Most of us in the United States are fairly new to sports betting. With the exception of betting on horse racing and in Nevada, most sports betting has been illegal across the country since 1992. But that’s all changed now, and it’s an exciting new era for bettors.

The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) became a federal law in 1992. There had always been an undercurrent of anti-betting feeling in some of the more conservative parts of the country and the involvement of organized crime in bookmaking gave them a reason to ban betting.

Betting has always been big business in other countries, most importantly the United Kingdom. Americans were able to see that bookmakers and betting shops could be run as legitimate businesses by major corporations. Seeing the taxable revenue it generated helped the government warm up to it too!

In 2018, the Supreme Court decided to overturn PASPA and gave each state the right to decide for itself whether or not to allow sports betting. Most have already passed legislation allowing it or are moving in that direction. Some states only allow online betting, others only allow in-person, and some allow both.

Online sportsbooks have quickly become the most popular way to place bets on sports. Many of the best sportsbooks don’t just provide a platform to bet on, they also offer ways to improve the experience, including features such as betting guides, up to date sports info and interviews, and hot tips.

Online sports books are also attractive because they offer promotions for new and loyal returning customers. Some of these bonuses increase the impact of your initial deposit. One of the most popular of these bonuses is deposit matching.

There’s no way to guarantee a win when you’re betting on sports. There are, however, ways to improve your odds. Here are five tips you can follow to take your sports betting skills to the next level.

Focus on one sport

If you’re just casually placing a bet from time to time, it doesn’t matter how many different sports you bet on. If you plan on becoming a more serious bettor, however, focusing on only one sport is important. It allows you to dedicate plenty of time to studying the stats and latest news on the teams and players.

Of course, you can still put the occasional bet on a big game or when your favorite team is playing, but you should only focus seriously on one sport. Otherwise, you risk spreading your attention too thin and that can lead to making poorly informed bets that don’t pay off.

Know that sport very, very well

If you want to succeed at sports betting, knowing the ins and outs of the sport and all of the team and player stats is essential. It’s not enough to just know about the quarterback and a few players on your favorite team.

If you only focus on the obvious stars, you’ll miss the potential future hall of famers like Minnesota Vikings’ Linebacker Eric Kendricks. Players like Kendricks can slip under a lot of people’s radars and then have a huge impact on the outcome of the game.

The more you know, the less likely you are to be surprised — and have your bets thrown off — by what lesser-known players are capable of.

Take the time to learn the basics

Your first time reading an odds page can feel a bit like you’re reading something in a foreign language. There are pluses and minuses and rows of numbers. There are experts talking about the moneyline, over/unders and parlays. There are decimals or fractions, and it can all get a bit confusing.

Instead of just betting based on who your favorite team is or based on how your friends are betting, take the time to learn the basics. Once you understand how to read the odds and interpret tips, you can make better betting decisions.

Set a budget and stick to it

Making a budget and sticking to it is an important part of becoming a successful better. Both parts are equally important since having a budget you’re happy to ignore is basically the same as not having a budget at all.

Only betting a set amount of money that you’re comfortable losing keeps betting from becoming a stressful problem. If you can just have fun betting, there’s less pressure on you. With less pressure, you don’t have to make risky bets to recoup losses, you can focus on making smart bets.

Be strategic

There is no surefire formula for betting success. If there was, the industry probably would have died out decades ago after all. There are, however, different strategies that you can employ to potentially maximize, or at the very least protect, your investment.

The best tactic is to experiment with different strategies until you find the one that works best for you. Hedging your bets is the classic strategy used to protect your investment. When you hedge your bets, you place money on both sides of the bet, with the amount reflecting the odds.

Betting against the public is a strategy for experienced bettors who have developed the ability to judge the odds and tell when the line has been shifted too far to draw in any more money. One strategy to avoid is the Martingale - because the potential losses would vastly outweigh the winnings, which would be more frequent but much smaller.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB.  Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players, coaches and executives.  As such, it is news to us that Ryan Miller will be inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame and that his number 30 will also be retired during the 2022-23 season.

