Before you start betting on sports, it is important to understand the different types of bets and how the pertinent information for each game is presented by casinos. The following paragraphs provide an explanation of the types of bets available on each game and a guide for understanding the betting odds. These guidelines are true for all major American sports (baseball, football, basketball, and hockey)
There are three different types of bets available for each game: the Money line, the side (Line), and the Total combined score by both teams.
The first type of bet is the Money line. This is simply a bet on who will win the game. So, referring to the graphic below, in the Cubs versus Phillies, the Cubs are +220 on the money line. This means a $100 bet on the Cubs would give a payoff of $220 plus the return of your $100 wager for a total of $320. On the other hand, you would have to wager $260 on the Phillies to win $100.
When you are new to sports betting, the most difficult aspect of getting started is understanding the betting lines. The majority of bets are referred to in relation to $100. If there is a minus symbol in front of the number (eg -260) then the number refers to how much you must bet in order to win $100. So, when the betting line is -260 you must bet $260 to make a $100 profit. If the number is positive (eg +220) then it refers to how much you will win when you bet $100. So, if the betting line is +220 then you will make $220 profit for your $100 bet.
Remember always that you also get your stake back. So, if you bet $100 at +220 and your team wins then you get $220 profit plus your $100 stake back, for a total return of $320. The fact that everything is expressed in terms of $100 does not mean you need to bet $100. If you bet $10 at +220, then you get $22 profit.
The second type of bet is the side, also known as the point spread or Line. In order to balance the two teams in the betting, the linesmaker (the person who sets the betting odds) gives the stronger team a handicap to balance the two teams out in the betting. So, using the same example (Cubs versus Phillies), the linesmaker has decided that the Phillies are 1.5 runs superior to the Phillies. If you bet on the Phillies -1.5 runs you get odds of -130 but you only win if the Phillies beat the Cubs by two runs or more. If the Phillies win by only 1 run, they lose the game, and all bets on the Cubs +1.5 runs are winners.
The third type of bet is how many points in Total will be scored by both sides combined in a particular game. Using the Cubs versus Phillies example again, the linesmaker has set the total at 9.5. If you think there will be fewer than 9.5 runs scored in total, you bet on the Under 9.5. If you think there will be more than 9.5 runs scored in total, you bet on the
Over 9.5.
If there are exactly the number of points as the Line in any type of bet, then the bet is a Push. In a push all bets are refunded....no one wins, no one loses
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