Sometimes learning how
to place a sports bet can be daunting. We’ve
put together a quick guide to the basics of sports
betting to help you understand the most common terms
used in the most common online sportsbooks. If there
are any terms you are still unsure of, take a look
in our sports
dictionary.
How to read the Sportsbook betting odds
If you are new to sports betting online, one of
the most confusing things is how the betting odds
(also known as betting lines) are displayed.
The majority of bets are referred to in relation
to $100. If there is a minus symbol in front of
the number (eg -130) then the number refers to how
much you must bet in order to win $100. So, for
example, if the betting line is -170 you must bet
$170 to make a $100 profit.
If the betting line is -300 then you must bet $300
to make $100 profit.
If the number is positive (eg +150) then it refers
to how much you will win when you bet $100. So,
if the betting line is +170 then you will make $170
profit for your $100 bet.
Remember always that you also get your stake back.
So, if you bet $100 at +170 and your team wins then
you get $170 profit plus your $100 stake back, for
a total return of $270.
The fact that everything is expressed in terms of
$100 does not mean you need to bet $100 every time.
If you bet $10 at +170 then when you win you get
$17 profit.
Types of Sports Bets
On most US sports events, there are three different
types of odds available for every event: the side,
the money line and the total.
The most simple of these is the money line. This
is simply a bet on who will win the game. So, for
example, if the Indianapolis Colts met the Seattle
Seahawks in the Super Bowl, the money line might
be Colts -600, Seahawks +450. If you think the Seahawks
will win, you can bet $100 to make $450 profit.
If you think the Colts will win you can bet $600
to win $100. The money line bet is simply a bet
on who will win the game.
The most popular way to bet is the side, also known
as the point spread or line. In order to balance
the two teams in the betting, the linesmaker (the
person who sets the betting odds) will give the
stronger team a handicap to balance the two teams
out in the betting. So, using the same example as
above with the Colts and Seahawks meeting in a Super
Bowl, the linesmaker may decide the Colts are 11
points superior to the Seahawks. If you bet on the
Colts -11 you will get odds of -110 but you only
win if the Colts beat the Seahawks by more than
11 points. If the Colts win by 10 points or fewer
or they lose the game, all bets on the Seahawks
+11 are winners. If the game is won by the Colts
by exactly 11 points then that is known as a ‘push’
and all bets are refunded to the players. The side
or point spread is widely used across all American
sports and is the most popular form of betting with
US bettors.
The total is a bet on how many points in total will
be scored by both sides combined in a particular
game. Using the Colts vs Seahawks example again,
the linesmaker may decide this game is likely to
be very high scoring and set the total at 51. If
you think there will be fewer than 51 points in
total, you bet on the ‘under’. If you
think there will be more, then you bet on the ‘over’.
If there are exactly the total number of points
then that is a ‘push’ and all bets are
refunded. Sometimes you will see the total line
expressed in half points – for example the
total might be 42.5. This means it is impossible
for there to be a ‘push’ because there
is no game where you can score half points –
the linesmaker sets the line that way so there is
guaranteed to be a result.
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