Getting Started

When sports betting you can wager on any sporting event that you can find a line on. In the past “ finding a line” was the problem. Unless you lived in vegas or wanted to deal with your local bookie it was nearly impossible to wager on a sporting event. However with the explosion of the internet and new online sportsbooks, practically every sporting event that takes place around the world can be bet on. As a sports bettor, any sport or game which you have knowledge on is a potential wagering opportunity. Most sportsbooks will allow you to bet anywhere from a minimum of $5 to a maximum in the thousands of dollars.

Choosing the right sportsbook

The right sportsbook can influence how well you do as a sports bettor. As an American sports bettor one of the first things you must ask yourself is “ Does this sportsbook accept wagers from American customers? For a variety of reasons many sportsbooks have chosen not to do business in America while there are plenty that still do. Every sportsbook on this site welcomes American customers. Many sportsbooks offer very generous odds with very low vig. Vig or vigorish is like the commission a sportsbook gets from offering wagers. Many sportsbooks offer nice bonuses for your initial deposit. Some sportsbooks are currently offering comp points that allow you to get airplane miles, cash back or clothing. Look beyond these little perks however and instead look at the lines they are offering for the sports that you will be betting on! The sports books we have on this site do all of the above and we highly recommend you open an account with any of them.

Point Spread

The point spread is like a of handicap used by the lines makers. Lets say two NFL teams the Giants and Redskins were playing tonight. You want to bet on the game and you like the Giants to win. You figure the Giants are 12-0 and Washington is 2- 10 so the Giants should win, maybe even in a blowout. You want to wager 50 and in return you want 50 if the Giants win. Unfortunately this is not how it works in sports betting. This would be to easy.

You see the lines makers also do their homework and research. In the scenario mentioned above the Giants appear to be the better team and the lines maker would say . “Ok it you want to wager on them fine but they have to win by 10 ½ points”. So if you put up $50 the only way you would win your bet is if the Giants won with a score like 24 -10 or 17 – 0. On the other side of the coin the lines makers says , “look we know the Redskins are not doing that great this year so what we'll do is if you pick the Redskins to win we'll give you 10 ½ points”. This means take the Redskins final score and add 10 ½ points to it. If that score is greater than the Giants then you win your bet. The goal of the point spread is to create a sort of level ground for mismatched teams. For the most part favorites usually win the match however they don't always cover the spread. The point spread adds to the complexity of sports betting.

When reading a line in your local newspaper or sports book you would see something that looks like this.

New Giants – 10 ½ (-110)

Washington Redskins +10 ½ (-110)

In sports betting think of the -110 in terms of a baseline $100 bucks. -110 means for every 110 you put up you would win 100. Another way of looking at it is to divide by 1.10. The extra 10 bucks goes to the sportsbooks as a sort of commission for having a line. Sports bettors refer to this term as vig. The larger the number is over 100 the greater the vig for the sportsbook. The way you would read this line is Giants by 10 ½ 110 to win 100. For the Redskins you would say Redskins plus 10 ½ 110 to win 100. In either case if you win the bet you would get back $210 ( 110 you bet + 100 you won), The question now becomes what should you bet on. Do you like the Giants to win by 10 ½ or can The Redskins hang tough and lose by less then 10 ½.

There is also a rare situation in sports betting where you can actually get positive odds for a point spread. Sports books usually do this when there is a large amount being wagered on one side. Lets say the above example looked like this.

New Giants – 10 ½ (-120)

Washington Redskins +10 ½ (+105)

Whats happened here is quite simple. A lot of money has been placed on the Giants to win , so the sportsbooks have increased their vig to try to entice bettors to bet on the Redskins. They've also given up their vig on the skins with the odds of +105. +105 means for every 100 you put up you win win 105 bucks. Or multiply whatever you want to wager by 1.05. Its not unusual to see the point spread change like this once the wagers start coming in.

The Money Line

The money line gives you the ability to wager on an event with no point spread. These wagers are simple to understand. With the money line if your team wins than you win. Most of the time when people bet amongst friends they make money line type bets. With no odds of course.

The money line odds are very easy to calculate. You simply have to think in terms of a baseline of 100 bucks. For example lets say the Yankees are playing the RedSox. The money line bet for the Yankees is -200 and the moneyline bets other RedSox is +170. This simply means that if you in order to win $100 you have to put $200 on the Yankees. If you were to put a $100 on the RedSox than you would win $170. In general whenever you like a favorite in you want to wager on the money line you have to put up more money to win less. If you like the underdog you put up less money to win more. Again think of the money line in terms of baseline 100.

Another point we would like to stress is being able to calculate your odds no matter how much you wager. This can simply be done by putting a decimal after the first number. If the odds are negative you divide by the number. If the odds are positive you multiply by the number. Taking the example mentioned above with the Yankees and RedSox, lets say you want to bet on the Yankees. Since the Yankees odds are -200 this simply means that you divide whenever you want to wager by 2.00. This a represents how much you would win. If you want to wager on the RedSox and the odds are +170, you would multiply whatever you want to wager by 1.70. This is the amount you would win for this wager.

Over / Under Wagers

Over / under wagers are based on how many points, runs or goals are attained in a sporting match. These spreads com with a total number along with the standard -110 money line. For example lets say in an NFL football game the over under is 35 points. If you think both teams will score over 35 points you would bet on the over. If you think both teams would score less than 35 points you bet on the under. With either bet if you put up 110 you would win 100. Another way to look at it is to divide whenever you want a wager by 1.10. Many bettors like the over under wager because they're not necessarily voting for any team. Instead they are more concerned with the number of points scored by both teams.

Proposition Wagers

A proposition wager enables a better to place a wager on a particular outcome happening in a sporting match. Many sportsbooks do not offer proposition wagers due to the simple fact that many proposition wagers offer the sports bettor tremendous value. Many proposition wagers can be combined with other wagers to create an extremely favorable betting situation for sports bettors.

Boxing offers very basic propositions that are easy to understand. In boxing you can take the money line for a particular fighter to win. Many times its not worth it to bet on a heavy favorite or lousy underdog. You could however take a proposition bet for a fighter to win by knockout or decision. If your fighter wins by the proposition you selected then you win your bet. If you fighter does not win by that proposition then lose your bet. These bets generally offer greater odds.

The Super Bowl is the granddaddy of all proposition wagers. There are hundreds of propositions you can wager on during the Super Bowl. Bets on the coin toss, who will score the first touchdown and number of times a quarterback gets sacked are just a few examples. Many people when they can make up their mind who will win tend to look for favorable proposition wagers during the Super Bowl.

Don't be fooled by sportsbooks or handicappers who don't research and or offer proposition wagers. Proposition wagers can be deadly for sportsbooks in the hands of the right sports bettor. Next time your unsure of which team to bet on look for a good proposition wager instead. These wagers are sometimes be the best wagers you could possibly make.