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Featured Sportsbook Articles |
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Online Sports Betting Basics
Online sports betting offers people ease and convenience
when it comes to putting some money
on a sports game. Online sportsbooks have given anyone who has access to the
Internet the opportunity to place a quick wager any time they want.
An array of betts can be placed on games that are to be played that
day. You may put money down using the point spread or the money line,
and you can bet on the over/under of total points. These three kinds of popular bets
may be placed on baseball, football, hockey, basketball, and soccer
contests.
You may put money down on a team using one or more of these types of
wagers. An additional popular wrinkle on these bets is the parlay,
which allows you to substantially increase your profit margin and your
risk of losing.
When wagering on baseball or hockey you will find that the most popular
bet is the money line. Another common wager made by sportsbook
fans combines the point spread and money line. In baseball this
type of bet is called the run line, and in hockey it is known as the
puck line.
Money Line:
When betting the money line in either baseball or hockey,
you're putting dough on a team to win regardless of the point spread. A
money line in hockey would look like this: Vancouver Canucks +280,
Toronto Maple Leafs -360.
In the Canucks - Maple Leafs game, if you put $360 down on
Toronto, you can win $100. However, if you put $100 on Vancouver and
they win, you get your $100 plus $280. Remember, there is no point
spread involved in this type of bet.
This type of bet is based on the fact that more people will place their
money on the club that is expected to lose because it's cheaper and the
payoff is much higher. Less money will be put on the better team but
more will be risked per bet and the payoff will be substantially less.
Either way, the bookmakers are covered. If the favorite loses, the sports books make their commission;
if the favorite wins, the book makers break even.
Why is the money line set up this way? When playing the money line, the
team that is the underdog pays more for less of a wager. While it costs
a lot more money to bet on the favored team, if they win you take in
very little money. Also, if they lose, you're out a greater amount of
cash than if you'd bet on the team that was not favored.
Chances are the Canucks will lose, and the casino will keep that money
and pay out a small amount to those who took the favored team. If the
underdog wins, although the payout is high, the casino has taken in a
substantial amount of money on the favorite and they actually make
money.
Point Spread:
With the point spread, the team that's favored has points taken away,
or another way to look at it is that the weaker club is given some
points. Point spreads are common when wagering on football and
basketball. Let's say you're putting money on the Colts - Browns
game and the point spread is 3.5 with the Pats at - 3.5 . You put a
sawbuck on Cincinnati and they lose 21 - 20.
They may have lost, but you won some money. Why? In terms of the point
spread the handicappers have spotted the team from Cincinnati 3.5 points.
For you to lose, Indianapolis would have had to win by at least 4
points. According to the point spread, the bookmaker's score was
Colts 17.5 (21 - 3.5 = 17.5 ) and Cincinnati 20. You win.
The half-points that odds makers put in point spreads are meant to
guard against a "push." As an example: the Portland Blazers play the
Milwaukee Bucks and the home team is -1. If the game ends
with Milwaukee winning by one-point, 89-88 and you had put your money
on the Blazers - do you win or lose? Neither - it's a "push," which means
via the point spread the teams ended the game tied and you simply get
back the money you wagered. You don't win, and you don't lose.
Run Line and Puck Line:
Most online betting services
offer hockey and baseball as
a point spread in conjunction with a money line. Thus, you have to play
the money line but you get the benefit of a basic point spread. This
combination of money line and point spread is called the puck line for
hockey and the run line for baseball. Typically the point spread for
baseball is set at 1.5 runs and for hockey it's 1.5 goals.
Total Line:
When you place an over/under bet, you're wagering on the total number
of points that will be scored. When putting money on soccer, you may
find that the over/under on the contest between Manchester United and
Arsenal is 2.5. If you choose the under and 2 goals are scored, you
win. However, if three or more goals are scored, you'd lose that wager.
Typical over/unders in hockey range from 5 to 7, while a typical
over/under for baseball is from 4 to 14 runs. The NBA basketball range
varies quite a bit, from 175-225 points.
The total number of points for the over/under is based on an analysis
of the strengths and weaknesses of each team's defense and offense,
point trends, and match-ups. This bet really demands a solid
understanding of each team's potential on a given night.
Parlays:
There are many other types of bets in which you can engage, but one
that allows you to expand your winnings quickly is the parlay. A parlay
bet is simply a wager that combines two or more bets. When you place a
parlay, you must win every one of the bets to receive any payoff. Using
this method of combining wagers gives you a much higher payoff on the
same investment that you can make on one wager. Of course, there is a
greater risk of losing.
If you parlay a bet on the White Sox - Tigers run line, on the Dodgers -
Cardinals over/under, a third pick on the Angels - Rangers run line and
a final pick on the Pirates - Brewers run line, you could get odds of 12 to
1. Placing an $11 single bet on each of these wagers would mean you
would put $44 down and get a payoff of $10 per wager. If you won all 4
bets, you'd make about $40. However, in playing a 4-bet parlay, one $11
bet could result in a $110 profit.
There are many other types of bets in which you can engage and
online gambling sites
are constantly coming up with new twists. When wagering, take
some time to do your homework on the sport, the teams, and the players.
Bet wisely. Most gambling experts will tell you that a professional
who knows what they're doing will win about 60% of the time. Most
professional wagering is not an attempt to win a lot at once; rather
it's a steady process where, with careful betting, people turn a profit.
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