Dota Betting Guide

Welcome to the collection of useful guides to eSports betting. If you are new to eSports betting, here you can review and understand the main concepts of Dota betting, including descriptions of betting markets, odds, common types of bets, and available eSports disciplines, as well as the main tournaments you can bet on. We also cover the biggest events in Dota 2, tips on how to increase your payout, how to reduce the risk of losing your bets, and techniques on how to manage your bankroll and stay profitable. 

If you are new to the industry and ready to dive into cybersports betting with a little expertise, discover our guide to betting in eSports and apply the tips and tricks completed by our editorial team of former professional bettors. 

Dota 2 Live Betting

All Dota 2 enthusiasts can have an incredible live betting experience by having a lot of tournaments on board. As far as live betting is concerned, you need to open the live section first and then explore the page of all available in-play games. Browse through the games and find the one you prefer and the one that has suitable betting markets and favorable odds for you. The advantage of live betting is that you get your money fast because you do not have to wait up to 1.5 hours for the game to finish, and you can bet on the available results. However, keep in mind that live betting has rapidly changing odds, so you need to be quick with your decisions.

Dota 2 Betting Markets

As far as Dota 2 is the biggest eSports game modder, modern sportsbooks do everything to satisfy their bettors. As a result, they introduce over a hundred different betting markets with absolutely different results. Below is a well-made and useful tutorial on the most common betting markets and descriptions of how to use them properly. 

1×2 (Winner)

There is nothing complicated about betting on the winner. All you have to do is determine which team will be declared the winner at the end of three rounds. This is quite simple, but you still need to be well-prepared to make an accurate prediction. The odds in this market are quite obvious, where the favorites have lower odds and lower payouts, while the underdogs give you higher payouts if they win. It is possible to bet on the map winner and on the winner of all picks. 

Round Winner 

Round winner market is also known as the map winner. This is where you need to determine the winner of the first, second, or third round. Bettors can place a bet on any of the maps that have been played. 

Handicap Betting 

If you intend to give a virtual advantage to one team or another, handicaps would be a great market alternative. There are handicaps for winning rounds (maps), for example, +1.5 or -1.5 for the best 3 map winners, and handicaps for the total number of frags for each team. The handicap for frags gives an advantage to one or another team, and the result of the handicap is announced only at the end of the game. And there are handicaps for destroying towers. 

First Blood 

This is the most cybersports betting market that allows you to bet and predict who will make the first frag. Basically, the bet ends as soon as the score changes. This is the fastest bet you can place in Dota 2, and it is pretty random. Yes, it is complicated to predict which team will get the first kill. 

Willtakefirst 10 Kills (Race to 10 Kills)

This refers to the score-based market where you bet on the team that will get 10 frags faster than the other team. The number of frags can be different. In this case, the selected team has to kill 10. 

First Roshan

If you see Ursa selected, it means that you can bet on the team that kills Roshan first. This is the “First Roshan” betting market. This character has a ridiculous power to destroy creeps, so it has a big disadvantage of going down fast. So if you are sure that a certain team can kill Roshan quickly, you should pick it up immediately.  

Length of the Round 

In the popular Dota 2 tournaments, the match consists of a few games. Usually, best of 3 or the best of 5. Each game/round starts from scratch and has a certain time period from 30-50 minutes on average. In fact, it depends on how fast one team or another loses power. When betting on Dota 2, you can bet on the length of this game by using Over/Under systems. 

Steal the Aegis 

Stealing the Aegis is very beneficial. Both teams are trying to get additional perks by killing the Rosh. However, if the other team finishes the Rosh off on the last HP, it gets all the perks by stealing the frag. Your betting goal is to predict which team will steal the Aegis from the other team. It will be displayed on the game. 

Totals (Over/Under)

Dota 2 bettors can predict the number of kills, the length of a round, and the number of maps played using the Over/Under variables. You can use the O/U to predict the total number of kills made by both teams or by each team individually. Or you can predict how many minutes the match will last. Let’s say you win if the total is over 30. If the match ends with a total of 30 kills or more (1st team kills + 2nd team kills), you win. If it is 29 or less, you lose the bet. The same mechanics work with the length of the game and the number of maps played. 

