Visa, Visa (person to person), book to book, money orders, bank wires and checks. Deposit limits range from $50 to $25,000 for the majority of options. There are a few options that have no limits.

Your withdrawal options include: checks, bank wires, person to person and book to book transfers. Withdrawal limits vary from $100 to $8,000.

Fees

All deposit fees will be covered by Sportsbetting.ag. Withdrawals, however, will have fees for every option available. The fees range from $25 to $185, depending on which method you choose and/or how fast you want to receive your money.

Security

Sportsbetting.ag is just as secure as the other poker sites. All transactions are encoded and encrypted, and customer’s funds are held in an insured escrow account, in cash or similar. Your personal information (email, name, address, etc) will not be shared or sold to other 3rd parties either. Sportsbetting.ag has been in business a long time, and have not had any known/major security issues. You can feel safe here.

How to deposit on Sportsbetting Poker with Bitcoin

If you’re looking for a good site to gamble with Bitcoin, Sportsbetting is a great option. Aside from bonuses, Sportsbetting gives you an additional bonus when you deposit with Bitcoin. It also accepts a number of other cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin Cash.

There are no fees and deposits and withdrawals are always speedy. All you have to do is select the site’s Cryptocurrency option on the deposit screen. You can even use a QR code to scan and deposit crypto. If you have any problems, the site has a Bitcoin 101 to help you get your coins on the site.

How Valuable are the Promotions and Bonuses at Sportsbetting Poker?

Like Betonline, Sportsbetting.ag offers the 25% Bonus for Life. This is a 15-25% match on your deposit up to $2500. This bonus can be used every single time you make a deposit.

Sports Betting And Poker Sites No Deposit

The bonus itself is a great value in terms of being able to use it over and over again. That, along with the $2500 maximum, far outweighs the fact that they don’t have a huge rewards program like other sites. The rollover is standard, though, against most sites.

Aside from the deposit bonus, Sportsbetting.ag doesn’t have a whole lot in the way of other promotions. They do award POP points for playing real money games, which can then be used to enter money-added freerolls. Sportsbetting.ag also guarantees $150k+ in tournament prize pools every month.

Other Products at Sportsbetting

In addition to poker, you can also enjoy the following at Sportsbetting.ag:

  • Sportsbook – Bet on your favorite sport, team, player and prop bets.
  • Casino – Choose from a variety of games including blackjack, slots, craps, roulette, sic bo, video poker and more.
  • Racebook – Receive tips and bet on horse races.

What’s important to keep in mind here is that you can participate in the promotions that run for section of Sportsbetting.ag.

Sports Betting And Poker Sites Play

Breaking Down the Sportsbetting Software & Download

One unique thing about Sportsbetting.ag is that they only spread holdem and omaha games. Despite enjoying the occasional hand of HORSE or 7-card stud, I think this is a great idea. It keeps all the players into one of two sections, which increases the likelihood that a game will be running.

Other than that, there isn’t anything special or unique about Sportsbetting.ag’s software. It looks alright and works. At the end of the day that’s all that matters.

Mobile Options for Sportsbetting Poker Players

Sportsbook Poker Ag

Sportsbetting.ag does not have a mobile poker app for their poker section. You can bet on sports from your phone though. No app is needed — just visit the site and log-in.

Operating System Compatibility

Sportsbetting.ag has downloads for both Windows and Mac poker users. Linux users will need to use an emulator or dual boot setup.

Sportsbetting Poker Network & License Information

Sportsbetting.ag is located and licensed in Panama City, Panama. They are apart of the Revolution Gaming Network, which was originally the Cake Poker Network. In early 2012 it was bought out and rebranded by Lock Poker, the flagship site (and company) on the network.

Play now at Sportsbetting.ag
  • Website:www.sportsbetting.ag
  • Bonus:100% to $2500
  • Licenced:Panama
  • Banned States:No Banned States! Accepts Everyone!
  • Payment Options:Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Visa, MasterCard, Money Transfers, Bank Wire
  • Support:Click Here
  • Legal Info:Click Here