Betting Odds Explained Sports

1. Understanding Sports Odds
2. Betting Odds Explained Baseball
3. Betting Odds Explanation
4. Las Vegas Odds Explained

Dec 26, 2019 If you were betting on the Patriots and their 3/1 odds, you would win $3 for every $1 you spend. So if you bet $50 on the Pats and they ended up winning the Super Bowl, you'd win $150 (plus your. OVER/UNDER Explained. A sports betting OVER/UNDER is a bet where you have to correctly predict the combined score of both teams. You have to pick if the total score will be lower or higher than the number set by oddsmakers – the people at betting sites who set the lines and odds.

If you are just now diving into the ocean of odds, wager types, money lines, parlays, teasers, etc… you might be a little wary. I remember when I was just getting curious about legal sports betting, hearing my friends throw around terms like 'point spread' and straight wager scared the crap out of me. I thought I would never learn the vernacular or talk the talk. I have now been wagering on my favorite games for over ten years, and am going to give you the cheat sheet that I wish I had when I was a fledgling.

You will soon see that there isn't as much to learn as you might've thought, and that grasping a few key elements will open up the world of legal sports betting in a whole new way. After reading this you will have a working knowledge of sports betting odds, to the point where you will be able to walk into a casino or bar and sound like a pro.

Regular Sports Betting Odds Explained

Understanding Sports Odds

There are two general types of sports betting odds that you will find when you walk in to a casino or log on to a legal online sportsbook. These are going to be called regular and exotic odds. We will go over the regular odds first because they are the initial bets most people starting out in legal sports betting make.

The first, and simplest type of wager will be on a Moneyline. This is simply a bet on who will be the outright winner of a game or event, without looking to the point spread, which we will cover next. You have probably seen Moneyline odds before, they look like two sets of numbers with plus and minus signs next to them.

The important thing to remember, and something that tripped me up when I first learnt about Moneylines, is that the negative number represents the favorite, and the positive number represents the underdog. Usually, you would equate a negative with a prospective loser, and a positive with a prospective winner, but with these odds they are switched. For instance, in an NFL game where the Seattle Seahawks are favorites against the Dallas Cowboys, the odds would look something like this:

There are two general types of sports betting odds that you will find when you walk in to a casino or log on to a legal online sportsbook. These are going to be called regular and exotic odds. We will go over the regular odds first because they are the initial bets most people starting out in legal sports betting make.

The first, and simplest type of wager will be on a Moneyline. This is simply a bet on who will be the outright winner of a game or event, without looking to the point spread, which we will cover next. You have probably seen Moneyline odds before, they look like two sets of numbers with plus and minus signs next to them.

The important thing to remember, and something that tripped me up when I first learnt about Moneylines, is that the negative number represents the favorite, and the positive number represents the underdog. Usually, you would equate a negative with a prospective loser, and a positive with a prospective winner, but with these odds they are switched. For instance, in an NFL game where the Seattle Seahawks are favorites against the Dallas Cowboys, the odds would look something like this:

• Cowboys + 180
• Seahawks – 220

The positive number represents how much you will win if you bet $100, and the negative number represents how much you must bet in or der to win $100. It's as simple as that.

Next, we will look at the most common way to bet, which is the point spread. The point spread is basically a handicap that the bookmaker gives to the underdog in order to even out the odds. In this way, if you bet on the favorite, they must win by a certain number of points (cover the spread) in order for you to win the bet.

Again, let's say the Seahawks are the favorite against the Cowboys. The bookmakers might give the Cowboys a five point bonus. On the sportsbook this would look like Cowboys +5, or Seahawks -5. Since this automatically adds 5 points to the Cowboys, the Seahawks must win by 6 or more points to cover the spread.

Yeti casino. Using the Moneyline, you can figure out how much you need to bet to win on a point spread. The negative number will represent how much you must bet to win $100, and the positive number represents how much you will win if you bet $100. The Moneyline odds are not always listed, as the point spread gives enough information in order to bet.

The final term to understand for regular odds is the over/under, or totals. These are the combined scores of both teams in a game or event. Instead of putting your money on who will win, you will bet on whether the combined score of the game will go over or under the amount listed by the bookmaker. If the final score is listed at 44, the Seahawks and the Cowboys must have a combined total of points be higher to win. If the numbers tie it is called a push, and your money will be refunded.

Exotic Sports Betting Odds Explained

Now that you understand the most usual ways to bet, we can dive in to the more complicated odds types. These generally take a little more math to figure out, but can also be infinitely more profitable. I suggest making at least a few regular wagers before jumping into the world of exotic odds.

A parlay is a wagering term you will hear quite frequently. Simply put, a parlay is multiple bets linked together. In order to win, all of the bets must come out in your favor. While one loss will ruin the parlay, the multiple bets can drastically increase your potential payout.

Say the Seahawks are playing the Cowboys as the same time the Patriots are playing the Giants. Instead of placing two straight bets, you could place a parlay. If both of your teams cover the spread, you stand to win much more.

A teaser bet will take some of the risk out of a parlay. To place a teaser wager, you can combine two to ten football or basketball bets and adjust the point spread in your favor in order to up your chances of winning. This does however make for a lower payout amount.

A pleaser on the other hand will reduce your chances of winning in exchange for a larger payout. They take the spread on a parlay and subtract points in order to make it harder for you to win. The payouts can be gigantic for pleasers, but only daredevils and insiders usually pursue them because the odds of winning are quite slim.

