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You wouldn’t believe the sheer size of the online esports betting scene! It’s way bigger than most prominent industry figures think, and recent trends show it’s only going to keep on growing. In this blog, we zoom in on Dota 2 live betting markets and the best sites for it.
Get straight to the point:
Before we start digging deeper into the story behind Dota 2 live bets, let’s check out the most prominent esports bookmakers that offer such betting options:
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What exactly can you expect from the most notable specimens that have Dota 2 live esports betting markets readily available? Well, here are some of the basics:
First things first — bet365! It’s the go-to platform for the majority of European esports betting enthusiasts. The amount of coverage is deeper than most people expect, esports betting markets included. There are lots of live Dota 2 betting options too, especially during the Dota 2 Majors and The Internationals, which are by far the biggest esports events in the game’s competitive scene.
William Hill has a long and rich history with sports betting. Even though it wasn’t among the first online bookies to start accepting esports bets, nowadays it offers a plethora of options. Live bets are included in the mix, not just for Dota 2 but League of Legends, CSGO, VALORANT, and several other notable esports games.
Moving on with our favorite sites that accept Dota 2 live betting markets, let’s talk about Betway. Finding these bets on this bookie is a piece of cake. Simply click the ‘In-Play' button in the top-left corner, after which you’ll have to select esports from the available in-play categories.
Betway isn’t just great for esports, mind you. There’s insanely deep football coverage too if that’s more to your liking. Feel free to check it out for yourself.
Next up, BetOnline! We’re looking at an esports betting veteran that’s known for its splendid selection of supported payment methods and a new and improved website interface. Live esports bets are easy to find on BetOnline. Simply head on over to the esports hub and click on Live Betting in the top-left corner.
In addition to Dota 2 live betting markets, BetOnline always has fair odds and a plethora of options for you to explore.
Pinnacle tends to offer a ton of live esports bets too. In fact, it was one of the first online betting sites to start featuring pre-game and Dota 2 live esports betting markets. The folks over at Pinnacle always seem to be one step ahead of the competition. If you’d like to place your bets at one of the best esports bookies out there, look no further than Pinnacle!
When it comes to live Dota 2 betting, there are two main types of bets you can place: singles and parlays. Here are more details about each of them:
Singles consist of just one live Dota 2 bet. Place just one bet, enter your stake and confirm it — you’ve just placed a single. Single bets consist of just one line — guess that line correctly and you’ve won the bet.
Parlays bets consist of several individual bets, but with a key twist to the tale: to win a parlay bet you have to correctly predict all lines it consists of.
If you miss out on just one line in your parlay, your entire parlay is gone. This goes to show just how risky such bets are. Imagine this: you have a quadra parlay (four bets in one) and you win three of them, but lose one. Those three won bets don’t mean a thing because the fourth one didn’t come through.
But, with great risks come great potential rewards. Potential returns of parlays grow exponentially with each subsequent line in the bet. Two-fold parlays typically won’t give you such hefty returns (unless you’re investing in crazy underdog scenarios), but if you increase that to 4-fold or 5-fold tickets, you’re looking at massive potential returns… but massive risks too.
Betting markets are something else entirely. Types of bets represent the main methods you can use to bet on Dota 2 live matches, whereas betting markets represent all the different bets you can place. Here are the most commonly available specimens:
There’s no need for complex explanations for match-winners. More commonly known as moneyline bets, match-winners only require you to do one thing — that is, guess which of the two teams is going to win the match.
This is the most popular total bet when it comes to live Dota 2 betting markets. The concept is pretty simple. The bookie will present you with an average duration for the given match and it’s on you to guess whether the final match duration will be over or under the number specified by the bookie.
Here are two examples:
Most of the time, over/under odds are going to be either completely level or slightly skewed on one side. But, bookies often use these skewed odds to trick the players, meaning you should only trust what you’re seeing on the livestream and not the bookies’ odds.
This bet is pretty simple, as all you have to do is guess who’s going to win the next teamfight. However, not all bookmakers have the same rules for what’s considered as “winning the teamfight”.
Some only accept a fight as “teamfight” if all ten players are involved right from the off. Additionally, to win the teamfight, all players from a team have to be dead at the same time, or within a certain timespan. If you want to be 100% sure you’re getting your money’s worth here, you better check the fine print!
We all know just how important Roshan can be in Dota 2. It’s the biggest and most dangerous neutral creep in the game that spawns right after the match is fully loaded. Roshan is not a straightforward task that can be defeated in a 1v1 scenario; it takes skill and cooperation to take him down, but only after ensuring the opposing team can’t and won’t contest it.
The team that manages to kill the Roshan will get a hefty boost, not just in terms of monetary gains but items and experience too. These benefits are oftentimes enough to warrant the final push and close out the match.
As a Dota 2 bettor, it’s on you to predict when the next Roshan contest is going to be. If you can correctly guess which team will take the first one, you’ll have plenty of value to clinch in this department.
In addition to match duration totals, good Dota 2 betting sites also tend to feature a ton of other similar options. We’re talking about the following:
Obviously, some of these bets won’t be available on smaller events. But, if we’re talking Majors and The Internationals, you can rest assured they’ll be there.
There’s a whole science behind knowing when to place your next Dota 2 live bet. While there’s a handful of optimal scenarios, the following ones tend to be most common:
Most Dota 2 live betting enthusiasts target bets before the first teamfight. How come? Well, the first teamfight (if all ten players are involved in it) will tell you a great deal about the remainder of the game. But, it will also tell the bookies’ algorithms, which will result in lower bets across the board.
If you can gather enough valuable information before the first teamfight and you’re certain you have the winning recipe, feel free to spice things up with a live match-winner. If the teams are heading into the first neutral creep contest totally level-headed, then it’s best to stay put and wait for another opportunity later on.
