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A Beginner’s Guide to Dota 2 Betting

What is Dota 2?

Dota 2 is one of the most exciting esports out there, and has become arguably the most popular esport game. The multiplayer online battles not only attract numerous players, but vast amounts of spectators. Dota 2 is a free to play game on Steam, a well-known gaming platform. One of the primary reasons for its immense popularity is that it is free with no added charges to play with different heroes.

The game is played between two teams comprising five players each. Each of the ten players can select hero characters to play as, these heroes all have special abilities and different playing styles. This allows teams to employ a number of strategies that can be used during each match. In each match, teams can win by destroying the other team's "Ancient", the large structure which is located within the enemy’s base. Each player can pick up experience points and items within each map, gearing up to try and defeat the opponent’s heroes. With over 123 playable characters to choose from, the game is largely strategic and requires coherent gaming tactics as well as game knowledge and skill. This is what makes every game unique and appealing to spectators.

Most tournaments have live coverage on the video game streaming platform Twitch. Major tournaments may have TV coverage from a number of esport organisations that provide on-site commentary, analysis and match predictions. Live Dota 2 games have been simulcast on television networks too, with broadcasters ESPN, BBC and many more television channels around the world. Because the games are so popular globally, they are usually covered in a huge selection of languages.

How to Bet on Dota 2

When it comes to betting on Dota 2, there are many different betting types to choose and some amazing odds available. Standard Dota 2 matches are usually played in a best of three format, although grand finals in the major events may be determined with a best of five format.

Live Betting

Dota 2 bets do not specifically need to be placed before each game. There is a huge selection of live bets that can be placed, with real time odds. These bets give fans the chance to watch the game and then try to place bets after getting to know the contestants and their playing styles.

Some fans with a good understanding of Dota 2, or punters who have simply done their research, do have an advantage when it comes to placing bets. Though with live bets, fans will be able to watch how the contestants start the matches, and they may instinctively know which team has the better chance of winning.

Live odds can also be taken advantage of at strategic moments when the punter’s team of choice goes behind, the odds on them will increase quickly, presenting a perfect window of opportunity to place a potentially high paying bet.

Match Winner

The most common bet that fans and bettors place on Dota 2 games is on which team will win the competition. The teams can be researched to increase the chance of placing a winning bet. The odds on each team will be based on factors such as which team has superior players, how the teams fare on a match to match basis, their general styles of play or strategy and more. The house favourite will always have lower odds than the underdog, but it is up to the punter to decide which team they want to bet on.

By Game

Matches can be divided into individual games, and bettors can place wagers on winners of a specific game. These definitely pay out faster, as the punters will only have to wait until the end of a single game to win their bet. Tactically, it can provide a huge advantage, especially when the game bet is made after the first game has been played. Fans can assess the teams during the first game and then will be able to place better informed bets going into the second game.

Handicap Bets

Handicap bets can be used to lengthen the odds on a certain team, or reduce the risk level on a certain team. In matches where there is a best of three games format, there are handicaps of +1.5 and -1.5. The results of these matches will always be either 2-0 or 2-1, meaning that placing a handicap of +1.5 on a team will mean that the bet wins if they only win one game. A -1.5 handicap will mean a team needs to win the match in two straight games. In grand finals where the matches are played in a best of five games format, there are more options for handicaps, such as -1.5, -2.5 or +1.5, +2.5. The odds are always drastically lengthened with handicaps, and they can prove to be a highly profitable bet.

Many More Bets

There are many more bets available, such as total number of games, bets on individual maps, games won in a certain period of time and more. There are also a number of bets which have a fun factor to them, these may include bets such as team to earn first blood (first kill of the game), which team reaches 10 kills first, which team destroys the first tower, which team will destroy the first barracks and more. These bets are slightly more difficult to predict but they offer long odds and can put any fan in the mood for watching a good game of Dota 2.