Sports betting has become one of the largest forms of gambling, and it keeps expanding to more sports and betting types. This article will guide you through the most popular types of wagers and how to bet on sports, especially the big four.
The big four American sports that form the center of sports gambling are the American games refer to football, both the NFL and NCAA college tournaments; the NBA, the NCAA and the professional NBA leagues; professional baseball, the MLB; and Hockey, the professional league, the NHL
Although other major world sports are popular, not all their leagues are available for sports betting online. The most common are soccer, rugby, tennis, boxing, cricket, and golf. Recently there have been added fantasy sports games and leagues called eSports and is taking a popular trend with bettors.
What is Sports Betting?
Sports betting is not like casino gambling, the bettor does not depend on chance and the results depend largely on sum total of each moment of the game. There is no percentage of payouts and no fair play rule. The player either wins, loses or is refunded if no one wins, called a push.
In sports gambling, two or more opponents (teams, boxers, etc) are classified into the one most likely to win the game, called the favorite, or, the unit with more possibility of losing, labeled the underdog.
The underdog is expected to lose by a decided set of points, or lose the game outright, and bettors get to decide if they agree with the betting shop forecast, or oppose it. Sports betting is therefore placing a wager on your favorite choice in accordance with the odds or in disagreement.
For example if in an NFL game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers where the Packers are declared the favorites to win, and the Cowboys is considered the most likely to lose the game. The bettor may place a bet that agrees with the betting house that Green Bay will win, or may disagree and place a bet in which Dallas wins the game.
Types of Sports Wagering
The list keeps growing and now there are so many types of sports wagering that this article will only consider the five most popular, including the original four. Some sportsbooks use future wagers, propositions, and special bets such as halftime and overtime bets. This article covers the following types of betting:
- Point spreads
- Moneyline
- Puckline
- Runline
- Game totals
Betting on the Point Spreads
This is one of the original types of sports betting and entails establishing the number of points by which the favorite is expected to beat the underdog. The bettor decides if his team can win by the margin, or on the other hand, disagree with the projection, and bets that his team won’t lose by so many points.
For example, in the NFL game where the Dallas Cowboys is playing at the Green BakPackers’ stadium, Green bay is now considered the favorite to win the game. The oddsmaker gives the Packers 6 points, that is they will win the game by at least six points. The bet would appear like this
Dallas Cowboys +6
Green Bay Packers -6
If a bettor chooses Green Bay and the game’s final score is a 13 – 10 Packers victory, he loses the bet since they only won by 3 points. In this case, the game is said not ot have covered, or did not score more than the set odds.
When betting on the point spread, the bettor lays $110 to win $100. This may differ at times if there circled game where the lay amount may be more, for example risking $130 to win $100.
Should the game end with a result such as Packers 16 – 10, the game is considered a push and no one wins the game. Point spread betting is one of the most popular types of betting.
Betting on the Moneyline
Some people don’t believe in the point system, especially the hardcore fans who will bet on a team despite its losing streak. These bettors prefer to bet that their team will win or lose on the game field.
Bookmakers offer such a line that allows the bettor to choose the winner of the game, called the moneyline. The concept of the favorite versus the underdog is maintained in the odds and the bettor who chooses the favorite must pay more to win $100.
On the contrary, the gambler who bets on the underdog, risks $100 to win a given amount, usually more. The odds would look like this in the sample game that we have been using.
Dallas Cowboys +6 +380
Green Bay Packers -6 -480
The bettor who believes that Green bay will win the game must lay $480 for every $100 he wishes to win. The Dallas fan, however, will win $380 for every $100 that he risks.
Betting on the Game Total
Sportsbooks offer another popular type of sports betting that is based on the final score of the game. The total combines the scores of both teams to establish this odd. Gamblers will decide if the teams will score more, betting to go over, or, of the combined score of the teams will be less, betting to go under.
When risking on the game total, the player lays $110 for each $100 he desires to win.
Special Betting Types
When betting the big four, there are two sports that uses a special set of betting. These are baseball and hockey. Both games usess the standard moneyline and game total betting types. However, they use a third betting format.
Runline and Puckline
These betting odds are created using a mixture of the point spread and the moneyline. The rules of the favorite and the underdog remains in play and the user lays more on the favorite while the underdog bettor risk less to win more.
This format when used in baseball bettin is called the runline,and when used in hockey wagering, is called the puckline
.