Making a bet at a sports
book is a lot like ordering food at a restaurant.
As a patron, you're given a list of what's
available and how much it costs. In Las
Vegas, your "menu" is often displayed
in lights on a façade somewhere toward
the back of a casino. Sports betting on
the Internet is a bit more intimate, but
the processes are similar. Examine, for
example, the way a straight bet - one in
which you bet on one of two opponents in
an athletic competition - is listed. Each
event is listed with either a money line
or a spread, and the task at hand is to
simply select which item of the menu (team
A or team B) you would like to select. You
do this by either clicking the team name,
a check box, or an icon indicating your
choice, and the site generates a form explaining
how much you're wagering and how much you
can win. All of your bets are kept in password-protected
online databases with which you can closely
monitor how much money is in your account,
how much money is currently in action, which
teams or players you've selected, and how
your bets have resulted in the past.
Following is a rundown
of bets that can be made at online sports
books:
A money line is a straight
wager in which the better gives odds when
betting the favorite and takes odds when
betting the underdog. If the money line
for the Detroit Redwings versus the Chicago
Blackhawks game is 9 to 5, with Detroit
favored, you place $9 to win $5 on Detroit
or $5 to win $9 on Chicago. Of course, keep
in mind that the sports book takes a cut
of winning bets for itself.
Reading money lines seems
confusing at first, but it's fairly easy
after you get the hang of it. In North America,
money lines are listed using positive and
negative numbers. Let's say the money line
for the Yankees versus the Red Sox game
is: NY Yankees (-145) versus Boston Red
Sox (+125). If you pick the Yankees, a winning
$145 bet earns $100. If you pick the Red
Sox, a winning $100 bet earns $125. Sports
books in other regions, such as Europe and
Australia, use a fraction system. The same
bet would be listed in a book that caters
to Europeans and Australians as New York
Yankees (20/29) versus Boston Red Sox (5/4).
When you're betting against
the spread, the underdog is given extra
points. For example, "Pittsburgh (-5
1ž2 ) versus Seattle" means that
Pittsburgh is a five-point favorite, and
bets on Pittsburgh only pay if Pittsburgh
wins by six or more points. On the flip
side, if you select Seattle, and Seattle
loses by five or fewer points, you still
win the bet. Against-the-spread bets are
common wagers for football and basketball
games because both are high scoring sports.
Bet the over/under when you've
got good reason to believe that the final
score will be higher or lower than what
the odds makers predict. The only thing
that matters in the outcome is the total
number of points scored. Let's say the over/under
for the New England versus Denver game is
45, and you pick the under. As long as 44
or fewer total points are scored, whether
its 44-0 Denver or 23-21 New England, you
win the bet.
Here's where the odds get
tougher and the payouts get bigger. A parlay
is a combination of bets in which you win
only if every one of your selections is
a winner. The parlay is the perfect play
for the all-or-nothing type of sports bettor.
A proposition is a wager
on a particular aspect of an event such
as how many strike-outs a pitcher will get
or how many completions a quarterback will
make.
This is a bet, taken well
in advance, in which a sports book gives
odds on a certain team or player accomplishing
a particular feat, such as winning a championship.
You can pick a football team in August,
for example, to win the Super Bowl in January.
A teaser is a type of parlay
in which you increase your chances of winning
by moving the point spread in your favor.
For example if you want the Jets (-3), the
Falcons (+2), and the Bears (+5) with 4
teaser points, your point spreads are adjusted
to Jets (+1), Falcons (+6), and Bears (=5).
The tradeoff is that the bets pay off at
significantly lower odds.
Place only bets, more popular
with horse racing, are bets in which you
select a team or player to finish among
the nominated placings of an event. Typically,
winning place bets must finish first, second,
or third.
An each way bet is when you
bet on a team or player to win or place
in an event. Such a bet requires that you
put money up for each outcome. Obviously,
the payout is much greater if the team or
player you select comes in first.
Don't fall into the trap
of being sentimental when betting on sports.
Always distinguish between being a fan and
being a bettor. Betting the team that you
want to win rather than logically analyzing
match-ups and trends usually leads to large
amounts of money exiting your wallet.
Spread betting, also known
as index betting, is an exciting form of
wagering that can be applied to any event
as long as it has a final result. The hotbed
for spread betting is the United Kingdom,
so the most popular sports for spread betting
are soccer, rugby, and cricket. It's a thrilling
way to bet because the odds change throughout
the event and you can bet even after the
event has begun. You win or lose an amount
calculated by the difference between the
sports book's prediction and the final result,
multiplied by you stake. A $5 bet could
win you $5 if your prediction is right or
$50 if you prediction is extremely right.
