Things You Should Know About Sports Betting

You may have been a fan of sports for a long time until it struck you; what if you’ll make money from the thing you’re passionate about. For that, you have two options: be an athlete or bet on sports.

Being an athlete or getting involved in sports may not happen overnight. You still need to learn the fundamentals, train, and condition your mind and body before you can finally achieve your goals.

While it is generally beneficial to your well-being, it may not serve its purpose if you only plan to make money out of it. And that leaves you to the second and the last option, to bet on sports.

Now, if you’ve already decided to bet on sports, of course, there are a few things you should know about this form of gambling; that includes:

Bankroll Management Is Important

You bet with your money, and there should be no room for mismanagement. Betting too much of what you can only afford to lose would be like standing on the edge of a cliff. That’s why you need to have a bankroll management strategy, as well as know what units are in a sports betting strategy or system.

Gamblers are encouraged to use a separate account intended for gambling so as not to jeopardize their budget for essential expenses like rent, groceries, bills, and whatnot.

Placing a Bet

You may want to know first your gambling laws before joining sports betting to avoid conflicting with the law. Hence, if you can bet on sports may depend on your location.

In the USA, for example, some states only allow betting in person on a physical sportsbook, while others allow online or mobile sports betting. Different types of bets are also more or less widespread. Parlays and teaser bets tend to be extremely popular in the North American market whilst accas are UK’s favorite bets.

Know the Language

The gambling industry, just like any other, uses jargon so gamblers can easily understand one another – and that’s also something you should learn about.

Here are some common terms used in sports betting:

Action – a wager
Against the Spread – game’s result, including the point spread
Bad Beat – when a bettor looked like he could win but didn’t
Book (sportsbook) – where you can bet on the results of sporting events
Buck/Dime – $100/$1,000 respectively

Not All Sports Betting Sites Are the Same

There are tons of online betting sites to visit if you opt to bet online – but you can’t expect to have the same gambling experiences on all of them. So, you should get to know the site first before signing up, all from its legality, its games, bonuses, and if you think it works for you. Check their history and reputation, read the reviews, and others.

It’s also worth noting that some sites also have different payout speeds and payment options.

Favorites and Underdogs

This is another critical thing you should learn about. When oddsmakers release a game betting line, they first decide which team would be the bettors’ favorite (expected to win) and which one should be the underdog (expected to lose).

Oddsmakers do this by crunching a huge amount of both hard (statistics) and soft data (public perception). Then they use the information to make lines and point spreads favorably to the sportsbook though still competitive against sportsbooks competitors.

Spreads

You have two basic options on betting on a favorite or the underdog, through spreads and Moneyline bets. With the point spread, you bet on the margin of victory.

For instance, team A is a 7-point favorite than team B, and they’d be listed at -7. For you to win, if you bet on team A, they need to have an 8-point win or more in the game – that means you ‘cover.’ It’s called ‘push’ if they win by exactly 7 points and you’re getting your money back. If they win by 6 and fewer points (or lose the game), you lose.

On the other hand, if you bet on team B by plus the points (+7), you may need them to either win the game or lose by 6 points or fewer to win your bet.

Moneylines

The second way of betting on a favorite or underdog is Moneyline. This will be based solely on whoever team wins the game. Again, favorites are given ‘minus’ designation while the underdogs are given ‘plus.’

If a favorite gets -200, then you’ll have to risk $200 to win a hundred. You’ll get $100 if the favorite wins and will lose $200 if it loses. Favorites are expected to win. Meanwhile, if the underdog who gets +200 wins, you’ll win $200 on your $100 bet.

Underdog bettors are given more rewards since they were expected to lose in the first place, yet they still took the risk.

You May Not Always Win

Sports betting is gambling, after all, which essentially means you won’t always win. Professional gamblers understand this clearly; that’s why they rarely bet higher than 1% of their bankroll in one event.

One common mistake some bettors commit when they hit a hot streak is to bet big. That may not be a good strategy, especially when you’re breaking away from your bankroll management.