Guide

May 23, 2008

Online Sports Betting at Sportsbook

Sports betting is a game of skill. The challenge is to gather and analyze as much information as you can about a game, weigh the probabilities of each team winning, and subsequently compare your opinion to the oddsmaker’s. Make the right judgment and you win. It’s as simple as that.

While luck may be a deciding factor in the outcome of any single game, and will inevitably go against you on occasion, it will balance out in the long run. Being a consistent winner in sports betting is not about luck but whether you are prepared to invest the time and effort to become knowledgeable about the sports you bet on, whether you can weigh all the factors in a cool, objective fashion, and whether you adopt a consistent, disciplined, long-term approach to your betting. Do all these and you will come out a winner. Remember, it’s you against the oddsmaker, not the bookmaker.

The bookmaker is simply a middle-man who operates on a small profit margin and, ideally, likes to see half the money wagered on one team and half on the other, assuring him of a profit. If too much of the money goes on one team, the bookmaker will move the line or pointspread to encourage bets on the other team in an effort to balance his book. The person you are attempting to beat is the oddsmaker and his views on each team’s chances. Just by flipping a coin you will be right 50 percent of the time. At odds of 10/11 only 52.4 percent of your bets have to win for you to overcome the bookmaker’s profit and break even, so you only need a very small edge to become a winner. Do your homework, bet selectively and 55 percent winning bets is definitely achievable and 60-65 percent is a realistic target. At those levels you will have an extremely profitable, as well as enjoyable, hobby.

Basic Types of Sports Wagering
Straights
The most common type of sports wager is on the result of a single game, known as a straight wager. One team is typically favored over another by a pointspread; the favorite gives the underdog points as a head start, for betting purposes only. The favorite is always indicated by a minus sign (-3) and the underdog by a plus sign (+3). The amount of points a customer must give or take is estimated to be the amount which will generate equal wagering on both the underdog and the favorite. For betting purposes, the result of the game is determined by taking the actual score and subtracting points from the favorite’s score or adding points to the underdog’s score. So, a favorite can win the game but lose it for betting purposes and an underdog can lose the game but win it for betting purposes.

In most straight bets which are set by a pointspread, the customer lays $11 for every $10 the customer wishes to win. For example, the Green Bay Packers may be favored by 7 points over the Chicago Bears. A customer who wishes to win $10 on Green Bay must give Chicago 7, if Green Bay wins by more than 7 points than the customer wins $10. If Green Bay wins by less than 7 points or loses outright, then the customer loses $11. On the other side in order for the Chicago bettor to win, Chicago must win the game outright or lose by less than 7 points.

Totals
A customer can also bet whether the combined number of points or goals scored by the two teams in the game will be over or under the total set by the oddsmaker. For example, if the total is 42 and you believe that the combined points scored by the two teams will exceed that number, you would bet over. You would bet under if you believe the total points score will be less than 42.

Money Line
A bet on a matchup between two teams may be set by a money line instead of a pointspread. If a matchup is determined by a money line, like Major League Baseball, then it will cost the customer more to wager on the favorite. For example, the Atlanta Braves are a -150 favorite over the Chicago Cubs. In this example, the customer must lay $150 in order to win $100. If Atlanta loses, the customer loses $150. However, the customer could bet on Chicago, in which case the customer would lay $100 in order to win $140 (10 cent line). If Chicago loses, the customer only loses $100, and if Chicago wins, the customer would win $140.

Exotic Sports Wagers
Parlay
A parlay is a bet on 2 or more teams or selections. The customer can combine different sports, pointspreads and money lines. In a parlay your original stake and winnings are re-invested on the next game and all selections must be correct - one loss and your parlay loses. In the event of a push (tie), game cancellation or a pitcher that you have specified not starting, the parlay reduces to the next lower number, e.g. a 4-team parlay becomes 3-teams. A winning parlay wager will pay many times more than the initial wager.

Football and Basketball Point Spread Parlay Odds
2 teams
13/5
3 teams
6/1
4 teams
10/1
5 teams
20/1
6 teams
40/1
7 teams
80/1
8 teams
100/1

Combination Baseball Playoffs

Decimal Conversion Chart
Because of the moneyline used in baseball, there are no set payoffs for tying a number of teams together in parlays.

Payoffs are determined by a simple formula that changes the money line into a decimal number and combines it with the other lines in the parlay.

The first step is to change the money line into its decimal value.
Use this chart for this purpose.
-1.05 = .95
-1.85 = .54
-1.10 = .91
-1.90 = .53
-1.15 = .87
-1.95 = .51
-1.20 = .83
-2.00 = .50
-125 = .80
-2.10 = .48
-1.30 = .77
-2.20 = .45
-1.35 = .74
-2.30 = .43
-1.40 = .71
-2.40 = .42
-1.45 = .69
-2.50 = .40
-1.50 = .66
-2.60 = .38
-1.55 = .64
-2.70 = .37
-1.60 = .62
-2.80 = .36
-1.65 = .61
-3.00 = .33
-1.70 = .59
-3.25 = .31
-1.75 = .57
-3.50 = .29
-1.80 = .55

Teasers
A Teaser is a bet on 2 or more teams or selections. The difference between a teaser and a parlay is that in a teaser you adjust (tease) the line in your favor. For example if New York Giants are favored by 7 points in one game and the Chicago Bears are favored by 10 points in a second game. A 6 point two team teaser would adjust the pointspread 6 points in the customers favor; i.e. New York would now be favored by 1 point (7- 6=1) and Chicago would now be favored by 4 points (10-6=4). You could make a 2 Team, 6 point teaser bet with Chicago and New York. In this example are betting that Chicago will win by more that 4 points (10-6=4) and New York will win by more than 1 point (7-6=1). In a case of a tie or push in a two team teaser, wager is refunded. In a case of a three to six team teaser a tie or push will reduce teaser to next lowest number of plays. Any loss in a teaser constitues a loss.

Futures
A future bet is a wager on an event or outcome that will be determined sometime in the future. For Example, it might be a bet made at the start of the season on Dallas Cowboys to win the Super Bowl. Futures odds change continuously throughout the season - YOU GET THE ODDS IN EFFECT AT THE TIME YOU BET. Futures bets often attract (high) odds to the bettor.
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If - Win
An If Win wager is an excellent choice for money management. You wager a fixed amount on one team if that team wins or the game is tied, then another fixed amount, up to the original amount shall be placed on a different team. Your first wager must win in order for you to have action on the remaining wagers. If the first wager loses, there is No Action thereafter. You cannot have duplicate teams in the same If Win wager.

Reverses
A Reverse wager is the same as two if win Bets. If wager A wins, the bet goes to wager B. If B wins, the bet goes to wager A. If wager A loses, the bet does not go to wager B. If wager B loses, the bet does not go to wager A. If wager A wins, the bet goes to wager B and if wager B loses, the bet does not go to wager A. A standard reverse bets are Double Action; therefore in the event of a tie the bet is still active

Buying Points
You can move a pointspread up to three, one-half points, in your favor. You must pay an extra 10% for each half point that the line is moved. When buying points on or off the pointspread of 3, there is an additional 10% vigorish. Points cannot be bought on money lines or half time pointspreads.

European Odds
European odds are different from the North American style of odds. In North America money lines are used to determine the line. In North America a team that is +140 would be a 40 point underdog. This means that for every $100 wagered the bettor would win $140. For this to be true in an European style of betting the odds would be 2.40. Meaning that for $100 wagered the bettor would win $140. The 2.40 represents the entire amount wagered and won by the bettor.

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