Olympic beach volleyball may get more of the attention and the advertising dollars during the games these days, but from a sports betting perspective the traditional indoor variety of volleyball is typically more attractive. It’s often more predictable and more reliable to handicap, and opportunities for profit are more frequent. When you are looking to cash in betting on indoor volleyball at the Olympics here are seven factors for bettors to consider:
What rules have changed? – Volleyball always seems to be tweaking their rules to improve their game. The biggest change in recent years has been in the way they score games – if you haven’t played volleyball since grade school then the new scoring system probably will come as a surprise. By understanding how Olympic volleyball rules have changed sports bettors can get a sense of what impact that will have and whether it will be significant on how the tournament turns out.
Which teams are outclassed? – There are typically 12 teams in the Olympic tournament. Because of how teams qualify for the Olympics it is quite likely that not all 12 of those teams are elite squads that stand a chance of winning it all. If a team comes from a weak region then they may not be strong enough. The host team may not always be competitive, either. By understanding which volleyball teams aren’t likely in a position to be a real threat sports bettors can simplify their handicapping and have a better understanding of what to expect when the games begin.
Study the brackets – In Olympic volleyball, the 12 teams are split into two pools of six teams. Those pools play round robin action to determine the eight teams that advance to the medal round. The makeup of those pools can be very significant. A particularly weak group could give a relatively weak team a chance to shine, while a particularly tough group could handicap an otherwise competitive team. As important as which teams are in a pool is the order of games. If a team plays their toughest games in a row then they could be worn out and could fail to reach their potential.
What happened in the World League? – In many sports it is tough to get a sense of how national teams match up against each other because of limited meetings in exhibition games before the Olympics. In volleyball, though, the World League can give you real insights into how teams match up. Each year since 1990 the top 16 men’s teams in the world have played in a prestigious annual tournament – typically from May to early July. Teams play a dozen preliminary matches over four weeks in pool play before heading to the elimination rounds. It is a grueling test, and a very good way to get a sense of which teams are in good form, which ones are not, and how the Olympics might turn out. In short, from a form perspective it is a volleyball handicapper’s dream.
Which teams have reputations that don’t match form? – The World League can be one way to get a sense of which teams are not in the form they are expected to be. There are some teams that have strong reputations because of their traditional power in the sport. If those teams aren’t playing up to those expectations recently, then they could be easily overbet by the casual betting public – and that could create attractive betting value. On the flip side, if a team that hasn’t traditionally been a power is playing particularly well recently then they could provide attractive value to the smart sports bettor during the Olympic tournament.
Look to the experts – The Americans have been reasonably successful in Olympic volleyball over the years, but the sport has never been widely popular in the country. That means that the expertise of the sport, and therefore the quality of the analysis, isn’t necessarily the strongest it can be in the country. In parts of Europe and elsewhere the sport is much more popular, and therefore people have a better understanding of the sport. Thanks to the internet, it is easier than ever to find out who knows the sport best and discover what they think about the tournament. By seeking out the best sports handicapping information you can you will have a big edge over the casual bettors who will rely on major American media outlets for their opinions.
Don’t forget the women – In many sports bettors tend to concentrate on the men and forget about the women. In Olympic volleyball the women are at least as attractive form a betting perspective. They play a Grand Prix which is essentially the same as the World League. They play in the same format during the Olympics. They also tend to draw less betting interest, so the betting lines can be softer and the opportunities for profit more plentiful for the savvy sports handicapper..
