Notes

Tips for How to Bet on Sports for Beginners


Tips for How to Bet on Sports for Beginners

Favorites and Underdogs

When lines are released, sports bettors should be able to identify which team is the favorite (the team expected to win) or the underdog (the team expected to lose). Favorites will always be listed with a minus sign next to their odds, while underdogs will have a plus sign.
In rare cases, the line on a game will read “PK.” This can be read as a “pick” or “pick’em” and means that oddsmakers think it is an evenly matched game with no favorite or underdog.

Spreads

A spread is an oddsmaker’s way of “evening the playing field” so that the favorite and underdog have an equal chance of attracting bettors. In many sporting events, one team is much more likely to defeat its opponent. However, with a spread, the underdog is given an artificial number of points with which it can overcome its point differential and theoretically beat the favorite.

Moneylines

A moneyline bet is as simple as it gets. The bettor has to do just one thing: pick the winning side. Whether it’s a game, a match between two teams, or a competition between two individuals, moneylines are always offered. If you place a moneyline wager on a team or individual that goes on to victory, you’ll have won your moneyline bet.

Over/Unders

Over/unders or totals are lines that oddsmakers set reflecting what the total score of a game will be. Betting the over means a bettor believes the two teams’ combined scores will be higher than the predicted total. On the other hand, a bet on the under implies a bettor thinks the two teams’ combined scores will be lower than the predicted total.

The “Vig” or “Juice”

“Vig” and “juice” are two important terms to know in sports betting as they have a direct impact on your winnings. On a standard against the spread or over/under bet, you may see a number like -110 next to the line. This is the vig and means that a bettor who wagers $110 on the line would profit $100 on a winning bet. If the vig is +110, the reverse is true and a bettor who wagers $100 would profit $110 with a winning bet.
Moneyline bets also have vigs or juice attached but are often vastly different in their amounts. For example, a football team that is favored to win by a touchdown will likely be roughly -300 to -400 on the moneyline. Remember, the juice is steeper in this situation since the team only has to win the game, not cover a spread.

Where to Bet

BettingPros has a great resource page for the 13 states where sports betting is currently legal and operational. Each state has a detailed breakdown of available sportsbooks with links provided to their homepages.
One does not have to be a resident of these states to place a legal sports bet. Anyone can visit these states’ various brick and mortar sportsbooks and place a bet at a cashier’s window. However, if you are using a mobile app to place bets then one must be physically in the state when making the bet. Mobile sportsbooks will check your location before allowing you to sign in and wager.

How to Place Bets

Placing a bet in person at a sportsbook requires knowledge of how to read an odds board. When entering most sportsbooks, bettors are greeted with a massive screen that has all available bets displayed. Often times these bets will have a three-digit number before the team names, called a rotation number. When approaching the cashier, it makes their lives easier to provide them with the rotation number so that they can locate your bet on their screen quickly.
An example of what to tell a cashier is “I’ll take game 506 Los Angeles Lakers minus 6.5 points for $50.” The cashier will load your bet onto a screen in front of you with your possible winnings. If everything is agreeable, your transaction is finalized after you hand the money to your cashier. They will hand you a betting ticket which you will use to redeem your winnings if your bet cashes.
Making bets on an online sportsbook is rather easy once your account is created. The first thing you will see are the featured bets which are likely from the most popular sports leagues. You can toggle through the various menus until you find the appropriate league and game you want. Your bets are just a few clicks away. Similar to a brick-and-mortar sportsbook, you will have to confirm your bet before it is finalized.

Mistakes to Avoid

There are many ways one can get into trouble quickly when betting on sports. The first is with their finances, namely betting too much on one individual game. Sports bettors often identify a “can’t miss” game and bet most or all of their bankroll when they are confident. However, that is a losing long-term proposition. It is always better to bet conservatively with respect to your bankroll. Typically each individual bet should not be more than 5% of your overall bankroll.
In addition, sports bettors who get down early tend to act impulsively in an effort to win their money back. They may take to betting on sports they have no clear knowledge of. One should always have the discipline to contain their bets to sports that they have a clear knowledge of. Blindly betting on a league or a team you have no knowledge of is asking for trouble.

Picking the Right Sportsbook

Many people will pick the sportsbook that is closest to their house or that has the most user-friendly interface on their app. However, choosing the “right” sportsbook does not mean that there is one right choice. Unbeknownst to many, betting lines can vary widely at different sportsbooks. While one sportsbook may have a line of -3, another one may have a line of -4. Even half-point differences can make a difference between a bet that wins, loses, or pushes.
Therefore, do your due diligence and shop around for the best lines before making a wager. The “right” sportsbook is the one that gives you the best chance to win.

