Sports betting has become mainstream over the last four years. American culture has quickly forgotten the anti-gambling stigma of decades past, which opened up the possibility for legal sports betting to become a multibillion-dollar industry.
Millions of sports enthusiasts will soon be looking to join the betting market, with sports betting now legally available in many states.
If you don't know the terminology, where can you start?
This is a guide to how to place a bet on sports. It includes 12 essential information that every beginner should know.
12 Tips on How to Bet on Sports For Beginners
1. Favorites vs. Underdogs
The first thing that oddsmakers do when they release a line for a game is to decide which team should win and which should lose .
The favorite team is the one that is most likely to win and will receive a plus sign to add to its odds. The plus sign is given to the underdog, who is likely to lose.
Books will open a game if it is a true 50/50 match-up.
2. Spreads
You can bet on either a favorite or underdog in two ways. The point spread is a wager on the margin of victory.
Let's take FanDuel as an example.
In Week 1, the Eagles are a +4.5 favorite over Lions. Anyone betting on Philadelphia must bet that the Eagles win by at least 5 points. Anybody betting on Detroit must lose the game by 1-4 points.
Point spreads are adjusted to account for team ability as well as many other factors. The Colts are a 8-point favorite against the lowly Texans on the road, while the Eagles are a smaller favorite against the Lions on the road.
Spreads can be found in all sports, but they are most prevalent in high-scoring ones like football and basketball. For more details to visit 픽스코어
Still confused? This video explains point spreads.
3. Moneylines
You can also bet on an underdog or favorite by using the moneyline. Moneyline betting requires that you pick the winner and use American odds for the calculation of the payout.
American odds of winning $100 are high.
If you are betting on a favorite -200, you must risk $200 to win $100. Or any fraction thereof -- $20 to win $10, $2 for $1, etc.
You will win twice your money if you bet a +200 underdog -- $100 to win $200 and $10 to win $20 respectively, $1 to win $2 and $1 to win $2.
Rejoin Colts-Texans Oddsmakers think Indianapolis is the stronger team. To bet on the Colts winning the game, you must take a significant risk.
The Colts are at -375, which means that you must risk $375 to win $100 and $37.50 for $10.
The Texans have a +300. You'll win $300 if you place a $100 bet. You'll also win $15 if you wager $5
Why would you risk more betting on the favorite than on the underdog?
This is the juice and it's how bettors can beat sportsbooks.
Moneylines can be used for any sport, but are most commonly used to place wagers on lower-scoring ones like soccer, hockey, and baseball.
4. Over/Unders (Totals)
The oddsmakers will not only set the line for the favorite or the underdog but also determine the total points scored by each team in a given game. This is the total, or over/under.
The wagering option allows you to bet on the outcome of the game. The goal is not to predict the exact score, although that option is also available.
The total number of Eagles-Lions players is 46, which is about average for an NFL match.
• You will need 47+ points to bet on the over.
• You need 45 points to bet on the under.
• If it hits 46 exactly, it's a push. All bets are refunded
Many types of bets can use the over/under principle.
• Tom Brady passes more than or less 295.5 yards
• LeBron James has more than 7.5 assists
• Yankees win more than 93.5
5. What is the -110 number next to my bet?
You may see two numbers in many bets: a spread such as -4.5 and odds below it like -110.
• Spread is the amount of victory your team must win.
• Spread betting is possible with a -110 Odds.
Let's suppose you are betting on the Colts at DraftKings.
• The spread for is -8 . To win your bet you will need Indy to win 9+ points.
• The "juice", is -110. To win $100 or $10, you would need to bet $110, or $11 on this spread.
You'd win $10 if you bet $11 on the Colts to win $10. You'd lose $11 if the Colts win by 3.
Spreads for NFL games will typically be -110 on both ends.
However, for something like an MLB spread where the line is almost always +1.5 for underdog and -1.5 for favorite, the juice will vary depending on the ability gap between the teams.
6. How to Place a Bet
Okay, now you know what each bet is. How do you place them?
It is quite simple at most sportsbooks.
• Navigate to the game you want and choose your bet type
• Click on the "bet cell".
• Your bet slip will contain the bet.
• Enter your bet amount
• Submit bet
Each team will be lined up along its respective lines. In that video, USC was 14 points behind Alabama. Click the cell to bet USC.
Where can you place a wager?
Nearly half of the US states offer legal betting. Only 20 percent allow online wagering. Some states allow only in-person wagering at racetracks, casinos and other venues.
• Tracking Legalization In All 50 States
• Complete Sportsbook List by State
These are the MLB World Series Futures Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook. Updated August 5, 20,22 - Odds provided by BetMGM – Subject to Change
8. What is the best way to bet?
You have final say over how much you want to risk on a particular game. However, it is a good idea to only risk what you can afford. Sports betting is not a sprint. There will be bad days as well. We recommend that you use a flat-betting strategy.
This means that you can bet the same amount every time and only risk 1% to 5% per play of your bankroll (the bankroll is your starting money to wager with). If you have $100 to start with, you shouldn't risk more than $5 per round.
Flat-betting allows bettors to protect their bankroll from being lost during bad times, and also gives them the opportunity for positive returns on investment (ROI), when things are going well.
9. Parlays
Parlay is a type of wager in which multiple bets are connected to make one bet that has a higher payout. However, all bets must win.
Instead of betting $10 on three different games, you can place a $10 wager that will pay more if all three win. But if even one loses, you lose your $10.
Payouts can vary depending on the number of bets and their prices.
This MLB parlay includes Mariners +114 and Mets -220, and Marlins. Marlins and Marlins are -134 pays +443.
The same-game parlay is even more popular than traditional multi-game parlays. It was created by FanDuel, and is now available by nearly every sportsbook.
This feature allows you parlay multiple wagers from one game with the correlation of each event priced into. This means that if you place more than 51 on Rams-Bengals or Matthew Stafford, and you have 2.5 passing touchdowns, your parlay payout will not be full, as those events are more likely together.
In standalone NBA and NFL games, parlays of the same game are extremely popular.
10. Props
For most people, betting spreads and totals are not enough.
Props -- abbreviation for proposition bets -- are any wager that isn't a standard point spread or moneyline.
Props are often used to offset the cost of point spreads.
Scherzer's total strikeouts against the Reds stands at 7.5. FanDuel's lines show that it is more likely that he goes under. Therefore, you will have to wager a higher price on the under than the over.
Props are a great place for you to start if you want to make money in sports betting.
The U.S. sportsbooks have hundreds of props for every game. This creates a larger attack area because they are unable to properly price them all. Even if your statistical models are not created by you, tracking props and understanding their pricing can give you an advantage over the sportsbooks.
11. Find the best line
Because different sportsbooks have different clients, lines can differ depending on which book they are posted. One book might post the Cavs -8, while another may have -7.5.
Access to multiple sportsbooks allows you to find the best line. Although it might not seem like much, an half-point bonus can make a big difference in your chances of winning.
12. Identify your Strengths and Weaknesses
This isn’t Monopoly money. You need to track your progress. Our award-winning (and completely free!) app is the best way to do this. Our award-winning (and free!) app has amazing features such as live bet cover probabilities and odds shopping. It also allows you to track all your bets across almost every sport.
This is important because it allows you to identify your strengths and weaknesses before you begin betting. Do you have more success betting on the NFL and NBA? Are you more successful when taking on player props, over/unders, or player props? These are all good things to know. They can help you maximize your winnings.