Water polo is one of the most underrated sports on the planet in terms of difficulty.
One of the toughest sports there is to play, some of the best athletes there are make it to the top level of this sport. For the smaller events, bookmakers often don’t provide a large range of betting markets, but the larger ones, such as the Olympics and the FINA Water Polo World League, can provide ample possibility to put on some intelligent bets.
As with all smaller sports – and indeed all sports in general – it is key to ensure that you do a whole lot of homework before placing any bets. Many people who bet on water polo aren’t experts on the game in the same way they might be for something like soccer, meaning it can be easy to place ill-informed bets and lose a lot of money.
There are, however, ways to ensure you’re ahead of the curve. There are plenty of ardent water polo fans in the world who are always on top of the latest news, and you can find some of these people amongst various well-credentialed water polo forums. These are the people who will be first to know when a star player is under an injury cloud, a cold has made it’s way through a team, or anything else which may have a significant impact on the outcome of an upcoming game. If you can find your way to this information before the bookmakers – something which certainly isn’t impossible given they won’t be dedicating as much attention to this sport as they will many others – you’re a good chance to find some markets in which the odds aren’t what they should be.
Another thing to focus heavily on in water polo is the goalkeeper. Of course, everybody knows the value of goalkeepers in a number of different sports, even if they don’t always get the credit they deserve. In water polo though, it’s a whole different story. The goalkeeper is the single most important player on a team, and quite a way ahead of second too. The strength of the goalkeeper is a fairly reliable indicator of the strength of a team as a whole.
Aside from guarding the net, obviously an important function in and of itself, the goalkeeper is also the extra eyes for the defense, calling out any gaps that may have appeared which can be exploited by the opposition. On top of that, saves can quickly turn into goal-scoring opportunities, with the best goalkeepers able to pass the ball over the defense and into the path of a teammate in an offensive position. For this reason, if you have a look at water polo stats, you’ll often notice that the goalie racks up a fairly high number of assists.
Of course the bookmakers will also pay attention to the quality of the goalkeeper, but if you really do your research you can find out a lot about the likelihood of one team winning against another. Combine that with significant research, and you’re a good chance to get ahead of the odds. If you’re really lucky, maybe you’ll find out about an injury to the star goalkeeper of one team before the oddsmakers do, in which case you’re a great chance to make some money. Of course, if water polo isn’t a sport you follow closely, ensure you bet responsibly as these aren’t guaranteed rules for success. They are, however, reasonably reliable indicators which can help you to bet water polo intelligently.