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The Basics of Sports Betting


There are many types of compound wagers you can make: parlays, reverses, teasers, if/then wagers. Right now, only concern yourself with straight bets. A straight bet is just a single bet placed on a single event. By far, the most common type of football wager is a straight bet placed on the point spread. As a quick refresher, the point spread is the amount of points the bookmakers set that the team favored to win must win by in order for you to win your bet. If the Patriots are (-6.5) for a game, they must win by seven for you to “cover the spread” and win your bet.
For today’s explanations, let’s use the opening game of the 2018 season: Falcons at Eagles. The Eagles are currently listed as four point favorites (-4). The moneyline is -200 and the total for the game is 46 (more on these in a moment). When looking at the point spread, you must decide whether you think the Eagles will win the game by at least four points. If you place a straight bet on the Eagles, that is, a single wager on just the Eagles where you are laying the four points, and the Eagles win by a field goal, you lose. If the Eagles win by a touchdown, you win. It is that simple. On the flip side, if you bet the Falcons against the point spread, you either need them to win the game outright, or lose by fewer than four points. A typical point spread wager has a vig of -110. It is rare that the vig on a point spread is more than -125, which, as a quick refresher on that as well, means you have to risk $125 to win $100. If you wanted to place a $100 wager on either the Falcons or the Eagles against the point spread right now, you would have to risk $110 to win $100.
A moneyline bet is a bet on the winner of the game. It is the simplest type of wager you can make because all you have to concern yourself with is which team wins the game. The moneyline correlates with the point spread. The higher the point spread, the higher the moneyline. As four point favorites, the Eagles are about -200 on the moneyline. If you don’t want to concern yourself with the four points and just want to bet on the Eagles to win the game, you will have to risk $200 to win $100. If you want to bet the Falcons to pull out the upset, since they are underdogs, you will get better odds than if you took the four points with the spread. The Falcons are +170 so if you risk $100, you would win $170, but if the Falcons were to lose by a field goal, you would lose the moneyline bet whereas you’d win a bet on Falcons +4.
Finally, we have the total, otherwise known as the over/under. A bet on the total is a bet on how many points you think the two teams will combine to score in the game. The vig on totals is almost always -110, but, like any vig, it can vary a bit due to exigent circumstances that we won’t get into here. For the Eagles and Falcons, the total is 46 and it is -110 on each side. What do I mean by each side? Well, if you want to place a bet on the amount of points scored in the game, you can take the over or the under. And yes, it is as simple as it sounds. If you bet the over, you need the Eagles and Falcons to combine to score more than 46 points. If you bet the under, you need them to score fewer than 46 points. A $110 bet wins you $100.
So there you have it: the three most basic bets you can place on a football game –point spread, moneyline, and total. In future articles, you will learn about different types of bets of varying complexity and different ways you can bet things. As always, wager responsibly and never bet more than you can afford to lose. Good luck this season!


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What is Live Sports Betting?


Live betting is when a bettor places action on a contest already underway. Sportsbooks will often offer lines and odds that are adjusted based on gameflow and current win probability. This is based on the initial line, the current score, and gamescript. Sportsbooks offer live betting on spreads, moneylines, and over/unders (totals). Some books also offer other live bet types such as “what will the result of the next play be” or “what the result of a particular drive might be.”

Strategy Live betting is all about strategy: what sport to play, when to play, and when not to play. These all need to be approached strategically, and there are also hedging and middling strategies to consider. Let’s dig a little deeper.
What Sport(s) to Play The top sports for live betting are basketball, soccer, and football. There is, of course, live betting for all sports, but these are often the sports that bettors may focus exclusively on for live betting.

When to Play When to partake in live betting should generally be decided only when watching and taking in the game in question. This allows you to soak in the adjustments or changes in gameflow in the contest. Generally speaking, one wants to take live betting action when they are able to find lines at a better value than what had been available earlier.
Experienced live bettors often prefer to wait until late in the contest to submit their live bets. The thinking here is that the later you are able to wait, the better you can increase your odds of winning that particular wager. This works best for underdogs, but also works well for favorites if you can identify the sweet spot for a specific book and sport.

When Not to Play There are times when a bettor should try to stay away from live betting. The number one time is when you are down big after a full day of betting. This can result in “chasing,” where you bet specifically to try and recoup some, if not all, of the day’s losses. While there are times when it is perfectly fine to engage in live betting when you are down, it is generally not recommended unless there is a standout value that cannot be ignored. The reasoning here is that a day of significant losses can influence your decision regarding whether or not a live bet option is actually an attractive value or not. Never chase.
Another time to avoid live betting is when the contest in question involves your home team or one of your favorite teams. Betting, especially live betting, needs to be emotionless. There is no better way to let emotion and your heart creep into your decision making than to be betting on a contest involving a club or team that you support.