The Michigan-born Goalie played the first eleven seasons of his NHL career with the Sabres where he won the 2010 Vezina Trophy.  With an overall Sabres record of 284-186-57, Miller led Buffalo to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals (2006 & 2007).  He also was electric for the United States Olympic team in 2010, that won the Silver Medal.

Miller’s jersey retirement sees him join Tim Horton (#2), Rick Martin (#7), Gilbert Perreault (#11), Rene Robert (#12), Pat LaFontaine (#16, Danny Gare (#18) and Dominik Hasek (#39).  He will also become the 43^rd member of the Sabres Hall of Fame.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Ryan Miller for his impending honors.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB.  Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players, coaches and executives.  As such, it is news to us that there will be two new members inducted into the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame in 2022.

Former Saints, Fred McAfee and Devery Henderson have been chosen, along with Longtime Assistant Athletic Trainer, Kevin Mangum, who will receive the Joe Gemelli “Fleur de Lis” award for his contributions to the team.

McAfee was drafted in 1991 in the Sixth Round from Mississippi College and while he was listed at Running Back, his most potent contributions were in Special Teams.  Playing for the Saints from 1991 to 1993 and 2000 to 2006, McAfee rushed for 897 Yards with 210 Special Teams Tackles.  He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2002.

Henderson was a Second Round pick from LSU in 2004, and the Wide Receiver did not see any playing time until his second year.  Playing his entire career with the team, Henderson 245 passes for 4,377 Yards and twice led the NFL in Yards per Reception (2006 & 2008).  He was also a member of the Saints Super Bowl win in the 2009 Season.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to newest members of the Saints Hall of Fame.

When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame makes their annual announcement as to who was chosen for their institution, it is instantly our biggest news of the year.  It also puts us to work as we have to revise (our now) 600 deep) list of those to consider for the Rock Hall.

While the process takes a long time, the methodology behind it is very simple:

Remove the artists who were inducted.

Add the relevant acts who we think should make the list.

Alter rankings based on your votes and comments.

Easy enough, right?

Let’s look at the new top ten, which has no first-time eligible acts.

The Smiths reach number one for the first time on our list.  The Morrissey/Johnny Marr led group were nominated in 2015 and 2016, were number six last year and have a good chance to enter the Hall one day.

Coming in at #2 is Jethro Tull, who has never been nominated, though have been eligible since 1994.  They move up from number five, and this is their highest rank yet.

Oasis is at #3, sliding one spot.  They have only been eligible since 2020, but have never not been in the top five of our list.

New Order climbs up five rungs to #4, their highest rank yet.  They have been Hall of Fame eligible since 2007.

Pixies also have a massive rise, moving up from #11 to #5.  This is their first time in the top ten and top five, and they are also the highest non-British act and highest ranked Americans.  What that means, we have no idea!

Does the shocking induction of Dolly Parton propel Willie Nelson into the Hall?  We have been proponents of the King of Outlaw Country for years, and he inched up to #6 on this list, his highest rank to date.

Gram Parsons moved up from #8 to #7.  Parsons has been eligible since 1993, and was nominated three times (2002, 2003 & 2005), but nothing in the last seventeen years.

MC5, who was nominated last year for the sixth time, the proto-punk outfit dropped one spot to #8.

King Crimson also appears in the top ten for the first time, elevating from #12 to #9.  They have been eligible since 1995, but have yet to be nominated.

Joy Division also makes their first appearance in the top ten.  Strangely, they are in the upper-tier with New Order, and while we believe there is a very strong case to put them in together, we also recognize their musical output was very different.  They rose from #15.

You can find the entire list here.

As always, we thank you for your support, look forward to your comments, and ask you to vote on your favorites, or vote down those you deem unworthy of induction.