Dota 2 is one of the iconic computer games designed for a huge audience. Millions of players around the world play it, there are even tournaments with multimillion prize funds, where teams from different parts of the world prove who of them is stronger.
Dota 2 isn’t just for playing. Watch streams of top players, watch tournaments, and bet on the game at a bookmaker’s office. Dota 2 is one of the most popular cybersports choices for the caper. How and what should a player bet on?
A brief history of Dota 2 and betting on Dota 2
Dota is an acronym for Defense of the Ancients, meaning “defense of the ancients.” In fact, Dota is a map from Warcraft III created with a free level editor. The first such map appeared in 2003, and its author was a developer who called himself Eul. Then he made the source code of the game scenario publicly available. Variations of this map began to appear.
The popularity of Dota was based on a variety of game characters, their characteristics, a large selection of artifacts and rules of the game. In 2004, there was even a website for members of the Dota community.
After developers Eul and Guinsoo work on the map was handed gamemaker with a pseudonym IceFrog, and here begins a new round of development of the game. Valve Corporation hired the developer IceFrog in 2009, offering him to start working on Dota 2. The new version was announced on October 13, 2010. The official release of the improved version had to wait another three years, but the popularity has more than met expectations.
Streaming on Dota 2 gather hundreds of thousands of viewers, and some countries even broadcast the largest tournaments on TV.
Pinnacle Sports was the first bookmaker company that accepted bets on Dota 2 tournaments. Already in 2014, the bookmaker said that the total number of players who bet on such tournaments exceeded the mark of one million. Today, Dota 2 tournaments are in the lineup of all the top bookmakers, and the game continues to increase the audience of fans.
Betting on Dota 2 games
In cybersports betting, Dota 2 competes with League of Legends for depth of coverage and number of markets. Top bookmakers offer their users a huge number of choices, both in pre-match and in play, and popular bookmakers even broadcast Dota 2 streaming events so that “punters” can place their bets without having to visit additional sites.
Dota 2 tournaments involve teams of 5 people who have one goal – the destruction of the main building (throne) at the opponent’s base. Based on this goal, bookmakers already offer different types of bets.
What can I bet on in Dota 2 matches?
What kind of bets are possible on Dota 2? The widest range is offered by bookmakers focused on cybersports (in particular GGBet). Let’s study the major and minor selections.
Dota 2 tournaments are held in different formats. Best-of-1 implies that a team only needs to achieve one win in a round. Best-of-2 involves two rounds, where a draw in a confrontation is possible. Best-of-3 and Best-of-5 play three and five rounds, respectively.
The main elections are for a team to win a match or for a team to win a specific round.
The list of additional selections includes:
- First Blood: whichever team kills one player in the opponents’ camp first.
- Willtakefirst 10 kills: which team will be the first to kill 10 players in the opponent’s camp (the final result is not important).
- FirstRoshan: who will be the first to kill Roshan (the strongest neutral monster in the game).
- Total round: the placekeeper guesses how long the round will last and bets on the total more or less in minutes.
- Total Kills: The handler predicts whether there will be more or fewer kills in the round/match.
- Handicap Handicaps: A prediction of one team’s victory, taking into account plus or minus handicaps.
- Killing Handicaps in a Round: A player bets on a team to win, taking into account the plus or minus handicaps on kills.
- There are usually even more markets in play than in pre-match, that’s why professional bookmakers like to bet in real time.
Dota 2 betting strategies
Experienced bettors do not just bet on the most popular computer game, but use specific strategies in their betting that do not allow losing their deposit. What strategies are considered to be the most effective?
№1. Basic Strategy
The basic strategy is designed for beginners who are not yet versed in all the intricacies and pitfalls of Dota 2. They are better to bet flat. From the English flat (flat, stable), the strategy implies a fixed amount of bets for each outcome.
You make the first bet of 3-5% of your bankroll, and beginners are advised to start with 1%. Then all bets are made with the same amount, regardless of the result. In addition, choose markets with approximately the same odds (1.80 – 2.00). Watch your result at a distance. Flat is profitable if you have 65-70% of your bets.
It is important for beginners not just to make bets, but to gradually understand the nuances of the game. Watch TV shows, listen to commentators, memorize team statistics, important facts, etc. Gradually you will see how your performance will improve.
№2. Total Cards Betting Strategy
As we have already discussed, card totals is a bet on how many rounds will be played in a match. For example, the teams meet in a Best-of-3 tournament, which means that the maximum possible number of rounds in the game is three. The possible scores are 2:0, 2:1, 1:2 and 0:2. Bookmakers will offer a TB 2.5 or a TM 2.5 for such a match. How to understand how many rounds the teams will play in the upcoming meeting?
Regional peculiarities come to the fore. For example, in Asian, North American and South American tournaments the score 2-0 is very frequent, because the difference in class between the teams is noticeable. Total less than 2.5 in these championships is a good betting option. The history of head-to-head encounters is also an indicator worth paying attention to.
Experts recommend to watch the first games of the tournament, to notice some peculiarities, and then to bet on the totals by rounds.
№3. Betting strategy on the result of a certain team
This method of betting offers the trader to choose a team to follow. Suitable for this as a favorite, as well as an outsider. For example, you study the statistics and see that the team has been defeated in its last four matches in a row. You can also look the other way around for teams that have a long winning streak.
Consequently, you bet on the defeat of the outsider or on the victory of the favorite. The odds for such choices will not be high, but the outcomes have a high probability of passing. At a distance you can turn out to be in the black.