If you want to get started at sports betting but don’t know where to begin, we got you covered. There are a lot of betting types in sports book which can be confusing. This guide will cover some of the most popular betting types.
- Moneylines
This is the simplest bet you can learn. You only need to predict which team you think will win. If you predicted correctly, then you can take profit. But you lose if you predicted wrong. There are usually 2 odds you can choose from. A favorite and an underdog. You can immediately recognize the favorites by the triple digit number and a (-) symbol. Underdogs, on the other hand, is symbolized by a (+) sign.
- Point Spread
This is where you predict how much points a team will win or lose by. These odds are also marked by a plus or minus sign. The number beside the plus sign shows how much points a team can lose by for your bet to be considered successful.
An example is, if Golden State Warriors is listed at -9.5 and the Boston Celtics are +9.5, if you bet on Celtics, you can only win if they the team wins or loses by 10 points or less. You can also win if Warriors won by more than 10 points.
Point spreads are fun because it encourages bettors to place bets on both teams.
- Parlay
Parlay, otherwise known as accumulator, is a combination of multiple bets in one single bet. This means that, for you to win a parlay, each wager must come through for you. While this can be riskier than betting instead on individual games, it also gives better odds. Also, you are able to wager on more events with just one stake. You can bet on three different games, but you need all three to win for your bet to make a profit. If only one of your selections failed, you will lose the game.
- Over/Under
The oddsmakers for a sportsbook will set a total number. Bettors are to predict if the resulting score will be over or under that number. An example is a sportsbook offering a total of 200 points between Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns, you win if you choose over and the total score of both teams is more than 220 points. As long as the final amount matches your prediction, you don’t need to worry about which team scores.
- Prop Bet
This type of bet does not predict the final score, but rather focuses on predicting an action that may or may not affect the final outcome of a sporting event. An example can be making a prop bet on certain players to score touchdowns. You may also place prop bets on the whole team or a player’s individual statistics.
- Futures
All wagers are about predicting the future. But future bets are specifically targeted for events that are far into the future. Some examples include predicting who will win the MVP award, or who will emerge as the champion in the World Series.
The closer you get to the event, the more likely the odds on these future bets are to change. If you want to get the best odds, you must start betting on the future as soon as the season starts.