By the same token, you can lose $5 for being
wrong and $50 for being extremely wrong.
Following are the three
basic types of index bets:
*
Total Numbers - The combined score
of a sporting event. Most index bets revolve
around totals.
* Match Bets -
You try to predict the superiority of one
team, horse, or individual over another.
* Performance Bets
- An artificial point scale is used to measure
the outcome of a sporting event.
Here's an example of how
spread betting works: Let's say you want
to make a bet on the total number of points
scored for the Lions/Packers game, and the
sports book thinks the total will be between
42 and 45. The spread is thus 42-45. If
you believe the final score will be less
than 42, you choose to sell. This is also
known as a down sake of keeping things easy,
let's say that the stake is $10. If the
final score is below 42, you win. To find
out how much you make, subtract the actual
total points from 42 and multiply the difference
by the stake (which, in your case, is $10).
So, if the total points scored is 30, you
win $120. (42-30 = 12 x $10 = $120). The
payout for this particular outcome is 12
to 1. If you lose, however, the same formula
applies toward your total loss. So, if the
total points scored is 57, you lose $120
(45-57=-12x$10=-$120). In such a case, you
would have won money if you chose to buy
instead of sell. Buying is when you bet
that the score will be higher than the spread.
It's also known as an up bet.
(All legal British spread-betting
firms are regulated by the Securities and
Futures Authority (SFA). The SFA was set
up in 1986 to regulate U.K. financial markets,
including spread-betting companies. It's
basically the British version of the American
Commodity Futures Trading Commission and
the Securities and Exchange Commission rolled
into one. Do not, under any circumstances,
open an account with a British spread-betting
site that isn't licensed by the SFA.
It gets even better (or worse
depending on how you look at it). Bets can
be made throughout the event, and the spread
changes accordingly. Let's say you knew
it would be a low scoring game, so you sold
at 42.45, and the total points at halftime
is only 10. The price changes from 42-45
to 27-30. You can either let your bet ride
by doing nothing or close the bet at the
new price. You close a bet by wagering the
same amount in the opposite direction of
your original bet. You originally sold for
$10, so now you buy for $10. No matter how
the game turns out, you've just won $150!
Let's say the final total turns out to be
20. That means you win $220 (42-20=22x$10-$220)
on the first bet and you lose $70 (20-27=-7x$10=-$70)
on the second bet. Now let's say the final
total turns out to be 50. That means you
lose $50 (45-50=-5x$10=-$50) on the first
bet and win $200 (50-30=20x$10=$200) on
the second bet. Likewise, if you originally
bought at 42-45, you could cut your losses
to $150 by closing the bet at 27-30.
To Keep things from getting
completely out of hand, spread-betting sites
enable you to control your risk by using
stop losses. A stop loss is a limit placed
at the time of opening a bet on how many
times the stake can be multiplied. Of course,
an equivalent stop win is applied, as well.
The stop loss comes in handy in games where
one team runs up the score. For example,
if you sell for $20 at 24-27 and the final
total ends up being 67, without a stop loss,
you'd owe the bookmaker $800.
At a glimpse, spread betting
appears to be one heck of a lot of fun -
and it is - but be mindful of the rish before
trying it. Despite all the excitement it
generates, spread betting has earned a reputation
for being a very dangerous activity because
it's been known to ruin people financially.
For this reason, SFA-regulated sites are
required to post risk warning statements.
The common mistake made by spread bettors
is not realizing how much they're wagering.
Consider the previous example in which you
sell for $20 at 24-27. Let's say the stop
loss/win is set at $200. The temptation
of winning as much as $200 when laying out
only $20 is exciting, but the truth is you're
not making a $20 bet.
You're really making a $200
bet because that's how much you can lose.
The dynamics of spread betting are inviting,
but it's also the dynamics that make it
so dangerous. If you want to bet $20, that's
find, but you have to either set the stop
loss at $20 or close the bet as soon as
the spread moves far enough to put you down
by $20. Spread betting is only for bettors
who are excellent with money management.
If you don't pay attention to your limits
at all times, you could get yourself into
a lot of trouble. On the other hand, if
you're a disciplined bettor and you understand
your personal limits, spread betting can
be very enjoyable and very lucrative.
One of the reasons sports
are so exciting is that they're unpredictable.
If you're a big sports fan, you've certainly
heard the phrase "That's why they play
the games." Tons of physical and mental
factors come into play. And of course, there's
also the ever-evasive element of pure luck.
You never know which way the ball's going
to bounce.
