We will have a look at basics like where to bet, how to bet and which odds markets are available for this fantastic game. We will also visit topics such as what tools you can use to your advantage through betting.com, such as bet trackers and odds comparison.
Esports betting has become a normal part of the bookies life today and we can thank Dota 2 for that development for several reasons, but mainly one – The International. The yearly recurring massive tournament arranged by Valve has broken esports prize pools records ever since its first iteration back in 2011. The spectacle truly set esports on the map even for the most casual viewers and keeps on drawing the eyes of the world upon itself year after year. With massive viewership comes a need for betting markets and let’s just say the bookies weren’t slow to jump head first into that opportunity.
Even though most operators offer odds for Dota 2 today there are distinct differences between them and you will certainly be favoured choosing one that fits your needs. As we work together with many of the industry leaders for this purpose you will be able to read up on what bookie suits you through our operator reviews. Just below we will also give some of our top picks for Dota 2 bookies to get you kick-started.
Where to Bet on Dota 2?
Betting on Dota 2 has a common factor with all types of betting, be it traditional sports or esports – picking the right operator is key. Finding a sportsbook that guarantees your safety as well as providing a good amount of betting options for Dota 2, with high odds and a bonus fitting your needs might not sound like an easy task. However, we think it could be and we like to use a few questions to get us started:
- Is the operator available for players in your country/region?
- Are they trustworthy and reliable?
- Are their betting markets for Dota 2 good?
- Are the odds competitive and/or better than others?
- Do their bonuses suit you?
- What license do they have?
If you can check off all these questions as a “yes”, then we are looking at a suitable bookie just for you and Dota 2 betting. We can’t emphasise enough how important it is that you find a betting site you trust and can feel safe betting with. Their license is in most cases very telling and you should pay attention to this from the get go. You can find all of this information in our operator reviews to ensure you that your new betting home will be trustworthy. When we have checked this box with a yes, then, and only then can we move on to look at the next steps.
When you are choosing a bookie for Dota 2 betting it will obviously be key that their odds markets are big and offer you the games you are interested in betting on. For Dota 2 this is often not an issue as most bookies have a good amount of the top games on offer. However, the difference can be found in the smaller leagues and tournaments, which are not commonplace for most bookies. There are also vast differences in how many markets you can choose to bet on, as some bookies will offer odds on the winner of a game, while another might have up to 70-80 markets to choose from.
Next on the list is the odds that the bookies offer, which can also differ quite a bit. To make sure you find the highest odds for Dota 2 on any given game we recommend you to always use an odds comparison tool to your advantage.This will inevitably lead to betting with many different bookies, but that is only beneficial to us, as that mean higher odds, but also more bonuses to benefit from. In fact, betting at only one or a few bookies is a huge loss in the long run.
Speaking of bonuses – Yes, another important choice when looking at what bookies to use. We should always add this to our arsenal while combating the sportsbooks out there. Bonuses for Dota 2 betting can vary heavily depending on the sportsbook you choose and they range all the way from no bonus, to free bets, to big deposit bonuses. What suits you is simply your choice, but make sure to take advantage of what simply is free money and a boost to our betting bankroll! Make sure to always read the terms and conditions thoroughly to not end up with a surprise later on. To find the best bonuses, but also learn more about how they work make sure to check out our recommended operators.
What Site is Best for Dota 2 Betting?
With all the information above about how to choose a sportsbook for Dota 2 betting, it all eventually ends up with this question. While it might be impossible to give an answer that fits everybody there are still some good suggestions to be made. As mentioned, Dota 2 odds are highly available at most of the big sportsbooks out there, but many still have drawbacks in the form of smaller betting markets or other factors. We have chosen our three top picks for Dota 2 betting based on their great selection of games and markets, as well as being reliable and highly respected sportsbooks in general. The best odds for Dota 2 can in our opinion be found at:
- Pinnacle
- Betway
- Bet365
These three choices reflect what Dota 2 betting should be all about and they suit the beginner just as well as the veterans. High odds and a great market selection for Dota 2 is a given for these industry leaders and you can feel safe as ever betting with them. Let us still add that there are many other good choices beyond these, but you can’t go wrong with any of these three, that much is for sure.