Exclusive Dota 2 Markets 

This game is complex and offers tons of game mechanics. Players can bet on these mechanics. For example, you can guess if one of the players will reach a godlike streak of 9 kills in a row if someone will pass the rapier, or which team will destroy the first barracks. 

The Larget Dota 2 Events to Bet On

We all love the spectacular Dota 2 tournaments where top teams play and compete against other top teams. Since this game is world-renowned, with millions of viewers around the globe, it offers ridiculously huge tournaments with multi-million prize pools. As players, we can only enjoy watching these competitions and predicting the results. Below we have listed the most anticipated Dota 2 events.  

The International 

The International is the largest and most popular Dota 2 cybersports event in history. This is the annual championship where 16 to 20 teams compete for the largest prize pool of millions of dollars. The latest champion of this annual event is Team Spirit. The prize pool of the last tournament was $40 million, and the biggest respect and recognition in the cybersports industry. 

Majors 

Major Dota 2 events have gone through several changes, including the number of events per year. Today, it is possible to experience several events per year, including the qualifiers that take place in the regional leagues. The team must first qualify in the smaller league and then compete with top teams in the majors. However, the Majors are the younger championship than “The International”, allowing teams to gain strength and better understand their opponents before the main championship of the year.

ESL One 

The ESL is another group of Dota 2 events that are technically very close to the Majors but have completely different organizers (ESL Gaming). Nevertheless, Valve has placed ESL One in the ecosystem of the Majors. Top tier 1 teams compete for a huge prize pool.

DotaProCircuit 

The DPC is a series of Valve-sponsored events with a points-based structure. At the end of the ProCircuit, top-ranked teams have the opportunity to participate in The International. The DPC is divided into seasons, consisting of majors and minors, though the minors are now known as Regional Leagues that take place in different countries around the world. 

DreamLeague

The DreamLeague Season is a lower-level competition that consists of various group stages and playoffs. The prize pools are rather small compared to other championships, but the participants are quite well-known, including Team Liquid, OG, Team Secret, Team Spirit, Tundra Esports, Virtus.Pro, and others.

Dota 2 Betting Tips 

Obviously, random betting without any preparation is a recipe for failure. If you want to get the most out of your bets and make as accurate predictions as possible, you need to follow our recommendations on how to place Dota 2 bets. Below, we have prepared the most common and valuable techniques for improving your overall chances. 

Research and Analysis

Knowledge is the key to success. With Dota 2 betting, this principle is vital as you need to know both teams, how they are performing, what are the players’ conditions, what is the current lineup, what were the statistics of their previous head-to-head games and just games with other teams in the tournament. So, before you place a bet, make sure you learn everything about it, including the statistics. Depending on the market you are betting on, you will need to pay attention to certain specifics of previous games (kills, map winners, first Roshan, Godlike, etc.). 

Bankroll Management

Even if you are an expert in sports betting but have no idea how to control your budget, this is the way to failure. Fortunately, bankroll management is a technique that you can easily achieve. Why is it important? Setting the right bets can increase your overall winnings. 

• First, you do not have to bet all of your money on one bet. Spread your budget over several bets, periods of time, or days. 
• Second, if you tend to lose your budget, then never try to win it back; this rule will help you to stay on a float.

Get to Know the Odds

The sportsbook displays different betting markets and their odds. To be a better bettor, you need to compare the real odds of the events and the odds displayed by the sportsbook. A good bet is where the real probability of the particular event to happen is higher than the odds of it. 

Keep an Eye Out

The next thought is a key factor in your betting skills. You have to be passionate about it. While watching tournaments, you can collect important information about the teams, which will be helpful in your future betting. Professional bettors also take notes and write down the pros and cons of each team, mentioning their famous and popular strategies.