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To those new in the world of gambling, how to bet on gymnastics may be confusing, if not, funny thing. As gymnastics may not be a popular sport to bet on, some experienced gamblers expect better odds from their bets. Gymnastics is said to be invented by Friedrich Ludwig, a German who first introduced the use of the balance beam and the parallel bars, both are still used today.
In the Olympics, one of the highly watched sports is gymnastics. Gymnasts have a unique way of charming the hearts of its spectators, from the flick of the ribbons to the way they bounce off the beam. During the 1970s, gymnasts greats like Nadia Comaneci and Olga Korbut have endeared the sports to most viewers as they swung and balanced their way on to the vault.
Hot Trivia: In 1976, Nadia Comaneci is the first gymnast to achieve a perfect score of 10. It is no longer possible to achieve this score since 2006 when the two-part scoring system was introduced wherein the gymnasts will be scored for the difficulty (A Score) and the execution of each element (B Score).
Aside from the Summer Olympics, gymnastics can also be watched in numerous sporting events such as the World Championships held every year. If you are new to betting on gymnastics, it is important to do diligent research and follow basic guidelines to fully realise your winnings.
What Are the Different Gymnastics Events
Different gymnastic competitions have different sets of events but for the major events like the World Championships and the Summer Olympics are as follows:
Men’s Category
- Men’s Floor
- Men’s Horizontal Bars
- Men’s Individual All-Around
- Men’s Parallel Bars
- Men’s Pommel Horse
- Men’s Rings
- Men’s Team All-Around
- Men’s Trampoline
- Men’s Vault
Women’s Category
- Women’s Balance Beam
- Women’s Floor
- Women’s Individual All-Around
- Women’s Rhythmic Group All-Around
- Women’s Rhythmic Individual All-Around
- Women’s Team All-Around
- Women’s Trampoline
- Women’s Uneven Bars
- Women’s Vault
The rhythmic and trampoline events are not regular events in gymnastics but they have been included in the gymnastics events in the Olympics since 1984 and 2000, respectively.
Major Events in Gymnastics
One of the key things to know in learning how to bet on gymnastics is the major events. It is important which events you should place your bets. Gymnasts generally train and prepare for months on end if they want to join in major events such as:
Summer Olympics: The event, held every four years, is the blue ribbon event for every gymnast. Gymnasts prepare to become the best by coveting the gold medal.
World Artistic Gymnastics Championships: Gymnasts compete in this event yearly when there is no Olympics. The event is hosted by different countries like in 2017 when the event was hosted by Canada and in 2018 by Doha in Qatar.
Artistic Gymnastics World Cup or World Challenge Cup: The event consists of a series of events that stretch from February until November. It is one of the major events that attract top gymnasts.
A plethora of other events, both local and international, are joined by gymnasts but these three events are mostly the ones offered by online bookies as they attract more gamblers.
Gymnastics in Korea
Learning how to bet on gymnastics include knowing the powerhouses when it comes to the sport. Whilst it is hard to overlook gymnasts from countries like China, Russia, and the US, gymnasts from Korea are also becoming more competitive. In the 2018 Asian Games, South Korea successfully clinched the gold medal in the women’s artistic gymnastics after Yeo Seo-Jeong finished first in the vault final by garnering 14.3 points.
Before her retirement from gymnastics, South Korea’s top gymnast Son Yeon Jae ranked 11th in the individual all-around event at the 31st Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique held in France in 2012. She has also competed in the 2016 Rio Olympics before she retired the following year. Watch her rhythmic performance of the Libertango during the said event below:
How to Bet on Gymnastics
Betting on gymnastics is pretty simple if you know your gymnasts, the odds, and the list of major bookmakers who accept bets on gymnastics.
Where Can I Bet on Gymnastics
Whilst gymnastics may not be as popular as betting on baseball or betting on football, most major bookmakers accept gymnastics bets for the World Championships and the Olympics. Some sportsbooks offer wider bet ranges so gamblers just have to choose which one suits their betting requirements to make sure that they are choosing the right provider.
Different Betting Types for Gymnastics
For beginner bettors, knowing the different types of betting is important so they can maximise their winnings. Gymnastic competitions are divided into teams or individual events. However, most regular bets made by gamblers are for the single events where they choose the one who will be the winner. Since gymnastics cover a wide range of events, the possible bets are limitless.
Aside from choosing the winner, gamblers can also make a Place Bet where they bet whether a gymnast will place in one of the three medals. Punters can also mix up their bets by adding a usual mix of doubles, trebles, accumulators, and yankees.
Rules for Betting on Gymnastics
The official settlement of bets is right after the announcement at the podium presentation of winners. Any changes thereafter are not applicable.
Gamblers betting on an event winner: In case of disqualification or withdrawal for any reason, the bet will automatically be a loser for the particular selection.
Gamblers betting on a medal winner: If a competitor becomes disqualified or withdraws from the event, the bet is a loss. Bets become void if there is a postponement of the event. These rules, however, are not applicable for live betting.
Strategies for Betting on Gymnastics
As in any sports betting events, it is a must for bettors to do qualitative research about the gymnasts including their physical and psychological well-being. Gauging past performances in their most recent event and taking a good look at their individual scores. Most of the time event winners have the best betting proposition but their individual scores will tell gamblers about their skills and future performance since a lot of factors may affect their competition performance.
Olympics betting is not different from other competitions. Those who want to bet may still use line shopping and bankroll management but the key into maximising the bets is gaining enough knowledge about the team and/or individual they want to bet on.