Strategy for Dota 2 Betting
As we now know where to bet and a bit about Dota 2 betting in general, the next step is to dive into HOW to do it. Whether you are playing for pennies or thousands there is one main rule we have to put out there first of all – never play for more than you can afford to lose, but also, never play for more than a fraction of your budget per game. It is also key to understand that our mission is to beat the bookies, who themselves have a good understanding of the odds lines they set for Dota 2. With that said there are obviously several ways we can outperform the sportsbooks and become profitable, but that will require us to work in the correct way. Simply put – we have to take advantage of the mistakes made by the bookies to gain an edge. The first step to success will always be good research and knowledge about the teams and players in Dota 2. We can gain this information in quite a few ways and we will list some of the best down below.
- Analyse earlier results and statistics. (Can be done through sites such as Joindota, gosugamers, dotabuff etc.)
- Scout the teams and players social media, as they can give fast information about a stand-in for a game or other unexpected circumstances.
- Learn the meta of the Dota 2 pro scene and understand how teams match up against each other.
- Look at more markets than the winner of the game. We will have a deeper look at this topic further down, but always keep in mind there’s many more markets available.
- Remember live betting can be a good option, as Dota 2 has big swings in games and understanding how and why these happen can bring you a big advantage.
- Make sure to check out our 100% verified tipsters, who deliver high quality tips on Dota 2, both for free or by paid subscriptions.
- Last, but not least, watching a lot of Dota 2 should be a no brainer, but it still needs to be said. Understanding the game and seeing the teams in action will help you a whole lot, as statistics is not everything.
- Follow the odds trends for specific betting markets on Dota 2 through odds comparison tools to see how the markets move before the game starts.
Starting to implement a few of these things to our daily routine will guarantee a boost to our long term results. Doing all of it might take some time to get used to, but is absolutely crucial to become successful with betting on Dota 2. This step together with proper bankroll management are the two most fundamental things we should aim to perfect as soon as we get started. Betting on Dota 2 will never offer safe outcomes and should never be viewed as such. While this is true for all esports and traditional sports alike, Dota 2 is a game with big swings and unexpected outcomes during a game can quickly lead to surprising results. You might ask yourself what proper limits are if we are to follow strict rules? Good! Let’s have a look at what is appropriate bet sizing for betting on Dota 2.
We won’t dive too deep into the subject and make it too complicated at once, but instead start off with a general rule. Betting around 1% of your bankroll at any given match or market is a good start in our opinion. In betting terms the bet sizing is commonly referred to as “units” and this simply means that 1 unit equals 1% of your bankroll. Usually punters range their sizing from 1-5, but we would recommend especially new bettors to aim towards betting 1 unit for every bet in the beginning.
The edges we are looking for when trying to beat the bookies are small, it really is that simple, and we need to treat it as such. It doesn’t matter how great our research and knowledge is if we don’t follow strict guidelines for our bankroll management. It’s inevitable that we will hit a cold streak sooner or later and we will have to survive it without risking our bankroll, that’s just the reality of betting. Now, this is easier said than done, but it’s also a trait that divides the winners from the losers.
To become successful with betting on Dota 2 we also need to keep track of our betting history. This is done for several reasons, including being able to see where we are doing good and where our leaks can be found. In the case of being successful with a specific betting market or odds line we can enhance our edges even further by analysing why it’s working out in our favour. For bets that are not going our way it goes without saying we can start working towards fixing that, which could be in the form of skipping those types of bets completely or just make minor adjustments.
