Sports Betting Explained

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Sunday, August 16th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed

Sports betting is a very challenging type of betting-and gambling, and despite its seeming lack of strategy and absolute reliance on any knowledge of the event, good sports betting really relies on a large amount of strategy which is required to win. (Tips on betting sports and techniques). The biggest and most iimportant methods include a close analysis of the information upon which a good judgment must be based and thereafter the bet must be placed. A winning strategy must have these factors included:

1. The bid amount

2. The type of bet

3. The offer odds

Sportsbooks in the US and Bookmakers in UK are entities that take sports bets. The bets can be placed by predicting the end result of many sporting events like Baseball, Snooker, Basketball, Hockey, Soccer, Football, Tennis and hundreds of athletic or sports activities. Let’s go over the complete basic definitions: a sportsbook is the one who accepts the sports bet. An oddsmaker is the one who sets the odds of betting.

Betting the Odds

Before you place a bet, you must first choose the type of bet you will make and the amount of money you will wager for it. This usually depends upon the odds that are currently being offered. Before you go ahead and place the bet, you must carefully crutinize the range of all the available odds.

The odds must be in the ratio of at least 2:1 for the bet to be worthwhile. Another factor that must be taken into account is the amount being given by way of commission to the sports-book. This ideally should be a minimal percentage of the entire value of the odds.

Below is a cheat sheet of the most common kinds of bets:

1. Single or Straight Bet: This is betting in its most basic form and allows you to bet at given odds, upon a winner.

2. Point Spread: With this type of bet, one can bet on one of two selections that have been equated through the allocation of suitable points. In the Point Spread, the number of allocated points are presented with a + sign for the favorable side and a – sign for the underdog. The better wins when the favored team must win by more than the Point Spread. On the flip side, if a bet has been placed on the underdog, that team has to lose by less than the Point Spread for the better to win.

3. Buy Points: This bet involves moving the Point Spread positively, by paying a price.

4. The Moneyline: This kind of bet is just on who will win. It establishes the odds for each side but is the reverse of the Point Spread, with a – sign standing for the favorite and the + sign for the underdog.

5. Total Bet: This much like point spread bets, because the better bets on the total points scored.

6. Over/ Under: This bet takes into consideration the number of points scored by the teams in any game will be beyond/ over OR below/ under the total set by the oddsmaker.

7. Parlay of Accumulator: This is betting on multiple sporting events in the hopes that will pay off big if all win. The picks made are in relation to the point spread. Even if one event does not win or draw, the better loses the entire bet. This type of bet can generate huge amounts of money, in the event of a win.

8. Teaser: A teaser is similar to a parlay, except it has the option of adding or taking off points from one or more than one Spread bets. The odds depend upon the number of points the spread is moved as well as upon the number of teams that are combined to form the teaser.

9. Futures: These are bets on who will win the championship in the event that there are more than two possible teams to bet on. Substantial variations between sportbooks exist in house edge on futures.

10. Buying Half a Point: In this type of bet, the straight bet player gets the option of moving the point spread half point to his advantage. The best time to buy a half point is when one team is favored by 2.5, 3, 6.5 or 7 in football. This is primarily due to the fact that several games end in a 3 or 7 point difference. The extra half point may end up turning a loss to a draw or a draw to a win.

Out of all of the different kinds of bets, there are 3 that are used simply because they are easy to win and have a good chance of winning. These are the Straight bet, the Doubles and the Future.

Some betting tips are:

1. Always make an intelligent analysis of the odds and the offer of the bet.

2. For the simple bet, stick to the Straight bet because it is non-complicated and has good winning prospects.

3. Keep your selections limited. Also, limit the amount of influence in your betting. If you are a fan of a team try to limit the effect of that favoritism when betting.

4. One of the most rewarding bets is the ‘Future’ bet but only if you know a lot about the sport being played and about the players.

5. By betting regularly though systematically and in an analytical manner, you can greatly improve your judging ability.

6. Supress the urge to rebet with all your winnings immediately. If you do not follow the standard rule of 50%, at least put some of your winnings back into your pocket.

7. Make sure your sportsbook is a member of a known Gambling Association, makes a quick payment and is easily accessible. Read in between the lines, about matters pertaining to disputes.

8. Train yourself to look for value odds – you will master this art soon, with time and practice.

9. If you are trying to decide between two choices seeming equivalent, trust your judgment and not that of those who have bet before you. In this case, choose a selection with a little higher risk so as to hike up the winnings.

10. Bet on games and leagues where the sportsbook’s commission is the least. This is most often in the sport or sports with which that sportsbook does most of its business, and is most likely the most efficient in that area.

Hopefully you have a better grasp of the sports betting industry. Now, you may want to consider using a handicap. Here you can read a full review on John Morrison (a widely known and popular): John Morrison’s Daily Picks

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