Association football, basketball, and tennis are just among the most popular sports that people around the world willingly subscribed to. Such sports involve a ball that if played peacefully in the right way would guarantee victory and honour for the athlete or the team.

However, in the fictional dystopian nation of Panem in the book ‘The Hunger Games,’ sports meant no peace in people’s vocabulary. Rather, sports means blood, sacrifice, and survival.

In that land called Panem, there is an annual ‘sports’ event called the Hunger Games, wherein one boy and one girl aged between 12 to 18 from each of the twelve districts that make up the nation will engage in a battle royal in one limited arena.

Out of the 24 children that will compete in the battle, only one shall leave it alive and be hailed the winner of the annual Hunger Games.

Just like sports of the real world, the fictional Hunger Games are also full of lessons and reminders that could be of practical value for bettors.

Want to learn more about betting? Here’s Fractional Odds and Decimal Odds explained.

Four things the story taught people about betting

1. Proper strategy and tactics

For those who are not familiar with the plot, protagonists are a girl named Katniss Everdeen and a boy named Peeta Mellark. They are the chosen representatives of Panem’s District 12. In the story, the two kids have no idea what to do in the arena until they were introduced to and mentored by Haymitch Abernathy, the only living District 12 winner from a past Hunger Game.

Their strategy was to act like star-crossed lovers to win the hearts of the audience that was proven useful in their later pursuits.

In online sports betting, especially if you’re into live betting, it is also important to have a proven strategy that can generate more profit for you in the long run.

2. The favourite is not always the victor

When the tributes from the districts were introduced to the District 1 crowd, Katniss and Peeta were no favourites that time. They are underdogs, in fact, as it has been a long time since their district had made a new victor.

And in the sports industry, it is also advantageous to place betting odds on underdogs especially in using Asian handicaps. This betting market makes betting on underdogs easier because it can give them an advantage and handicap the team that’s more likely to score.

3. Play with the rules

One immutable rule of the Hunger Games is having only one victor every year. When Katniss and Peeta were the only survivors in the ending of the game, the acting coach asked them to decide which one will leave the arena alive and which one will not. But the two players refused to obey and threatened to commit suicide by eating poisonous berries. As they were just about to swallow the berries, the coach stopped them and allowed two victors to be hailed in the games for the first time.

With how betting odds work in most football betting sites, there are also rules, time limits, and t&cs that punters need to follow to be able to keep playing.

4. ‘May the odds be ever in your favour.’

This famous catchphrase from the story may also be one good motto for all punters. It is also a clear reminder that the results of games are dependent on the odds whether they are in favour with one party or not.

Want to watch other films about betting? Read the Top 10 Sports Betting Movies of All Time

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