Everyone has the potential of becoming a successful bettor, all that’s needed is just the right information. As long as you understand the fundamentals of sports betting, and you are able to adequately answer the questions of “Where”, “How”, and “Who” to bet on, you’d have a smooth and fruitful journey in sports betting. In this article, we would walk you through some basic considerations and terminologies to note before placing bets. To start with, we would give you an overview of what sports betting odds are.
Table of content:
- Sports Betting Odds
- Types Of Betting Available In Sports Betting
- Choosing The Right Sports Betting Site
- Conclusion
Sports Betting Odds
As a newbie in sports betting, your sole aim is to quickly get acclimated with all the betting odds you come across. Betting odds determine your return. Your profit is calculated by multiplying your stake by the odds you choose. Every betting market has its own odds. There are high and low odds, high odds means high return while low odds means low return. Because high odds yields high returns doesn’t mean you should always stake on them. The lower the probability of an outcome winning, the higher the odds for the outcome and the higher the probability of an outcome winning, the lower the odds for the outcome. To help you out with your odds choice, check out the different types of betting available on all sports betting platforms.
Types Of Betting Available In Sports Betting
There are four main types of betting available on all sports betting platforms. They include;
- Moneyline bets
- Point spreads
- Totals
- Betting futures
Moneyline Bets
Of all the bet types, moneylines are the simplest. In a moneyline market, punters place bets on who would come out victorious. Margin is victory is not considered in this kind of bet, only the outright winner matters. This could be explained better using an example. In a game between two teams, Team B and Team C, the odds for Team B to win the game are -150, while the odds for Team C to win the game are +130.
If you study this game properly, you’d notice the plus and minus sign preceding the odds. The team with the plus sign in this case is the underdog team (the team that is less favored), while the team with a minus sign is the favorite team (the team that’s more favored). With the odds for Team C set at +130, a stake of £100 on team C will yield a profit of £30. With Team B’s odds set at -150, a stake of £100 on Team B will yield a profit of £50.
Point Spreads
This form of betting is quite similar to the previously discussed moneyline bet. The only difference between both of them is that point spreads don’t only deal with who would win the match but also the victory margin. Here’s why the point spread was introduced. In some cases, the discrepancy in talent between two-teams playing turns out to be very huge. In cases like this, betting on who to win seems very easy because it would be so obvious that the stronger team will win. To avoid this level of simplicity, oddsmakers introduced points spreads where the margin of victory would count.
For example, let’s say there’s a match between two teams, Team C and Team D. Team C has odds of 22.5 while Team D has odds of -22.5. Just as explained in the moneyline bet, Team D in this game is favoured to win, but in this case, the number depicts the victory margin, that’s if you bet on Team D, they’ve to win by 23 points or more. If they win by exactly 22.5, it’s called a push, the game will be canceled and no one would win the bet.
Totals
Totals are also known as over/under bets. This bet deals with the combined score of both teams in the game. For example, a bookmaker sets the total for a football game at 25. You will then place a wager, if you feel the game is between two teams that score goals a lot, you can decide to place a wager on the over market that is bet that the total goals that will be scored in the match would exceed 25. You could also decide to stake under the market, that is the total goals wouldn’t be up to 25. If the total number of goals scored equals 25, the bet will be canceled and considered a push.
Betting Futures
While other betting types focus on short term outcomes, betting futures focus on long term outcomes. The long term outcomes we are talking about include; who will win a division and what team will win a championship. Betting the future is lucrative because the markets are always accompanied by huge odds. On the flip side, however, the cash you used to stake on a future outcome will be locked for a long period of time. During this period, there are bound to be some changes. For example, the team that you predicted would win the championship might end up losing one of their star players due to injury. When this happens, the winning probability drops.
Now that the questions of “Who” and “How” have been answered, how about the question of “Where”?
Choosing The Right Sports Betting Site
As a beginner in betting, you’re advised not to go for just any betting site, rather, go for the one that suits you the most. How do you know the sports betting site that suits you the most? You can easily figure that out by simply considering the following factors;
- Reputation and history
- Ease of use
- Number of events available
- License and regulation
- Payment methods available
- Customer service quality
- Odds range
If you figure out that a site can perform well in all these areas, you should go for the site.
Conclusion
All beginners in betting are advised to start slowly. Don’t be deceived by the bits you chomp at first, because it doesn’t last. Pump your brakes and take things easy. Instead of making bets with little or no experience, take a step back, with knowledge of the basics that were discussed earlier in this article, you can increase your chances of becoming a successful bettor.