If one of the lanes has fallen, depending on other in-game factors, it could be the perfect time to come running in with a live Dota 2 bet. What other factors are important here? Well, first and foremost, which lane crumbled and which heroes are occupying it? Additionally, what’s the push potential of the opposing team and could the crumble be followed by a gank on the other end?
If you know all these important factors, you should be able to make a well-informed decision. So, which bets should you pursue with this knowledge? Well, you should primarily opt for match duration totals here, though the affected laners might fall down in creep score, so take those totals into account as well.
If you’re able to predict big momentum swings between the two teams, you could be in for a fantastic time. There are lots of opportunities to do so, as Dota 2 matches rely heavily on momentum. Perhaps not as much as FPS games like CSGO and VALORANT, but in professional Dota 2 matches, there’s always upset potential, no matter how one-sided the match might seem.
The best ways to predict momentum swings is shortly after a multi-kill by one of the carries, especially if it gives him enough experience to level up above his peers and finish an extra item. This is what dreams are made of for Dota 2 live betting enthusiasts. If you can make a timely decision in these sorts of scenarios, you should have a clear path to success.
It's now time to share with you a couple of useful tips and tricks that ought to help you achieve superior consistency when it comes to live Dota 2 betting. If you’re interested, get comfy and try to soak in as much info as possible:
Every second matters in this segment of the online betting sphere. If you want to be successful (and by that we mean consistently in the green), you’ll need your reaction time to be on point.
There’s no time for second-guessing your live Dota 2 bets. If you think you have a fine value on your hands, you have to snatch it right away; otherwise, it might not be available in just a few seconds or the value will be all gone.
That’s why live esports betting is so risky. It’s certainly entertaining, but it’s also dangerous as you don’t have time to think twice about your decisions. It’s all about impulse decisions here, so if you’re poor at that, you won’t have a lot of luck with Dota 2 live betting either.
While live Dota 2 betting options are great for both entertainment and profitability, relying solely on them for your entire esports betting campaigns won’t yield superb results. Instead, you’ll be met with a whole bunch of inconsistent results that’ll hinder your ability to get your budget back up and running.
That said, there’s no need to avoid placing live Dota 2 bets altogether. Instead, you should use them to complement your pre-bet stuff. This way, most of your campaign(s) will be research-based and only a portion of it will be impulse-driven. It’s the ideal way to maximise both entertainment and profitability.
Even though live Dota 2 betting markets force bettors to rely on impulse-driven thoughts, that in no way means you should scratch research off your bucket list. Even though it’s nowhere near as complex as pre-game research, live betting still has some caveats.
In short, you shouldn’t underestimate research just because you have to make quick decisions. If you’re able to track the in-game happenings as well as the performances of several key players and lane states, you should be able to find hefty value every now and then.
What sort of in-game happenings are we referring to here? Well, the likes of the following ought to do:
Even though sites like Gosugamers.net have lots of stats for bettors to explore, we’re afraid you’ll have to manually monitor the majority of these. If you’re an experienced Dota 2 betting enthusiast, you shouldn’t have too many issues. Don’t forget to take notes, though! A fool remembers, a smart man writes it down!
Yes, Dota 2 live betting markets are available on all version of online bookmakers. That includes both desktop/pc and smartphone/tablet versions. In essence, this means you can access your online betting account on all of your devices, no matter where you are. Betting on the go has never been as easy!
How does one access betting on the fly? Is it possible on every smart device? Well, technically yes — every remotely modern smartphone should have no major issues with running most online betting websites.
But not all esports bookmakers have mobile-friendly sites. Some go out of their way and possess dedicated smartphone apps for both iOS and Android devices. That’s the best form of betting on the fly, as these esports betting apps tend to load even faster and have even more features than their HTML-wrapped counterparts.
Live esports betting markets aren’t going anywhere! We’re not just talking about Dota 2 live betting here, but live betting markets for all major esports titles like Dota 2, League of Legends, VALORANT, and FIFA.
Betting on pre-game stuff is awesome, and it will never be replaced by live bets. However, if you’re looking to spice things up and try to clinch hefty value with in-play wagers, feel free to test your knowledge!
When we talk about Dota 2 live betting, we’re referring to a series of betting markets that aren’t based on upcoming but ongoing or in-play matches. They are different to conventional pre-match bets, which means you won’t find them in the same category. Instead, you’ll have to select the In-Play, Live, or Ongoing button that’s typically available on your bookie’s home page.
The only difference between standard and live Dota 2 bets lies in the fact that the latter focuses only on ongoing matches. This gives betting enthusiasts the ability to assess the situation live as it unfolds, and helps them make better decisions… although they have to be quick to react to get the most value out of their bets.
It all depends on how the match you’re watching unfolds, including a ton of factors like push potential, early/late game compositions, teamfight tactics, and more. If you’re an avid Dota 2 fan and know the intricate details about all heroes, you’ll have a good understanding of the ideal time to place Dota 2 live bets. It’s not something that can be taught overnight, unfortunately.
During the biggest Dota 2 events, the bookies will have a ton of live Dota 2 bets for you to check out. Don’t be too impressed by what’s out there, as most of them just aren’t worth your while. If you’re looking for the most popular bunch, you should check out bets like match duration totals and next teamfight winner.
It all depends on how systematic you are with your approach to live Dota 2 bets. You can’t expect profits to come overnight; live betting on this title takes a lot of know-how about the game itself.
In addition to that, you’ll need a ton of experience watching the top-tier teams to understand just how they set up their gameplay and what team compositions they’re most comfortable with. It’s a process, but one that can pay off in the long run.
Through our in-depth guides and reviews, we are focused on providing the best insights into esports betting.