Definition of Sports Betting - Taken from Wikipedia

"Sports betting is the general activity of predicting sports results by making a wager on the outcome of a sporting event. Perhaps more so than other forms of gambling, the legality and general acceptance of sports betting varies from nation to nation. In North America, for example, sports gambling is generally forbidden, while in many European nations, bookmaking (the profession of accepting sports wagers) is regarded as an honorable occupation and, while highly regulated, is not criminalized. Proponents of legalized sports betting generally regard it as a hobby for sports fans that increases their interest in particular sporting events. Opponents fear that, over and above the general ramifications of gambling, it threatens the integrity of amateur and professional sport, the history of which includes numerous attempts by sports gamblers to fix matches."

Below are brief explainations of popular betting options provided by Sports books (Different Sports books may provide more options but each have their own terms so do check with your Sports books)

 

Moneyline Bet

 

“Money line” is a bet which is exclusively on the result of the game, regardless of the spread. The money line generally indicated by the word “even” and can either be a positive or negative number. But usually the negative number represents favorite team. It represents the placed odds, and is always based on $100. This will be paid to the winning team.

 

Suppose two teams; Georges and Jacks are listed at:

• Georges         –250
• Jacks               200

 

The negative (–) sign opposite to Georges, indicates it as the favored team to win. Here the wagerer will win $100 for every $250 bet on Georges. If the bet is on the Jacks, wagerer would get $200 for every $100 bet.

 

 

Parlay Bet

 

When a wagerer bets on ‘parlay’, he bets on two or more games together in one bet. Parlay offers a great benefit to its wagerer by giving a high return for a comparatively low investment. A ‘four-way parlay’ or more parlay indicates the number of involved games in the bet. It also indicates how high the payout will be. The more the number of involved games, the higher the payout will be.

 

Suppose a wagerer placed a four-way parlay on the Tigers, Jupiters, Leopards, and Rockers. If all the three teams win, the wagerer will get $400 for every $100 bet. But incase if any one of these teams loses the game, the wagerer will lose his parlay bet.

 

 

Point Spread Bet

 

‘Point spread’ is the bet where there are two teams; one team with a negative (–) number and the other with a positive (+) number. The negative number indicates the favorite team, whereas the positive number is for the underdog team.

 

Now, suppose there are two teams, Arizona and San Francisco which are listed at:

 

                                                Away      Home

• Arizona                      –8.0        –120
• San Francisco           +8.0        –120

 

In the above example, “–8.0” is opposite to the Arizona which clearly indicates that they are the favorite. If the bet is on the Arizona to win, they must win by more than three points. Here San Francisco are the underdog as the “+8.0” points are opposite to it. So, if the bet is on the San Francisco to win, they must either win, or not lose by more than ‘8’ points. Here, the second number opposite to each team is showing the payout of the winning bet. This means that a winning wagerer will get $100 for every $120 bet. The bet will be fallen on the spread, if Arizona wins by exactly “8” points. In this case, all bets will be canceled and the stakes will be returned.

 

 

Totals Bet

 

‘Totals’, also called “Over/Under” is the bet where the wagerer bets on the total scored points, regardless of who wins or loses.

 

Suppose that the total points scored in a given game is decided to be “50” points, whereas the payout of winning bet is “–120”, i.e;

 

• Over            +50.0       –120
• Under          +50.0       –120

 

Now, if a wagerer thinks there will be more than 50 points scored in the game, he bets the ‘over’. And If a wagerer thinks that the there will be less than 50 points scored in the game, he bets the ‘under’. A winning wagerer will get $100 for every $120 bet.

 

Incase, if the total scored points is exactly 50, then the bet is believed to be a push. All bets will be canceled and the stakes will be returned.

 

 

Teaser Bet

 

‘Teaser’ is a bet that’s very much alike parlay and allows the wagerer to bet on 2 to 7 teams together in one bet, with an attuned or teased point spread of each individual bet. If all the favorite teams win, the wagerer wins the bet or in other case if any team loses, the wagerer loses the bet.

 

Suppose a wagerer placed a two-team 9-point teaser on the Buffalos and Rams. If any one of these teams’ bet loses, the wagerer will lose the bet after applying an extra 9 points in his favor.

 

 

Straight Bet

 

If a wagerer chooses a team and a point spread, it is called a ‘straight’ bet. The payout of straight bet is 10/11 or $110 to win $100.

 

Suppose two teams Lions and Bears are listed at:

• Lions      –5
• Bears     +5

 

Here, Lions are the favorite so they cannot lose by more than 4 points for the bet to win. If the game ends on 5 points, then the bet will be voided.

 

 

ACTION POINTS

 

When a wagerer bets on the ‘action points’, he will either get paid for every point his favorite team covers the point spread or, he will be charged for every uncovered point spread. This type of bet can only be played on a point spread and specifically available for football and basket ball.

 

Consider an example:

• Eagles           187
• Hawks           –5

 

Now if the wagerer bets $100 a point the Eagles with a cap of 10 points. Then the Eagles have to win by at least 5 points, and the wagerer will get $100 for every point over the point spread of 5. Conversely, if the Eagles do not cover the point spread, the wagerer will have to pay $110 for every point that they lose of the 5-point spread.

 

 

Combination Bet

 

When a wagerer places a number of end-to-end bets multiplying after each event, with the possible return as well as the associated risk, it is the ‘combination’ bet. All three individual bets must win for the bet to win. If any of these loses, the wagerer loses the entire bet.

 

Consider an example of a wagerer who chooses Lions to win the AFC West, Tigers to win the AFC East and Bears to win the AFC North with individual bet of $10. Now all these three must win for the bet to win otherwise the bet is a loser.

 

 

Run Line Bet   

 

‘Run line’ is a bet where the favorite team has to cover a 1 ½ run spread. It involves a spread of the odds change, so the smart wagerer will consider the odds-change to maximize his potential return.

 

Consider an example:

 

                            Moneyline    Total      Run line

• Tigers       + 110            7.5         +1.5
• Lions          -120                           -1.5

 

Here, the wagerer can only win the bet if the Lions must win by 2 runs and the Tigers must not lose by 2 runs.  

 

 

Round Robin

 

When a wagerer bets on the round robin, he bet on multiple parlays or teasers at once. Here the wagerer can choose between 3 and 8 teams and combine them in either teasers or parlays of 2 to 6 teams.

 

Suppose a wagerer is in favor of Buffalo, Tigers and Bulls; he can have a 3-teamer with Buffalo Tigers Bulls, and 2-teamers with Buffalo Tigers, Buffalo Bulls, and Tigers Bulls.

 

 

Future Bet

 

As the name implies, ‘future’ bet is a bet which is placed very much before the sports event has to take place. Future bets offer larger payouts which increases the difficulty of picking a winner.

 

Consider an example of a wagerer who placed a future bet on the Bulls to win the Super Bowl during the preseason.

 

 

Proposition Bet

 

Proposition bet, also known as prop bet is a bet where a wagerer bets on key sporting events like which team will win the toss or which player will score first.

 

Suppose a wagerer placed a proposition bet with 6/1 odds on Eagles to score first in the Super Bowl.

 

 

Half Time Bet

 

‘Half time’ is the bet which can only be placed in the second half of the sporting event.

 

Suppose if a wagerer wants to place a half time bet, he will place bet in the second half on his favorite team to win.

This is an original article by SportsBookie.com. Please seek permission if you wish to duplicate this content.