The public is having a change in perception when it comes to gambling. More people have learned to accept that the world of gambling is not all about losing a heap of money in one streak. Wise gambling can actually be a good form of investment that you can enjoy with your favorite pasttime. For example, if you are into watching sports events, you can add an interesting twist by incorporating some gambling.
That being said, conventional sports betting has gained a lot of traction over the last couple of years, with more states making sports betting legal. In the United States of America, many people are hooked into different sports, like basketball, football, and hockey. This means that there are many rooms for a beginner in sports betting to improve his gambling skills and instincts.
You are in luck to be in this very page as we present to you these helpful tips in sports betting that even the pros will be keeping an eye on an amateur bettor like you.
Identify The Favorites And The Underdogs
If you are just a newbie in sports betting, pretend that there is no money involve yet and you are just here to watch a great sports game like everyone else. In every match, there is a team that is an apparent favorite and the other that is called the underdog. The favorite team is the one expected by many watchers to win the game. On the other hand, the underdog is the one that is more likely to lose.
When you incorporate betting into this, the favorite team gets the minus sign next to its odds of winning, while the underdog gets the plus sign. Remember that if the game leads to a toss-up, betting books will start as a “pick” or “pick em.”
The Things About Spreads
Now that you know about the favorite and the underdog, you need to learn how to bet on either of the two effectively. There are two ways to bet on a favorite or an underdog. The first is called the point spread, where your bet is based on the margin of victory. The favorite will give out points, while the underdog gets the points.
To make this easier to visualize, imagine that there is a game between the Jets and the 49ers. Let’s say that the 49ers are 9-points favorites (-9) versus the Jets. If you bet on the 49ers winning the game, they need to win by a score of 10 points or more so that you can win the bet. If the 49ers win by 10 points or more, you get the “cover,” but if the 49ers win by exactly 9 points, then you call that a “push,” in which you are only getting back the money that you bet.
On the flipside, if the 49ers win by 8 points or less (including the scenario that the 49ers lose to the Jets by any score), you lose the bet. The opposite must happen if you bet on the Jets plus the points, which is 9, you need the team to win by 9 points of fewer to win the bet. At this point, you can imagine that the betting scheme is more exciting than your regular online slot machine game.
What Is Your Moneyline?
There is another way to bet on a favorite or an underdog team in the game. This is called the moneyline, which is based primarily on which team will win at the end of the match. Same as the spread, favorites are designated with minus numbers, like -100, -150, -200, or -400. If a favorite team is assigned with -200, that means that you need to give $200 in order to win $100 in the bet. If the favorite wins, you will win $100, but if the underdog wins instead, you will lose $200. You will lose more money if the favorite team loses as the odds are supposed to be greater that the favorite wins the game. Thus, there is also bigger risk of losing when you bet on them.
Meanwhile, underdogs get the plus designation, such as +100, +200, or +300. If the underdog team gets +200, this means that if you bet $100 on them to win, you will win $200 in the bet. However, if they lose, you will also lose the $100 that you bet prior. In this case, there is more reward when the underdog team wins and you bet on them due to their lesser odds of winning. This is more enjoyable and satisying if you choose gclub for your online sports betting needs.