Have you ever considered sports betting a guesswork game? Well, things are changing. Thanks to big data and advanced analytics, we can now approach betting smarter. I’ve used my skills in data analysis to build a clever sports betting dashboard. It doesn’t pick random bets; it analyzes the odds from 22Bet to choose the most likely winners.
I’m excited to share this particular project with you in this post. We’ll look at how I changed traditional sports betting, which often relies on gut feelings, into a data-driven approach. It’s been an exciting journey, and you’ll find it interesting. Let’s dive in!
Thought Process
To predict outcomes, let’s analyze various factors like player performance and game conditions. However, this approach may duplicate existing efforts and be less effective. So, I had a breakthrough. Why not use the vast analytics from major sportsbooks? I compared their predictions. I found unique opportunities by using their differences. I did not reinvent the wheel. This strategy allows us to see insights they missed. It makes our betting picks more strategic and likely to succeed.
The Data
For this project, I used Python. I used it to gather data from top sports betting sites. These sites include PrizePicks, DraftKings, and Pinnacle. I made programs to collect data every five minutes. This helped me get the latest betting odds all the time. Having up-to-date information is essential for making accurate analyses.
Data Preprocessing
My next steps were to clean and preprocess the data. This included dealing with missing values, correcting inconsistencies, and converting data into formats suitable for analysis.
Exploratory Data Analysis
Once the data was ready, I analyzed it to find patterns and trends. I looked at several weeks of old data to see how accurate the sports books’ predictions were. I compared them to how players performed. This detailed check helped me understand how often the sports books were right. It gave me helpful information about their reliability and set a standard for my project.
The Math
Our bets must win at least 54% of the time to succeed. We determine ‘fair odds’ to understand the actual probabilities of outcomes.
For instance, in American odds: Team A: -110 Team B: -110
Converting these to probabilities shows both teams have a 52.38% chance of winning. But, this totals more than 100% due to the bookmaker’s margin (vig).
We normalize probabilities to add up to 100% to find’ fair odds.’ So, each team’s ‘fair odds’ would be 50%, indicating an equal chance of winning. This simplifies the explanation and clarifies discrepancies in the bookmaker’s odds.
Creating the Dashboard
To make betting easy, I created a dashboard using Python scripts:
- The first script gets the latest odds from different sports books every five minutes.
- Then, another script cleans up the data to make it easy to analyze.
- Next, the cleaned data is sent to a Google Sheets document where the best odds are sorted.
- This whole process repeats every five minutes to keep the data fresh.
The dashboard shows player names, our recommended bets (over or under), and the stats we’re betting on. It compares PrizePicks’ odds with other sportsbooks, helping us find the best bets. It also includes Pinnacle and DraftKings odds, averages, and the chance of winning, making it a handy tool for betting.
Conclusion
This project shows how data analytics can change sports betting. It changes it from intuition to science. My dashboard proves how data can give an edge in a luck-driven industry.
Whether you’re into sports or data, I hope this project showcases my skills as a data analyst. I love using data science to solve real problems and am always up for a challenge.
Data analytics has huge potential in areas like sports betting. I’m excited to keep pushing boundaries and making a difference.