Online Sports Betting Tips
Today, you don’t need to call a bookie or go to a casino to bet on sports. Online betting platforms are safe, and like other forms of betting, you can win a lot of money if you know what you are doing. Luckily, for sports fans that are not afraid to take a chance, it is a lot easier to learn and fun to get into.
How odds work
One thing you should note is that no matter the sport or event you are betting on, odds will always work the same. The odds are either 100 or higher and have a positive or negative symbol. The negative symbol is how much you have to bet to win $100 whereas the positive symbol represents how much you will win if you bet $100.
When two teams are playing, the favored team will have a negative number while the underdog will have a positive number. As a matter of fact, positive numbers usually pay out at least double or nothing whereas negative numbers pay out less.
For example, if the odds of a team are -165 and you bet $165 on them winning the match, and they do, you will be paid $100. On the other hand, if you bet $100 on another team whose odds are +350, and they win, you will receive $350.
This bet is known as Moneyline bet where bettors bet on the team that wins, or losses or a draw, but when you bet on Spread, the points make the difference.
But that does not mean that there are no exceptions. A game could be too close for the two teams to have negative or positive odds. In soccer, you can bet if the teams will draw. When you are presented with several teams, you will see a wide range of different odds. If you wager $1 on a team that has +60000, you will be paid an impressive $600.
You will also notice that bets keep changing from time to time, especially as the game is about to start and even more often after the game has begun. However, once you place your bet, it is locked, and your payout will remain that way no matter how the odds change.
How to beat the spread to win on the favorite team
“Beat the spread” is a common term and you will often hear it a lot on TV, but as a sports bettor, you need to understand what it means.
At the end of the game, the spread is usually subtracted from the final score of the favored team or added to the score of the underdog team depending on which you decide to bet on. Therefore, if the spread is five and you wager on the winning team, then they will have to win by more than five points. On the other hand, if you bet on the underdog, they would have to lose by a similar number of points. The spread depends on the players, team or sport and the betting site usually decides it.
Let’s illustrate with a college basketball example. If Syracuse is playing against Pittsburg and the former is the favored team, the Moneyline bet may be like this:
Syracuse: -230 and Pittsburg: +170
If the spread number is 5, then the spread bet may look like this:
Syracuse: -5(-115) and Pittsburg: +5(-115)
For the Moneyline bet, placing a $50 bet would give $21.74; however, if you choose the Spread bet and Syracuse wins the match by more than 5 points, your bet of $50 would give you $43.48, which is twice the amount you would have won in the previous bet.
If you bet on the underdog, the Moneyline bet may always payout more, whereas the betting on the spread may always payout more when you bet on the favorite. Although some sports don’t have the Spread option, most have more specific bets that you may place.
If the teams draw after the spread, you get your bet back, the main reason why you will often find Spreads like 4 ½ which obviously makes draws impossible.
Other types of bets
There are other types of bet other than win, lose and draw. Another popular bet is Over-Under where betters are required to predict if the total score of the match will be more or less than what has been set by the sportsbook. If you get it right, you win.
You can also bet if the final score with be an even or odd number, who will score forth, who will win MVP and so on.
Online casino vs. sportsbook
When it comes to online gambling, the different platforms are placed into four categories: sportsbook, casino, poker, and Bingo. However, that can be confusing particularly when you only want to play one of the above categories. All these sites add the element of convenience to people who want to spread out their gambling without having to entrust their money with more than one platform.
There is, however, a misconception about online casinos. Some individuals baselessly believes that they are all rigged, or the odds online are lower than those at a land-based casino. And although it would require a whole article to explain how inaccurate that information is, individuals adverse games offered at online casinos will find it difficult to find a sportsbook rigged because you can simply turn on the game and observe how it actually turns out.
However, just like online casinos, you need to evaluate a sportsbook before signing up. Once you find a good sportsbook, the part that is not very difficult is over, and you can now dive in and have fun.
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