Is it Necessary to Play the eSports Games You Bet On?

Video games have some of the lowest barriers to entry for newcomers. Unlike sports like basketball or golf, practicing isn't dependent on weather, travel, or many of the hurdles traditional sports imply. This means it can be extremely easy to jump in and gain firsthand experience, learning the ins and outs not just intellectually, but in a way that consolidates them subconsciously.

This also raises the question of whether or not this might be necessary or advantageous. Will playing help you understand more when it comes time to place a wager, or might it teach you incorrect lessons that will only hurt you down the path? There are arguments for both sides here, so let's take a look from both perspectives.

An Appreciation of the Game

On the undeniably positive side of deciding to play comes the extra passion that can result from hands-on experience. When you go from being passive to actively engaging, you naturally see the game from a different light. The play goes from something slightly abstract and hypothetical to events you can see yourself participating in. You can better feel how teams and players work and evolve, which can generate an innate feeling not available otherwise.

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Playing can also be a fantastic way to introduce you to a game, so you can more quickly learn the ropes. This works a lot like traditional casino games do, with experience teaching many of us more than guides alone ever could. Consider bingo as an example, and what's on offer from the best bingo app releases. These allow players to jump into games like Fishin' Bonanza and Age of the Gods, engaging in ways far more likely to stick in players' memories.

Understanding Beyond the Surface

Playing games for yourself also provides ways that you can learn the deeper lessons of the game without needing to rely on commentators or outside analysis. Consider if you're a fighting game player in something like Street Fighter 6, as an example. If you're a Zangief main, you know that the Dhalsim matchup isn't one in your character's favour. Combined with basic knowledge of playstyle, this could inform your bets on matches well in advance of the players actually sitting down to compete.

Playing goes a step further by letting you see new metas evolve in real time. There have been many cases where exploits or new tactics are discovered just outside of tournaments in games like CS:GO, only to be utilised to the shock of viewers not familiar with the most recent in-game developments. If you hear players talk about them in-game, you can investigate them yourself and see if they might inform your bet.

Risks of Misunderstanding

As helpful as hands-on play can be, it also presents some risks. Primarily, this comes from not understanding the difference between the level of the pros and the level most of us play. While there is considerable overlap in many skill tiers, there are also enormous gaps.

To return to a Street Fighter 6 example, Sagat is one of the least-represented characters in the lowest rank of Rookie, at 28th out of 28 characters in the current roster. At the highest rank of master, however, Sagat is the 5th-most-popular character. In other words, what you learn at ranks below the highest often isn't transferable. The best players can think and act in ways you might never experience outside of the sphere of masters, so overestimating your knowledge can be dangerous.

While you don't have to play a game to improve your odds when you enter the betting realm, there are ways in which it can be advantageous. As long as you understand the limitations of your personal experience and similarly rely on the outside expertise of the community and commentators, your play can be another tool in your arsenal. It won't guarantee your betting success, but it might help, and maybe even let you uncover new ways for you to win when you head back to the virtual battlefield.