Sports gambling is perhaps one of the toughest gigs around. However, if you get it right the rewards can also be huge. However, as with anything in life becoming a pro or even semi-pro gambler takes an awful lot of work. Look at poker. There you have to learn the odds and potential outcomes of hands you might be dealt. It's easy when you know how, but taking that first step and learning it is not. Despite this even cards have an advantage over sports betting as there are certain odds which in the long run will always even themselves out. For example in Texas Hold'em ace-king in the hole is even money to beat any pair apart from aces. This means that half of the time you'll win in a showdown, half the time you won't. It might take a while for that to happen, hundreds of hands even, but it will.

However, just because a team's Premier League betting odds say they are evens to win doesn't mean they will do so half the time. There are other factors at play. Fortunately for the would-be gambling expert it is these factors that present the chance to make some money. Real pro sports punters learn to spot value by keeping an eye on form, injuries and suspensions. That evens price might be worth backing or, if you really know your stuff, it might be better value to lay the team at those odds.

But that's just the first step. The real key to unlocking excellent value through betting is often backing and laying the same bet over a period of time. Take Arsenal's Premier league title odds. A few weeks ago they drifted into a short price after a good run. If you'd bitten the bullet and laid them for the title before they faced Manchester United and Arsenal you would have been able to back them after those two defeats at much longer odds and made sure you end up in the money either way. It sounds simple, but it does take a lot of work.