Sports Betting Explained: Vegas Sportsbook Odds Explained The experienced MyBookie team is willing to offer you a way to better understanding and explaining sports betting. Our exclusive betting guide covers every topic related to betting, From straight wagers and money lines, to future bets and teasers; we have anything you need to have a successful and profitable NFL Football Betting season. Sports Betting Explained – Types of Sports Wagers. Curious about the types of sports bet? Check out William Hill’s guide to sports betting, which covers all the need-to-know topics and terms. Learn about all popular types of bets, including parlays, teaser bets, prop bets, and all the need to know terminology for betting on sports. The anti-gambling stigma that existed for decades is fading in American popular culture, opening the door for a massive, multibillion-dollar legal sports betting industry to emerge. With sports betting now legal in many states, millions of sports fans will be looking to enter the betting market for the first time. Sports Betting Explained – Types of Sports Wagers Curious about the types of sports bet? Check out William Hill’s guide to sports betting, which covers all the need-to-know topics and terms. Learn about all popular types of bets, including parlays, teaser bets, prop bets, and all the need to know terminology for betting on sports. Sports betting involves staking on the outcome of sporting events. Bettors attempt to predict the result of an event in order to win their bet - and potentially profit. What are sports betting odds? Put simply betting odds are representations of probability.
While not as popular as betting against the point spread in sports gambling, betting the “over/under” isn’t that far behind. Sometimes you may see this as O/U, over-under, over under or simply referred to as “the over” or “the under.”
What does over under mean in betting?
Simply stated, it is the total of the points scored by both teams. While all sports employ an over/under betting option, by far the most money wagered on this bet is in football and basketball. Sports like baseball and hockey offer over/under options, but the vast majority of bets on those sports in based on the established “money line” to pick a winner at a set price.
Unlike a point spread bet in which you are aligning yourself with one team, you’re betting on both teams – either their offenses or the defenses – when betting the over/under. Sports books set over/under scores on games based upon numerous factors.
In the NFL, most over/under scores are set in the low-to-mid 40s.In college football, over/under scores are usually in the high-40 to low 50s – in the Big 12, the land that defense forgot, it can hit the 60s.In the NBA, a typical over/under tends to hover in the 210 range. In college basketball, a standard over/under is between 140 and 155.The hidden factors that come into play in determining a point spread vary by sport, but have common themes. Recent team history is a primary factor that sports books like to exploit. Sports by their nature are a reflective business based on developing trends from previous games (“getting on a roll”) and, if a football team has scored 40-plus points in three straight games, the over/under is going to be higher because sports bettors tend to believe that trends are going to continue. It’s human nature…until they don’t.
If a critical player – a quarterback in football or a dominant scorer in basketball – is out or playing injured, the over/under will drop.
Other factors critical in setting the over/under number include weather (where applicable), an undefinable history between teams (you know Steelers-Ravens games are going to be physical bloodbaths) and injuries that may not jump out to casual fans that mean a lot sports books are all factors that go into creating and setting an over/under line that will draw an even number of fans to both sides of the number.
The key to betting the over/under is to look at a slate of games without knowing what the over/under is and set what you believe it should be based on your knowledge of those two teams. The ones that differ the most from what you think should be are the ones to place your bets on.
One final note that has been a mantra of those who bet the over/under with some consistency – every game is under until it goes over.
If you’re new to sports betting, start with picking and choosing games you’re convinced should go under and get an understanding of how late-game fireworks can botch your plans.
Sports Betting Explained – Types of Sports Wagers
Curious about the types of sports bet? Check out William Hill’s guide to sports betting, which covers all the need-to-know topics and terms. Learn about all popular types of bets, including parlays, teaser bets, prop bets, and all the need to know terminology for betting on sports.
Parlay – What is a Parlay Bet?
A parlay is a single bet that links two or more wagers; to win the bet, the player must win all the wagers in the parlay. If the player loses one wager, he loses the entire bet. However, if the player wins all the wagers in the parlay, the player wins a higher payoff than if the player had placed the bets separately.
What is a Straight Bet
A straight bet is an individual wager on a game or event that will be determined by a pointspread or money line.
Futures Betting
Sports Gambling Line Explained
A futures bet is a wager placed on an event typically far in the future, such as which team will win next year’s pro football championship game or pro hockey championship series.
Propositions – Prop Bets
Proposition bets, or “prop” bets, focus on the outcome of events within a given game. Props are often offered on marquee games of great interest. These include Sunday and Monday night pro football games, various high-profile college football games, major college bowl games and playoff and championship games. An example of a prop bet is “Which team will score the first touchdown?”
Teaser Bet
A teaser is a type of football or basketball wager in which the pointspread is adjusted by additional points in the player’s favor on more than one game. In football, a player may move the posted pointspread 6, 6.5, 7, 10 or 14 points (10 and 14 point teasers ties lose). In basketball, 4, 5 and 6-point sports betting teasers are offered.
Round Robin Bet
Sports Betting Explained Over Under
A round robin is a series of parlays. For example, a 3-team round robin consists of three 2-team parlays (A + B, A + C and B + C).
