Are you happy when a bet yields 100 euros? Or do you really jump into the air when you gamble together an amount of 1000 euros in one month? Then it would be best if you immersed yourself in the world of professional football gamblers. Because for that small group of successful gamblers amounts of 100 and 1000 euros are a pittance. Just look at the man who gave an interview to the Dutch AD Sportwereld in 2014. He lives the life of a top gambler, and he is more likely to think in tons and millions instead of a few thousand euros. Now you might think “can someone be that lucky?” Indeed, it is not a matter of luck either. He earns millions a year by combining his passion for sports with the smart strategy of probability calculation.
Sports betting is popular among many people. Football, in particular, is such a sport that many like to bet. It is not for nothing that around every European Championship or World Cup it is said that the Netherlands has 17 million coaches. Everyone seems to understand football, so why not bet money on it? Still, it’s not as easy as it sounds. Even if you look into all the statistics out there, you will still regularly lose bets. This made the AD newspaper (and of course us from bettingonfootball.com) curious about the strategy that a real top gambler uses.
First, let’s get acquainted with this fascinating man. At the time of the interview, he was 36 years old and was given the fictitious name Wouter de Graaf. An anonymous conversation, but no less interesting. The Dutchman placed his first bet when he was 16. In those 20 years, he has become wise through damage and shame. But now he can call himself a multi-millionaire.
De Graaf has devoted a large part of his life to sports betting. He started his career with an international gambling company. Here he was tasked with automating the emerging live betting market. It was not so much his talent as a programmer that made him stand out. There was one element that was much more important: he understood the laws of probability. As a result, De Graaf manages to look at sports betting in a different way than all those other gamblers did. And he turned out to have a golden formula.
Algorithms (aka mathematical formulas) are the basis for all of his bets. Each formula is based on a simple idea. So simple that De Graaf likes to keep it a secret. So you will have to rely on your knowledge and expertise if you think that probability calculation can take you far. The computer models developed by the top bettor are purely aimed at deciding the odds of winning a bet. For example, what are the odds if he bets on a draw or a win for the home team? He always focuses on several markets at the same time. The computer models show precisely how much chance he has if he bets money on the winner, the number of goals or the position after the final signal has sounded. Digital data is all that De Graaf needs. He makes decisions based on these long tables. He always focuses his gauges on the long term. Because yes, a real expert in probability calculations also leads to losses.
Thanks to the digital data, De Graaf does not need a large team of experts. The computer models perform tens of thousands of calculations in just one second. Even if this work has to be done with human hands, it will take days if not weeks. And that time simply does not exist in the world of football gambling. Also, the computer can check every second, whether the odds of winning have changed. It is the current information that counts. Because the odds of winning in the different markets are updated continuously, he can respond very quickly to what appears on his screen. He is also continually betting on new bets. Incidentally, De Graaf does not do this entirely alone. The top gambler directs two other traders, and with the three of them following, the computer models are meticulous.
De Graaf thinks in numbers that most ordinary gamblers can only dream of. For example, a week in which he trades a million betting transactions at 600 different matches is undoubtedly no exception. Work continues on weekends. It still involves thousands of bets with tons at stake. In the event of a loss, it could mean that De Graaf immediately lost 8,500 euros. In one fell swoop, he could get a profit of up to 13,000 euros. Now you probably expect that the most profit can be made with big squatters from, for example, the Champions League, the British Premier League or the German Bundesliga. Nothing is less true then that. The small games at unusual times can yield a surprising amount of profit. That is immediately a useful tip for you: look a little further than just the most popular matches, because a duel on a regular Tuesday afternoon can also be made a lot of money.
The drive to win is great with such a top gambler as De Graaf. His determination and persistence have made him millions, and his fortune continues to grow significantly every year. De Graaf is undoubtedly not the only one who relies on data analysis and probability calculations for his bets. He’s seen thousands of gamblers following the same strategy. Most of these thousands of gamblers have failed the mission.
De Graaf also had to fight hard for his success. He is adjusting the algorithms until they were as perfect as possible. Then learning to control the stress, persevering in periods of loss and turning off emotions: it was a long way to get to where he is now. All in all, it took until the age of 30 for the tipping point and large sums to come in. Yet he still has to keep adjusting his strategy. The gambling market is continuously changing, and success only lasts if you capitalize on it. Do you have enough persistence to make it in the world of sports betting? Then map out your strategy and see what this brings you.
