Making a bet at a sports book is a lot like ordering
food at a restaurant. As a patron, you're given
a list of what's available and how much it costs.
In Las Vegas, your "menu" is often displayed
in lights on a façade somewhere toward the
back of a casino. Sports betting on the Internet
is a bit more intimate, but the processes are similar.
Examine, for example, the way a straight bet - one
in which you bet on one of two opponents in an athletic
competition - is listed. Each event is listed with
either a money line or a spread, and the task at
hand is to simply select which item of the menu
(team A or team B) you would like to select. You
do this by either clicking the team name, a check
box, or an icon indicating your choice, and the
site generates a form explaining how much you're
wagering and how much you can win. All of your bets
are kept in password-protected online databases
with which you can closely monitor how much money
is in your account, how much money is currently
in action, which teams or players you've selected,
and how your bets have resulted in the past.
Following is a rundown of bets that can be made
at online sports books:
MONEY LINE
A money line is a straight wager in which the better
gives odds when betting the favorite and takes odds
when betting the underdog. If the money line for
the Detroit Redwings versus the Chicago Blackhawks
game is 9 to 5, with Detroit favored, you place
$9 to win $5 on Detroit or $5 to win $9 on Chicago.
Of course, keep in mind that the sports book takes
a cut of winning bets for itself.
Back to menu
READING MONEY LINES
Reading money lines seems confusing at first, but
it's fairly easy after you get the hang of it. In
North America, money lines are listed using positive
and negative numbers. Let's say the money line for
the Yankees versus the Red Sox game is: NY Yankees
(-145) versus Boston Red Sox (+125). If you pick
the Yankees, a winning $145 bet earns $100. If you
pick the Red Sox, a winning $100 bet earns $125.
Sports books in other regions, such as Europe and
Australia, use a fraction system. The same bet would
be listed in a book that caters to Europeans and
Australians as New York Yankees (20/29) versus Boston
Red Sox (5/4).
Back to menu AGAINST THE SPREAD
When you're betting against the spread, the underdog
is given extra points. For example, "Pittsburgh
(-5 1z�2 ) versus Seattle" means that Pittsburgh
is a five-point favorite, and bets on Pittsburgh
only pay if Pittsburgh wins by six or more points.
On the flip side, if you select Seattle, and Seattle
loses by five or fewer points, you still win the
bet. Against-the-spread bets are common wagers for
football and basketball games because both are high
scoring sports.
The Over/Under
Bet the over/under when you've got good reason to
believe that the final score will be higher or lower
than what the odds makers predict. The only thing
that matters in the outcome is the total number
of points scored. Let's say the over/under for the
New England versus Denver game is 45, and you pick
the under. As long as 44 or fewer total points are
scored, whether its 44-0 Denver or 23-21 New England,
you win the bet.
The Parlay
Here's where the odds get tougher and the payouts
get bigger. A parlay is a combination of bets in
which you win only if every one of your selections
is a winner. The parlay is the perfect play for
the all-or-nothing type of sports bettor.
The Proposition Bet
A proposition is a wager on a particular aspect
of an event such as how many strike-outs a pitcher
will get or how many completions a quarterback will
make.
Futures
This is a bet, taken well in advance, in which a
sports book gives odds on a certain team or player
accomplishing a particular feat, such as winning
a championship. You can pick a football team in
August, for example, to win the Super Bowl in January.
Teasers
A teaser is a type of parlay in which you increase
your chances of winning by moving the point spread
in your favor. For example if you want the Jets
(-3), the Falcons (+2), and the Bears (+5) with
4 teaser points, your point spreads are adjusted
to Jets (+1), Falcons (+6), and Bears (=5). The
tradeoff is that the bets pay off at significantly
lower odds.
The Place Only Bet
Place only bets, more popular with horse racing,
are bets in which you select a team or player to
finish among the nominated placings of an event.
Typically, winning place bets must finish first,
second, or third.
The Each Way Bet
An each way bet is when you bet on a team or player
to win or place in an event. Such a bet requires
that you put money up for each outcome. Obviously,
the payout is much greater if the team or player
you select comes in first.
DON'T BE A FAN!
Don't fall into the trap of being sentimental when
betting on sports. Always distinguish between being
a fan and being a bettor. Betting the team that
you want to win rather than logically analyzing
match-ups and trends usually leads to large amounts
of money exiting your wallet.
Spread Betting
Spread betting, also known as index betting, is
an exciting form of wagering that can be applied
to any event as long as it has a final result. The
hotbed for spread betting is the United Kingdom,
so the most popular sports for spread betting are
soccer, rugby, and cricket. It's a thrilling way
to bet because the odds change throughout the event
and you can bet even after the event has begun.