IMPORTANT TERMS
Point Spread
The most popular sports bets are based on the point spread. The point spread represents the margin of points in which the favored team must win the game by to “cover the spread.” Bets on the point spread are usually offered at 11 to 10 odds. For example, a player must bet $11 to win $10 for a total payout of $21 or $110 to win $100.
Money Line Bet
The money line represents the odds of a team winning the game outright without the use of the pointspread. The money line is expressed as a 3-digit number. For example -150 means a player must bet $150 for every $100 he wishes to win, $15 for every $10 and multiples thereof.
GLOSSARY OF SPORTS BETTING TERMS
Action – A sports wager of any kind; a bet.
Added Game – A game not part of the typical menu of wagering offerings, often posted as an accommodation to patrons.
Book – A establishment that accepts bets on the outcome of sporting events.
Buy (Points) – A player pays an additional price (lays more money) to receive a half-point or more in his favor on a pointspread game.
Cash Out – A player can take their open straight bet or parlay bet and cash it out before the event has ended; currently only available in NJ, WV, and CO.
Chalk – The favorite.
Cover – Winning by more than the pointspread.
Dime – A $1,000 sports wager.
Dog – The team perceived to be most likely to lose. Short for underdog.
Favorite – The team considered most likely to win an event.
First-half bet – A bet placed on the score in the first half of the game only.
Free Bet – A Free Bet is a token with a number value, which a customer can attach to a selection to a selection (for the Mobile app it would be under Betslip or Quickbet) to place a bet. The difference between a bet placed with a Free Bet Token and a regular bet, is with a free bet the “stake” is not included in the winnings. Free bets are only given out per terms and conditions and for specific promotions. Available in select states.
Future – Odds that are posted well in advance on the winner of major events, including the Pro Football Championship, the Pro Basketball Championship and the Pro Baseball Championship.
Sports Betting Explained Nfl
Half-time bet – A bet placed on scoring in the second half of a game only.
Handle – The total amount of bets taken.
Hold – The percentage the house wins.
Juice – The bookmaker’s commission, most commonly the 11 to 10 bettors lay on straight pointspread wagers; also known as “vigorish.”
Laying the points/price – Betting the favorite by giving up points.
Limit – The maximum amount accepted by the house before the odds and/or pointspread are changed.
Line – The current odds or pointspread on a particular event.
Listed pitchers – A baseball bet placed only if both of the pitchers scheduled to start a game actually start. If they don’t, the bet is deemed “No Action” and refunded.
Longshot – A team perceived to be unlikely to win.
Middle – To win both sides of a game; wagering on the underdog at one pointspread and the favorite at a different pointspread and winning both sides. For example, if the player bets the underdog +4 ½ and the favorite -3 ½ and the favorite wins by 4, the player has middled the book and won both bets.
Money line – Odds expressed in terms of money. With money odds, whenever there is a minus (-) the player lays that amount to win $100; where there is a plus (+) the player wins that amount for every $100 wagered.
Nickel – A $500 sports wager.
No action – A wager in which no money is lost or won and the original bet amount is refunded.
Off the board – A game in which no bets are being accepted.
Opening line– The earliest line posted for a particular sporting event.
Over – A sports bet in which the player wagers that the combined point total of two teams will be more than a specified total.
Parlay – A single bet that links together two or more wagers; to win the bet, the player must win all the wagers in the parlay. If the player loses one wager, the player loses the entire bet. However, if he wins all the wagers in the parlay, the player wins a higher payoff than if the player had placed the bets separately.
Pick or Pick ’em – A game when neither team is favored
Point Spread – The margin of points in which the favored team must win by to “cover the spread.”
Price – The odds or point spread.
Prop (Proposition) Bet – A bet that focuses on the outcome of events within a given game. Props are often offered on marquee games of great interest. These include Sunday and Monday night pro football games, various high-profile college football games, major college bowl games and playoff and championship games. An example of a prop bet is “Which team will score the first touchdown?”
Push – When the contest ends with no winner or loser for wagering purposes; a tie for wagering purposes.
Round Robin – A series of parlays.
Run line – In baseball, a spread used instead of the money line.
Sports Betting Explained Spread
Sides – The two teams playing; the underdog and the favorite.
Sportsbook – A physical location that accepts sports bets.
Straight bet – An individual wager on a game or event that will be determined by a pointspread or money line
Straight-up – Winning the game without any regard to the pointspread; a money-line bet.
Take the points – Betting the underdog and receiving its advantage in the pointspread.
Take the price – Betting the underdog and accepting money odds.
Teaser – A type of parlay in which the pointspread or total of each individual play is adjusted. The price of moving the pointspread (teasing) is lower payoff odds on winning wagers.
Tie – A wager in which no money is lost or won because the teams’ scores were equal to the number of points in the given pointspread.
Total – The combined amount of runs, points or goals scored by both teams during the game, including overtime.
Under – The player bets that the total points scored by two teams will be less than a certain figure.
Sports Betting Explained For Dummies
Underdog – The team perceived to be most likely to lose. Also known as the “dog.”
Explain Sports Betting Lines
Vigorish – The bookmaker’s commission; also known as juice.