How To Bet on Sports At Online Sportsbooks

Online Sportsbooks are internet websites where you place bets on sports, where the bettors try to pick the right sports team that will win, based on the different wagers. In order to win, bettors must beat the sportsbook odds. While it may sound simple, sports betting is an exciting combination of stats, handicapping, odds and risks, which has made sportsbooks into the most popular sports gambling methods in the world.

Basics Of Betting On Online Sportsbooks

Every sport at the sportsbook can be bet on in the same way: placing any one of the bets. In any given sport at the sportsbook, there can be anywhere from one to several bets that you can make; however, each bet is independent from each other, and at any given time, some bets may win while others might lose. For the sake of keeping the article simple, the examples will feature straight bets and point spreads.

The bettor and the bet are given initial odds by the sportsbook, which contains the probability that one team or the other will win – usually being a negative and positive number. The bettors odds are in plain sight, while the sportsbook can change the odds, depending on the demand and other factors.

Scoring A Winning Bet

Each bet at the sportsbook has different odds. Negative odds – those with a – sign in front – are given to the favored team to win. For instance, a -120 means you must bet $120 to win $100. Positive odds – those with a + sign in front – are given to the underdog team. A +120 means you must bet $100 to win $120.

Even odds are worth equal to the amount you bet. Essentially, even odds are used when neither team has a clear chance to win, in which case you just have to pick a team. Sports with even odds are rare, so you may not find them very often. The difference between a “favorite” and an “underdog” are the chances each has of winning and the amount you get paid for winning.

Sportsbooks and Ties

If the result of a bet is in favor of the bettor – placed a bet on the winning team – they have a winning wager. This will always result in a victory and pay out to the bettor. The odds paid to the bettor are those equal to the odds when they placed their bet. The same goes for if the bet is against the bettor – placed a bet on the losing team.

However, it is also possible for the sportsbook to tie. This happens when the bet placed ends up tying according to the final results of the sports match. For instance, if the odds for the Point Spread are -5, this means the winning team must win by more than 5 points. The sports match ended with the final score being 10 – 5, meaning the winning team only won by 5 points, and not more. This makes the bet a tie, in which case the money wagered is returned to the bettor; as they did not lose or win.

In addition, if the bettor places a tie bet, the sportsbook often offers this wager to the bettors. Bettors may place a tie bet for whatever amount they want. If the bettor wins the bet, the sportsbook payout will depend on the odds; the results of winning the tie bet but losing the original bet could mean the bettor will come out even. If a game ends in a tie, most bettors will receive “even money” from the sportsbooks, offering the bettor money back seeing as how there was a tie at the sportsbook. This is simply returning the bet.

Favorite And Underdog At Sportsbooks

Assuming there are no preferences and no bet has been placed, the bettor has a few choices to make regarding their bet. In making these decisions, the bettor should take into account his own knowledge, as well as the sportsbooks knowledge.

If the bettor decides to place a bet and wants to lower their own risk, they would place a bet on the favorite. The favorite is the team that has the best odds of winning the match and would lock in the odds that are currently given.

Alternately, the bettor can place a bet, with more risk, on the “underdog” and lock in the current odds given. The underdog is the team with the lowest odds of winning, but has the higher pay out. Once the bettor has placed their bet, they no longer have to do anything but watch the game.

The Sportsbooks Outcomes

Once bettors have placed their bets, the sportsbook can change the odds based on popularity. The more bettors place a bet on the favorite, the higher the odds get of that team winning. In most cases, sportsbooks change the odds every so often, allowing other bettors to make a decision. The odds will continue to change and bets can still be placed until the end of the sports match.

Once the sports match has ended, the bettors that won will receive their pay out. Bettors that have a tie bet will get their initial wagered amount back, and the bettors that lose will simply not receive any pay out. If the winning bet had positive odds, the bettor will receive more than what they wagered. If the winning bet had negative odds, the will receive their amount wagered, plus a percentage of what they wagered.

Example Bet #1

The bettor places a bet of $120 on the favorite with odds of -120. The bettor doesn’t place any other bets.

The match ends, and the favored team wins. The bettor will receive their $120 initial wager, in addition to $100 for winning the bet with odds of -120. That would make the total amount of profit be $100.

Middling And Double Betting

Bettors also have another two options that they can invoke when placing their initial bets. If you use two or more sportsbooks, they may choose to middle their bet. This is done when a bettor places two bets on the same team, at different sportsbooks, which have different odds. The two bets split the amount of risk the bettor has, as well as the potential pay out. For instance, if a sportsbook has a point spread of -10 and another sportsbook has a point spread of -8, they have a window of -2 where they could win double, as well as lowering the risk of losing completely.

The bettor may also choose to place a double bet. By placing a double bet, they would increase the possible pay out by twice as much. The bettor would place a regular straight bet on two different sportsbooks that have different odds. For instance, one sportsbook has odds of +110 and the other sportsbook has odds of +140. If the team wins, and the bettor wins, they would have made a bigger pay out that if they had only placed one bet. The risk is greater when a bettor double bets.

Example Bet #2

The following bet covers many possible situations in sportsbooks. Follow it carefully; if you understand what has happened during this bet, you should feel comfortable betting at online sportsbooks or at a casino!

Sportsbook #1 has a point spread of -11 with odds of -110, meaning the favorite team must win by more than 12 points. Sportsbook #2 has a point spread of -9.5 with odds of -110, meaning the favorite team must win by 10 points or more; since there are no half points.

The bettor has a many options, they can place a bet at Sportsbook #1, Sportsbook #2, or they can middle their bet. The bettor decides to middle their bet, and places a bet at each of the sportsbooks

The sports match has ended and the final score is 28 – 17, making the point difference 11.

First, the dealer asks what the player would like to do with their hand of 8/K. The player chooses to stand with this hand.

When middling a bet placed on the underdog, the risk becomes greater, since the underdog has to not only win the game, but by a certain amount of points. The favorite team already has the better odds of winning, so it limits the risk. The way to properly middle a bet is to find two point spreads that are close to each other.

When middling a bet placed on the underdog, the risk becomes greater, since the underdog has to not only win the game, but by a certain amount of points.

The favorite team already has the better odds of winning, so it limits the risk. The way to properly middle a bet is to find two point spreads that are close to each other.

Online Sportsbooks Rules – Common & Alternate

Sportsbook Rules – There are many variations of online sportsbooks. We have broken down common sportsbook rules along with alternate sportsbook rules that you may run into while sports betting.

Now that you have learned how to bet at sportsbooks we suggest you check out our sportsbook betting strategy article which will help you bet with optimal strategy minimizing the risk and therefore allowing you to potentially win more!