Before you put on your thinking
cap in an attempt to conquer the many ins
and outs of sports handicapping, you might
want to consider that loads of people out
there who are already wearing their thinking
caps want to share their vast knowledge
with you. Naturally, this usually costs
you money. These are individuals who analyze
(or claim to analyze) sporting events and
have a knack (or claim to have a knack)
for beating the odds makers. The way it
works is very simple. You send the handicappers
money, either by check, money order, bank
wire, or online credit card processing,
and they deliver their winning selections
to you. They give you access to the picks
by either emailing them to you or allowing
you access to password-protected pages on
their Web sites. There are more sports handicappers
offering their services on the World Wide
Web than there are drops of water in the
ocean. (Okay, so that's a bit of an exaggeration,
but there are a heck of a lot.) Incidentally,
most stake claims that they're "the
best handicapping service on the Web"
and most also stake claims that they're
"the only honest handicapping service
on the Web."
So, who do you trust? Who's
really the best? How do you go about sifting
through all the hype? These are tough questions.
Anyone can claim to be a sports guru who
prognosticates at a success rate of 80 percent.
But you must ask yourself, "Why would
a handicapping genius waste his time selling
advice on the Internet when he could be
out somewhere enjoying the millions of dollars
he's made by wagering at sports books?"
With that in mind, it's extremely difficult
to determine which services are legitimately
dependable. One way is to start your guru
search with online monitoring services.
These are Web sites that monitor the picks
of online handicappers to assure that their
claims are legitimate. Of course, one trip
to any sports handicapping forum or newsgroup
reveals that many theorize that handicappers
are in cahoots with the monitoring services
and that the whole monitoring thing is a
sham. But gambling is all about taking risks,
right?
You can find sports handicapping
monitoring services on the Web:
www.sportswire.com
www.bigguy.com
www.sportshandicappers.com
www.thesportsmonitor.com
The following are a few
things to keep in mind while searching for
a sports handicapping service:
* Beware outrageous claims.
A good handicapper will be in the neighborhood
of 60 percent. Anyone who says he picks
'em with a 75 percent rate is either lying
or has only been handicapping for a few
weeks and managed to start hot.
* Numbers can be manipulated. Handicappers
often find creative ways of making their
numbers seem impressive. Don't go gaga when
a handicapper says, "I'm undefeated
this year in games in which the road favorite
is coming off a bye week that followed a
night game on grass."
* Money-back guarantees are worthless. Sometimes
handicappers will promise to refund your
money if they give you losing picks, so
you can say, "Gee, I just blew $5000
laying money on teams that Lucky Larry called
'locks,' but at least I get back the $35
I spent to purchase his advice." That's
hardly consolation.
* Claims of having "insider information"
are usually hype. Handicappers who say they
have access to privileged information are
usually either lying or using a very loose
definition of the term "privileged."
Overall, you have to keep
in mind that all handicappers go through
hot streaks and cold streaks. When they're
hot, you hear all about it. When they're
not, they seem to maintain a low profile.
Go figure. A great place to follow handicappers
who are hot is Predict It Sports at www.predictit.com.
Predict It is a dynamic site in which several
handicappers regularly enter their picks
into a database. Customers come to the site
and view lists of which handicappers in
the database are hot, based on their recent
success rate. You can view all of the handicappers'
past and pending picks and then purchase
future picks if you like what you see. Or
you can sign up as a handicapper and submit
your picks into the database. You then receive
a penny for each time a customer pays to
see your picks. Click Here To Check Out
Our Basketball
Handicapping Service:
If purchasing the advice
of sports betting consultants isn't for
you, you could always be your own wise guy.
It's doable, but you have to do your homework
to be successful. Research is the name of
the game, and once again, the Internet is
your friend. It's always nice to have luck
on your side, but picking winners with consistency
ultimately depends on your ability to stay
on top of the many factors contributing
to the outcome of a game. The following
bases need to be covered: How does a team
or player perform on a particular surface?
How will the weather affect the event? How
have the teams or players matched up against
each other in the past? How does a team
or player perform at home or on the road?
How does a team or player perform after
a long layoff? How does a team or player
fare as a favorite or an underdog? Are any
key players injured? Does the event have
post-season implications? How well did a
team or player practice prior to the event?
How well does a team or player perform at
night? How has a team or player performed
in recent games? Will intangibles such as
heated rivalries, personal crises, and vendettas
come into play?
Much of this information
is available on the World Wide Web. Some
Web sites compile trends and contributing
factors and publish them for your viewing
pleasure. It also does you good to follow
stuff in the news like injury and weather
reports. If you've got the time and patience,
you can help yourself make smart bets by
keeping up with news and statistics on the
Web.
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