You will find plenty of other odds such as futures, which is simply betting on an aspect of an upcoming game or event. For now, you should be well suited to start exploring the sportsbook and placing some bets. Online casino that pay. There are always more complicated areas to look in to, but you want to place a number of 'regular' bets before you start delving in to the deep end.

American, Fractional, And Decimal Odds Explained

The last thing to understand is how the odds are laid out in sportsbooks. For the most part, you will be using American odds. These are simply Moneylines, which you learned about earlier. They call them American odds because they are preferred by most American bookmakers. The odds use either a positive or a negative number. The negative represents the favorite, while the number represents how much you will have to risk to win $100. The positive represents the underdog, and the number shows how much you will win if you bet $100.

Fractional odds tend to show up on futures bets and are also popular in the UK and Australia. Yo will see a fractional number such as 5/1. Meaning five-to-one odds. This simply means that you will stand to win $5 for every $1 that you bet. If the odds are 1/1, then you will win the exact amount that you bet. As you can guess, some fractional odds mean that you will have to do some math in your head. Zynga poker texas hold'em. Luckily, most legal sports betting establishments and sites have odds calculators that do it for you.

Decimal odds are very rare, and simply show your total payout, instead of just your profit. To calculate your decimal odds, convert the fractional odds to a decimal, and then add one. For example, 1/4 converted to decimal odds is 1.25.

Now that you have a grasp on the vernacular of the sportsbook, it is time to start wagering. There are plenty of legal online sportsbooks out there that accept players from all 50 states. I recommend checking out any of the ones that we have linked to. These sites are the top-tier sportsbooks on the web, and millions of American sports fans use them every day.

Sports Betting Odds and Lines Explained
by Doc's Sports - 2/28/2012

Are you new to the online gaming world? There's a big event that might draw your betting interest nearly every month of the year. Perhaps you are looking to put down some action on the Super Bowl, the World Series, the NBA Finals, the Stanley Cup Finals. Perhaps one of the Grand Slam events for golf or tennis. Or any of numerous horse races. Or the Olympics! Maybe you just want to be well-versed in sports betting 101 to understand what your significant other, friends or family are talking about while watching sports. Here is everything you need to know with sports betting odds and lines explained.

The simplest and most common type of gambling is on the point spread – that's the amount one team is favored to beat the other club. Now, one thing to be aware of is that oddsmakers aren't necessarily predicting the outcome of an event but are putting up a line that will draw the most action from bettors, preferably on both sides.

A point spread is used in the NFL and college football, the NBA and college basketball among the major American sports. If you see a line at a site that has the Chicago Bears -7.5 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers that means the Bears are favored to win by 7.5 points over the underdog Steelers.

Of course, there is no such thing as a half point in football or basketball. However, the sportsbooks use half points at times to ensure there is no ‘push' – which means a tie and neither the sportsbook nor the bettor wins (all money is returned). So if you were to bet on that Bears-Steelers example, Pittsburgh essentially starts the game with a 7.5-point lead. If you wanted to win money on the Bears, Chicago would have to win by no less than eight points. If you wanted to win money on Pittsburgh, the Steelers would simply have to not lose by more than 7.5 points. So a 21-14 final score in favor of Chicago would be a win for Steelers bettors but not for Bears bettors. Any Pittsburgh victory obviously would be a win for anyone who bet the Steelers. There is also a point spread called a ‘pick'em' – which means there is no favorite or underdog. All you have to do is pick the winner regardless of score.

There is also what is called a total. This is posted for every major American team sport. In football and basketball, the total is the combined amount of points the teams score in a game. You would either bet ‘under' or ‘over' that total. If the combined final score lands right on the number, then it's a tie and all money is returned. In baseball, the total is usually between 6-10 runs scored combined by both teams in a game. In hockey, the total is usually between 5-6 total goals scored combined between two teams.

Often the over and under are both the same in terms of one or the other being a favorite. But there are times when either the over or under is favored over the other. This is when a moneyline comes into play. A moneyline is based on units of $100. It can also be used as a different way to bet on a winner or loser. In that Bears-Steelers example, Chicago could be listed at -150 on the moneyline and Pittsburgh at +200. That means you would have to bet $150 to win $100 on Chicago. But for that same $100, you would win $200 on the Steelers (in both cases minus what the book's fee, or vigorish, is for accepting the bet).

Betting Odds Explained Baseball

Football and basketball often have both pointspreads and moneylines. You have the choice of betting either one or both. Betting on the moneylines to determine a winner are used prominently in hockey and baseball because usually these are low-scoring games where the winning team only wins by a run or goal – thus you won't see pointspreads in those sports. But there are options in hockey and baseball to use either the puck line or run line. The Detroit Red Wings might be -1.5 goals against the Montreal Canadiens on the puck line – so Montreal starts the game from a betting perspective with a 1.5-goal lead. In baseball's run line, the option is usually 1.5 runs to separate the teams.

Finally, fractional odds also are used in some American sports. Golf and horse racing are two prime examples. These odds are the net total that will be paid out to the bettor, should they win, relative to what they bet. It's again best to think in terms of $100 units. So if a horse is the 3/1 favorite to win the Kentucky Derby, for example, or a golfer 3/1 to win the Masters, from a moneyline conversion perspective that would be +300. Thus, you would win $300 for every $100 wagered on the horse/golfer. If the horse/golfer is the 1/2 favorite, that means it's -200 on the moneyline. Thus, you would have to bet $200 to win $100.

Betting Odds Explanation

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Las Vegas Odds Explained