I dont even consider the crowd except that it usually pays better to go against the popular view because the better odds are given to the more unpopular of the choices. Betting on a draw is the high risk bet though, that was lucky especially. I decide the actual bet myself before checking to see what most others think, unless they give information you didnt have or good reasoning I dont find it too pervasive.
Betting against the majority if you just followed it blindly will not give you a success.
It also required some careful analysis, or capping of games, regardless of the games we played in sports, this method is very popular for the smart people because usually the public would pound their bet on the favorites or the heavy favorites.
Also, this type of method gives less pressure to you since you will usually get a higher odds and if you will loss, it's easy to convince yourself and if you win, you will enjoy a great return. My game is NBA basketball, I go bet with point spread and ML but when going against the public, I usually bet on the ML so like i said, I will get good return.