Using an automated bet tracker for this purpose is by far your best option, even if the traditional spreadsheet can work out too. We obviously recommend you to use the bet tracker that can be found at betting.com, since we have developed it completely for the purpose of helping punters keep track, but also analyse their betting history. This offers you the ability to see your historical results for different types of markets, different bet sizes or how big the odds were for the specific bet, to name a few upsides. Tracking your bets on Dota 2 can be the difference between being a long term winner or loser, as it can work wonders for finding the leaks you might suffer from, as well as enhancing your strengths. However, always keep in mind that betting is a long term game and we need a massive sample size to make accurate conclusions about our betting success.
Let’s move on and have a look at what types of odds are available for us when we start betting on Dota 2.
Betting Markets for Dota 2
Dota 2 betting offers bettors many different markets to target and an all too common mistake is to only look at odds for winning the game. This is important to keep in mind since the market that usually is the most “correct” set one from the bookies is exactly that one. Using our time to research other markets can be very beneficial as we can deep dive into small specifics. Dota 2 odds offer a big variety, which we will have a look at below and with the right research big value is to be found. Not every sportsbook offers these vast selections, but as we recommend using several different bookies simultaneously you should be able to have most of them available. Let’s have a look at some of the options Dota 2 betting offers:
- Map handicap – Offered for almost all games played best of three/five. You simply bet on one team with a handicap like -1.5/-2.5 or +1.5/+2.5 in the game.
- Over/Under maps – Common betting option is best of three/five series.
- Over/Under kills – Betting on the amount of kills in a game. Can be very beneficial with knowing how the two teams match up against each other.
- First Blood – Which team gets the first kill of the game.
- First Tower – Which team destroys the first tower.
- First Roshan – Which team kills the first Roshan of the game.
- First to 5/10/15/20 kills – A good market to use in games with a heavy favourite, as an option to the winner odds.
- Kill Handicap – A specific team to lead by X amount of kills when the game ends, or reversely not be behind by X.
- Game Length – Betting on how long the game will be. An interesting market as teams play styles can differ heavily.
- Kills by a given player – Not the most common market out there, but a very interesting and entertaining one. Can be used with an advantage with good research and knowing the team’s playstyle.
These are some of the most common, but also uncommon markets offered for Dota 2 betting. When researching betting opportunities you should always keep an open mind for all of these markets, as we are doing the heavy lifting already. Quite often the smaller markets offer better odds as they aren’t as researched by the bookies, or in all honesty, anybody.
When you are becoming more familiar with betting on Dota 2 a good idea is to do your research and background work for games before even having a look at the odds offered. This way we can create an unbiased view of the probabilities before exposing ourselves to others opinions. This can be tricky to get used to, but could already be used as a beginner for the purpose of simply learning and getting used to it. As there is abundant information for the teams and players of Dota 2 this is an excellent way to quickly start determining if certain markets have any value. As our goal is sustainable long term success with betting on Dota 2 we have to find ways to analyse the game properly and this is one of them.
How Can I Become Better at Betting on Dota 2?
We hope that this guide to betting on Dota 2 has helped you with an overall picture of how to approach it. Choosing an operator, understanding the markets and odds, but also how to start building a strategy on how to do it the right way. As betting in general is a big and complex topic there is obviously much more to learn. Doing so by yourself with no assistance might lead you the right way eventually, but there are also ways to get a shortcut.
Betting on Dota 2 doesn’t differ much from other esports and as such the benefits of learning about general betting strategies and ideas are very valuable. As a follow up to reading this guide we would recommend our betting university, where we offer articles about general betting topics. These articles range from betting systems, different strategies all the way to psychological aspects of becoming a successful bettor. Keeping an open mind is simply key to take the next step on your betting journey and not stare yourself blind on only betting on Dota 2, or esports for that matter.
Our goal at betting.com is to provide a way for a new bettor on esports to get going and enjoy betting, but also to move towards being a professional one, together with offering value even to the veterans. We hope you have enjoyed reading this Dota 2 betting guide and if you are interested in taking the next step on your betting head over to our betting university to find out more!