Hedging While hedging is generally frowned upon in the betting community, as explained here, it is indeed a risk management strategy that any prudent bettor should at least consider. Hedging allows you to insulate themselves against possible losses, or to ensure and “insure” that a parlay on its last leg pays out a minimum amount.
“Hedging is when you essentially find a middle and bet on both sides. This can be done via live betting when and if you fear the outcome may go the other way. It can also be done on the last game of a mutli-contest parlay. In this case, you will bet against yourself to ensure some winnings. Generally, this calls for a moneyline bet or spread bet against the final outcome you chose on your initial ticket.
Hedge payout should at least cover your initial bet, and in most cases help you turn a profit regardless of the outcome. Hedging differs from arbitrage in that you are placing these wagers at the same book, rather than looking for line discrepancies to exploit across different books.”

Middling Exploiting middling opportunities is often most effective via live betting. The constantly changing lines often provide numerous middling opportunities per contest. The trick is to recognize the true values.
“Middling is the practice of finding and attempting to exploit line movement in the sports betting arena.”
For more on middling, including illustrative examples check out our breakdown here.

Live Betting Books Some sportsbooks offer far superior odds and options on their live betting offerings. Many experienced bettors have a specific book for favorites, underdogs, parlays, and props betting. In some cases, these may be four different sportsbooks altogether. Bettors should endeavor to have live betting books as well.
The suggestion here is to sign up for multiple sportsbooks who “welcome winners” and have a live betting interface that does not require a page refresh (automatic or not, it still costs valuable time). Having multiple accounts will allow you to take advantage of line shopping and arbitrage opportunities as they are presented.

Arbitrage Arbitrage is when a bettor spots line differences and values between the initially posted line and the live line that is offered. In pre-game betting, arbitrage is the practice of finding differing lines at different sportsbooks (in rare cases at the same book) and betting on both sides in an attempt to guarantee a profit. This requires you take the highest odds possible on both sides.
Arbitrage opportunities are more readily available due to the nature of how sportsbooks set their live lines. They do so via algorithms and computer simulations. The opportunity is in that they do not have days to analyze factors as they would with pre-game betting.
Be careful when engaging in arbitrage opportunities at the same book. Not all sportsbooks welcome this practice and thus may ban your account. In many cases, they will also freeze your winnings (not your initial deposit amount). The arbitrage live bettor has to pay special attention to ensure that the juice is such that there is indeed room to make a profit on either outcome.

Shopping Lines Every live bettor with multiple sportsbook accounts should be shopping lines when it comes to live betting. This is true not only for bettor looking to identify arbitrage opportunities, but also for the bettor looking for the best odds or juice on a particular bet. Having multiple tabs open with your live betting sportsbooks of choice is recommended. However, it is best to have multiple, reliable devices so you can survey all of your options instantaneously. Precious seconds can cause a change in the line or the juice. It can even cause the line to be temporarily removed while a play is in progress (typical for football).


How Much Should You Bet on Sports?



How Much Should I Be Betting?

The amount that one should bet on sports depends entirely on your bankroll. Again, when choosing your deposit amount, you should not deposit more than you can afford to lose. Pick a starting amount that if you lost, you could shrug it off and not have it affect your day-to-day life.
Once you have your starting amount decided, you should not wager more than 5% of your bankroll on any individual bet. For example, let’s say that your starting amount is $100. It may seem very small, but you should limit yourself to a maximum of a $5 wager with each individual bet.
A term to get familiar with is “units.” You may read experts’ predictions about what they are wagering, and they will say some bets are a one-unit or five-unit play. A “unit” is generally defined as 1% of your bankroll. So if your starting bankroll was $100, a five-unit play would be $5.


Temper Your Expectations


Sports betting is a very tough business to master. You may watch every NFL game every Sunday and still not accurately predict half of the games each week against the spread. In fact, the most successful sports bettors in the long run only get roughly 55% of their bets correct. Anyone who goes on a short-term run of getting 60% or more of their bets correct is considered to be exceptionally successful.
Keep these percentages in mind when making your sports bets and don’t get frustrated over a cold spell. However, these percentages are important to use as a baseline. Even if you were to get 50% of your standard sports bets correct, you would still be losing money. This is because of the “vig” or “juice” that oddsmakers put on a wager. Generally speaking, oddsmakers collect a 10% vig on any sports wager. Thus, if you get your $50 wager correct, you should expect to only profit roughly $45.

Only Bet on What You Know


Sports bettors often get into a bad habit of “chasing” lost bets with random bets on lesser-known sports. For example, a bettor may have a rough NFL Sunday and feel they need to get all their money back in one fell swoop. They may look at the bets available late at night and see a European soccer match is the only available game to bet on.
Never let yourself be tempted into a bet just to recoup lost money. Wagering on a game or event that you have absolutely no knowledge about is a losing long-term proposition. Instead, stick to the sports that you know well. The more you know about a sport or the teams involved, the more likely you are to find an edge over the oddsmakers.
This information is especially relevant during the pandemic we are experiencing. As tempting as it is to still have “action,” it’s simply not worth wagering on darts or table tennis lines unless you have knowledge about the sport and its competitors.