This article presents a new method of calculating match importance. Match importance is defined as strength of relationship between the match result and a given season outcome. Probabilities of all necessary match result-season outcome combinations are estimated by Monte Carlo simulation. Using actual results of 12 seasons of English Premier League and betting odds, it is shown that both match result and season outcome predictions are realistic. The method provides results that are close to Jennett's approach; however, it does not require ex post information and can be used for any type of season outcome.
In sports betting markets, bets on favorites tend to have a higher expected value than bets on longshots. This article uses a data set of almost 45,000 professional single tennis matches to show that the favorite-longshot bias is much stronger in matches between lower-ranked players, in laterround matches, and in high-profile tournaments. These results cannot be solely explained by bettors being locally risk-loving or overestimating chances of longshots, but are consistent with bookmakers protecting themselves against both better informed insiders and the general public exploiting new information.
This article investigates the strategy of betting on soccer draws using the Fibonacci sequence. In the previous literature, this strategy has been found to be both simple and profitable, indicating that the soccer betting market is not efficient. The strategy is tested both in a simulated market and on a real data set of almost 60,000 European soccer matches. Contrary to the previous findings in the literature, all tested versions of the Fibonacci betting strategy are found to lose money.
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