You win or lose an amount calculated by the difference
between the sports book's prediction and the final
result, multiplied by you stake. A $5 bet could
win you $5 if your prediction is right or $50 if
you prediction is extremely right. By the same token,
you can lose $5 for being wrong and $50 for being
extremely wrong.
Following are the three basic types of index bets:
* Total Numbers - The
combined score of a sporting event. Most index bets
revolve around totals.
* Match Bets - You try to predict
the superiority of one team, horse, or individual
over another.
* Performance Bets - An artificial
point scale is used to measure the outcome of a
sporting event.
Here's an example of how spread betting works: Let's
say you want to make a bet on the total number of
points scored for the Lions/Packers game, and the
sports book thinks the total will be between 42
and 45. The spread is thus 42-45. If you believe
the final score will be less than 42, you choose
to sell. This is also known as a down sake of keeping
things easy, let's say that the stake is $10. If
the final score is below 42, you win. To find out
how much you make, subtract the actual total points
from 42 and multiply the difference by the stake
(which, in your case, is $10). So, if the total
points scored is 30, you win $120. (42-30 = 12 x
$10 = $120). The payout for this particular outcome
is 12 to 1. If you lose, however, the same formula
applies toward your total loss. So, if the total
points scored is 57, you lose $120 (45-57=-12x$10=-$120).
In such a case, you would have won money if you
chose to buy instead of sell. Buying is when you
bet that the score will be higher than the spread.
It's also known as an up bet.
SFA REGULATION
(All legal British spread-betting firms are regulated
by the Securities and Futures Authority (SFA). The
SFA was set up in 1986 to regulate U.K. financial
markets, including spread-betting companies. It's
basically the British version of the American Commodity
Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and
Exchange Commission rolled into one. Do not, under
any circumstances, open an account with a British
spread-betting site that isn't licensed by the SFA.
It gets even better (or worse depending on how you
look at it). Bets can be made throughout the event,
and the spread changes accordingly. Let's say you
knew it would be a low scoring game, so you sold
at 42.45, and the total points at halftime is only
10. The price changes from 42-45 to 27-30. You can
either let your bet ride by doing nothing or close
the bet at the new price. You close a bet by wagering
the same amount in the opposite direction of your
original bet. You originally sold for $10, so now
you buy for $10. No matter how the game turns out,
you've just won $150! Let's say the final total
turns out to be 20. That means you win $220 (42-20=22x$10-$220)
on the first bet and you lose $70 (20-27=-7x$10=-$70)
on the second bet. Now let's say the final total
turns out to be 50. That means you lose $50 (45-50=-5x$10=-$50)
on the first bet and win $200 (50-30=20x$10=$200)
on the second bet. Likewise, if you originally bought
at 42-45, you could cut your losses to $150 by closing
the bet at 27-30.
To Keep things from getting completely out of hand,
spread-betting sites enable you to control your
risk by using stop losses. A stop loss is a limit
placed at the time of opening a bet on how many
times the stake can be multiplied. Of course, an
equivalent stop win is applied, as well. The stop
loss comes in handy in games where one team runs
up the score. For example, if you sell for $20 at
24-27 and the final total ends up being 67, without
a stop loss, you'd owe the bookmaker $800.
Is Spread Betting for
You?
At a glimpse, spread betting appears to be one heck
of a lot of fun - and it is - but be mindful of
the rish before trying it. Despite all the excitement
it generates, spread betting has earned a reputation
for being a very dangerous activity because it's
been known to ruin people financially. For this
reason, SFA-regulated sites are required to post
risk warning statements. The common mistake made
by spread bettors is not realizing how much they're
wagering. Consider the previous example in which
you sell for $20 at 24-27. Let's say the stop loss/win
is set at $200. The temptation of winning as much
as $200 when laying out only $20 is exciting, but
the truth is you're not making a $20 bet.
You're really making a $200 bet because that's how
much you can lose. The dynamics of spread betting
are inviting, but it's also the dynamics that make
it so dangerous. If you want to bet $20, that's
find, but you have to either set the stop loss at
$20 or close the bet as soon as the spread moves
far enough to put you down by $20. Spread betting
is only for bettors who are excellent with money
management. If you don't pay attention to your limits
at all times, you could get yourself into a lot
of trouble. On the other hand, if you're a disciplined
bettor and you understand your personal limits,
spread betting can be very enjoyable and very lucrative.
How to Be a Savvy Sports
Bettor on the Web
One of the reasons sports are so exciting is that
they're unpredictable. If you're a big sports fan,
you've certainly heard the phrase "That's why
they play the games." Tons of physical and
mental factors come into play. And of course, there's
also the ever-evasive element of pure luck. You
never know which way the ball's going to bounce.
