Buying Sports Picks is not a strategy we would highly support, however there are a few angles to look at this topic, and we would like to expand with some more details.
Why do you buy the pick? What’s the purpose?
If you are going to bet $100 on a certain game and the pick is going to cost you $40 then by all means that’s a bad strategy because let’s say you win $90 – then you got $190 but spent $40 on the pick so your net winnings are $150 – and in this case taking the risk was not worth it.
However if you are betting on an event with large volumes, for instance on the NFL or the NBA or on some event that has the capacity to take larger bets and you’re planning to risk $5,000 on one single game (we by all means advise against this but if you really want to do this) – then yes, in this case paying even $50 – $100 for a pick could be a good idea as you need all the information you can get before taking that huge risk! Perhaps in such a case where you’re planning to risk such a huge amount you should even spend money on 2 or 3 picks just to get as much information as you can and only then make your prediction and place your bet.
Treat any pick as informative and not as decisive!
This is a very important rule of thumb. The very first purpose of the pick is to provide you with information.
You should take the information first and grasp it, only then make the decision itself. If you are going to blindly follow up someone without even checking the details – and do this for long term – it could be a recipe for disaster. A great handicapper today can go 20 wins and 70 losses next… of course it’s quite less realistic but always do your due diligence, because after all you are the one risking your money, not the handicappers/tipsters.
A vision without a strategy remains an illusion.
Lee Bolman
Your best strategy is to plan ahead how much you want to invest, why invest on this specific game, why this one is better than all the others, and then if picks are necessary then they could reassure your thoughts or alternatively bring you new insights to reconsider your plans.
Before making a final decision rely only on yourself
As we mentioned, we are not highly encouraging to buy picks, since you can grab a lot of data yourself, for example OddsPortal.com could be a great source to see a reflection of odds for a specific game and more. However, if you don’t have the time to check trends, injuries etc. then yes, buying a pick from someone else could help you make a better prediction, but always make the final decision yourself, and remember that.
If you decide to buy a pick – buy one with explanation
Some tipsters would simply tell you what their pick is without supplementing it with additional information. In our view this is plainly wrong and you should avoid buying picks from such tipsters. Even if someone has a crazy 60-1 run and you want to buy the 62nd pick from him then keep in mind it could always be a loser. Also this record might not be genuine neither.
In our view when you pay a tipster (for example Jim Feist) you are first and foremost paying for information. Yes, you would also want to know what the tipster chooses to bet on, but your money is firstly paid for unique information, for instance there could be a weather situation you are not aware of and the handicapper is aware of it – and then when he tells you a certain game can go under due to rough conditions – then that could be deemed as valuable information (and again only to a certain extent).
You could also take the information and make a note of the odds and the pick you want, and then try to get better lines during live betting. For example an NBA game with odds of 210.5 that goes 222.5 in live – if you liked the under all the way from the beginning then those extra 12 points could be seen as a value in your eyes, and then betting the under might worth it. It all depends on where you see there is an edge and value.
In conclusion, in general we advise against buying picks, but if you are going to risk a large amount then perhaps it might be a good idea to spend a bit on some picks but get only the informative picks which are properly supplemented with proper information, guidance, trends etc.
