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POOLS
POOLS
HOW TO PLAY
STRATEGIES

POOLS strategies

Sports betting can add an enhanced layer of fun to watching sports. As every true fan knows, anything can happen in sports! The best strategy is to play for fun. If you win, consider it a bonus.

Set your budget

Three spend levels low, medium, and high are shown using dollar signs signifying a player’s budget. The middle option is checked off.

The first step before risking any money gambling is to establish your budget. Plan how much you’re going to spend on any given week or month, and call it quits if you hit it. Never chase losses or try to win back what you’ve lost by going deeper into your pocket. You’re likely to lose even more.

If I bet more, will I win more?

In theory, if you bet more you could win more but you also stand to lose more. Plus, over time, you’re likely to lose more often than you win. The best strategy is to never bet more than you can afford, and to never chase your losses.

Should I Box Play?

Box play lets you pay more to guarantee that some of your picks are correct. What it can’t do is guarantee you’ll win the overall prize pool. Consider box play if you have no idea which team might win a matchup, and only if it fits within your budget.

As with all forms of gambling the choice is yours, but your best bet is to only play with money you can afford to lose.

Know the game rules

It’s a good idea to know the rules of the sport on which you are betting. Even more important however, is to know the rules for playing OLG sports betting products. If you choose to play POOLS, you’ll be bound by the rules of this product, not those of the sport you are wagering on. Rules for POOLS can be viewed in the POOLS Game Conditions.

Should I bet on a winning streak?

Three trophies are shown in succession, followed by a question mark representing the uncertainty of winning streaks.

Winning streaks are a series of back-to-back wins that could end at any time. A team on a winning streak might lose the next game. Since you can’t guarantee a win or a loss either way, the best strategy is to forget the hype and do your research on the next opponent. In the end, know that anything can happen, and no bet is ever guaranteed to win.

Is my team due for a win?

A football player is shown with two silhouettes with question marks on each side, signifying that there is no certain way to predict a winner in sports.

Just like lottery or casino games, there are no certain ways to predict a win in sports. A team on a losing streak is never “due” for a win and there’s no way to tell if or when they might win again. Since anything can happen, it’s important to focus on playing for fun and accept that sometimes you may lose. When that happens, don’t chase your losses. Trying to win back lost money is a sure way to go over your budget.

Never play expecting to make money

Betting on sports can be a lot of fun, and when you place your bet, that should be the goal instead of expecting to turn a profit. Any player can win at any time, but over time you’re more likely to lose than win. That’s why it’s important to set a budget and stick to it.

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PROLINE.ca and the PROLINE App let you build bets for POOLS in-store betting. They are different from PROLINE+, OLG’s online sports offering.