Depending on the Wise
Guys
Before you put on your thinking cap in an attempt
to conquer the many ins and outs of sports handicapping,
you might want to consider that loads of people
out there who are already wearing their thinking
caps want to share their vast knowledge with you.
Naturally, this usually costs you money. These are
individuals who analyze (or claim to analyze) sporting
events and have a knack (or claim to have a knack)
for beating the odds makers. The way it works is
very simple. You send the handicappers money, either
by check, money order, bank wire, or online credit
card processing, and they deliver their winning
selections to you. They give you access to the picks
by either emailing them to you or allowing you access
to password-protected pages on their Web sites.
There are more sports handicappers offering their
services on the World Wide Web than there are drops
of water in the ocean. (Okay, so that's a bit of
an exaggeration, but there are a heck of a lot.)
Incidentally, most stake claims that they're "the
best handicapping service on the Web" and most
also stake claims that they're "the only honest
handicapping service on the Web."
So, who do you trust? Who's really the best? How
do you go about sifting through all the hype? These
are tough questions. Anyone can claim to be a sports
guru who prognosticates at a success rate of 80
percent. But you must ask yourself, "Why would
a handicapping genius waste his time selling advice
on the Internet when he could be out somewhere enjoying
the millions of dollars he's made by wagering at
sports books?" With that in mind, it's extremely
difficult to determine which services are legitimately
dependable. One way is to start your guru search
with online monitoring services. These are Web sites
that monitor the picks of online handicappers to
assure that their claims are legitimate. Of course,
one trip to any sports handicapping forum or newsgroup
reveals that many theorize that handicappers are
in cahoots with the monitoring services and that
the whole monitoring thing is a sham. But gambling
is all about taking risks, right?
You can find sports handicapping monitoring services
on the Web:
The following are a few things to keep in mind while
searching for a sports handicapping service:
* Beware outrageous claims. A good handicapper will
be in the neighborhood of 60 percent. Anyone who
says he picks 'em with a 75 percent rate is either
lying or has only been handicapping for a few weeks
and managed to start hot.
* Numbers can be manipulated. Handicappers often
find creative ways of making their numbers seem
impressive. Don't go gaga when a handicapper says,
"I'm undefeated this year in games in which
the road favorite is coming off a bye week that
followed a night game on grass."
* Money-back guarantees are worthless. Sometimes
handicappers will promise to refund your money if
they give you losing picks, so you can say, "Gee,
I just blew $5000 laying money on teams that Lucky
Larry called 'locks,' but at least I get back the
$35 I spent to purchase his advice." That's
hardly consolation.
* Claims of having "insider information"
are usually hype. Handicappers who say they have
access to privileged information are usually either
lying or using a very loose definition of the term
"privileged."
Overall, you have to keep in mind that all handicappers
go through hot streaks and cold streaks. When they're
hot, you hear all about it. When they're not, they
seem to maintain a low profile. Go figure. A great
place to follow handicappers who are hot is Predict
It Sports at www.predictit.com. Predict It is a
dynamic site in which several handicappers regularly
enter their picks into a database. Customers come
to the site and view lists of which handicappers
in the database are hot, based on their recent success
rate. You can view all of the handicappers' past
and pending picks and then purchase future picks
if you like what you see. Or you can sign up as
a handicapper and submit your picks into the database.
You then receive a penny for each time a customer
pays to see your picks.
Being your Own Wise Guy
If purchasing the advice of sports betting consultants
isn't for you, you could always be your own wise
guy. It's doable, but you have to do your homework
to be successful. Research is the name of the game,
and once again, the Internet is your friend. It's
always nice to have luck on your side, but picking
winners with consistency ultimately depends on your
ability to stay on top of the many factors contributing
to the outcome of a game. The following bases need
to be covered: How does a team or player perform
on a particular surface? How will the weather affect
the event? How have the teams or players matched
up against each other in the past? How does a team
or player perform at home or on the road? How does
a team or player perform after a long layoff? How
does a team or player fare as a favorite or an underdog?
Are any key players injured? Does the event have
post-season implications? How well did a team or
player practice prior to the event? How well does
a team or player perform at night? How has a team
or player performed in recent games? Will intangibles
such as heated rivalries, personal crises, and vendettas
come into play?
Much of this information is available on the World
Wide Web. Some Web sites compile trends and contributing
factors and publish them for your viewing pleasure.
It also does you good to follow stuff in the news
like injury and weather reports. If you've got the
time and patience, you can help yourself make smart
bets by keeping up with news and statistics on the
Web.
Gambling Resources (Click
The Link Below)
QGambling
Guide - Introduction to Betting on
Sports & Online Casinos/Poker
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have different games with varying
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