Sports Betting For Dummies
- Sports Betting 101 For Dummies
- Sports Betting For Dummies
- Sports Betting For Beginners
- Sports Betting For Dummies Pdf
Sports wagering has boomed with the advent of the Internet, as easily evidenced by the hundreds of Web sites willing and able to take action. If you're looking to get in on this growing past time. NFL Betting Strategy Course 101. Gambling has become one of the most popular sports activities among all fans throughout the country, and with states beginning to pass measures to legalize sports gambling, it is only going to become more popular with time. Betting on the over/under is probably the second most popular type of bet, after straight side bets, especially when it comes to NFL betting. Its simplicity is the main reason casual bettors prefer to bet the over/under in their betting strategies.
This is where understanding sports handicapping comes in. There are two ways to perceive sports handicapping:
- Vegas handicapping games
- You handicapping the pick
The most basic understanding of sports handicapping is where the oddsmakers provide bettors with a spread or line to wager with.
Here is the exact definition of handicapping:
Sports Betting 101 For Dummies
A race or contest in which contestants are given advantages or compensations to equalize the chances of winning.
Sports betting is technically neither a race nor contest, but sportsbooks do give everyone a chance at an advantage by issuing point spreads for any given matchup.
It’s not always as simple as saying “this team will win” or “this team will lose.” Vegas enhances the bet, and in some ways simplifies it by giving bettors the opportunity to pick an underdog without really picking them.
A great example is trying to pick a tough NFL game between the New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans.
The Patriots are yearly title contenders, while the Titans usually aren’t. Vegas knows New England will be the obvious favorite, and because of that, few will bet on them straight-up. Bettors won’t have that much interest in betting on the Titans, either, seeing as they’re unlikely to win.
Sports Betting For Dummies
Vegas handicaps this contest by awarding a point spread, like this:
- Patriots -10
- Titans +10
This handicap allows you to bet on the Patriots and obtain value in the same breath. A game like this would carry something like a -425 Money Line or greater in favor of New England. If you’re betting on this game, you would need to throw down $425 just to get $100 back on top of your bet.
There isn’t much upside in that, so bettors are instead drawn to the point spread. In this case, bettors need to decide if the Patriots are such a safe bet that they can cover the spread. If so, they can bet what they wish that the Patriots will win by 11 points, effectively covering the 10-point spread at hand.
On the flip side, those that believe the Titans might either win or at least play a close game can bet on the Titans to beat the spread. In this case, the Titans would simply have to lose by 10 points or fewer, and you would then convert a win on your wager.
That’s the beauty of the handicap the oddsmakers give you. It doesn’t always work out, but it puts underdogs in play and at least in theory helps make every single contest a bettable option.
The second way to perceive sports handicapping is where the bettor does all they can to take advantage of any potential edge Vegas hands them. The sportsbooks think that they’re calling the games right and that they have the edge, but if you put in the research and make the right pick, you can profit.
That doesn’t always mean you’re going to come out on top, and Vegas doesn’t need to be wrong for bettors to win, either. It also doesn’t mean that when people do win, they’ll always win big.
Many bettors refer to “the grind” of sports betting, because it’s not about one big win or beating Vegas. It’s about handicapping each individual game you plan on wagering on and coming out with as many wins as possible on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.
The point here is that Vegas handicapping games can be something to look at, but the idea of sports handicapping is an idea all by itself. It’s the act of researching, detailing, explaining, and proving that a pick can/will be correct.
The Super Bowl is perhaps the only sporting event that draws in people that have no clue what’s going on for 3.5 hours. The Super Bowl is bigger than just a 60-minute football game between the best two teams in the league. It’s a celebration of football that hogs the media attention for two full weeks prior to the game with talks of the National Anthem, the halftime performer, and the final interview with the game’s MVP.
If you’re just starting out in the world of football and/or betting, I’ll be dumbing this piece down (no disrespect, but sports betting is tough) for you to help you understand what you’re going to see on February 7, 2021, and how to enjoy yourself for the majority of the night.
Sports Betting For Beginners
Have an opinion: The goal of every football game is to score more points than the other team. If you go to any Super Bowl party, regardless of if you have any idea what a tight end is, find out which two teams are playing and simply pick one team to cheer for. The chances are you won’t be alone in cheering for that team, so at least the interest in the game itself will be there.
Enjoy your night: This is probably the number one rule of the night. It’s important to enjoy the game responsibly whether or not you have $1 or $5,000 on the game. This night should be about watching the game with your friends and family and enjoying some good entertainment for four or so hours. Heck, it’s probably the only day of the year where consuming eight slices of pizza and 2lbs of wings is not only acceptable but expected behavior.
Betting Factor: If you have decided to wager on the game, for whatever reason, you must understand what kind of bets are available to be made. Sure, you can bet your friend $50 dollars that Tampa will beat Kansas City, but you’ll only win $50. If you had an online account at a sportsbook and you placed $50 on Tampa to win on the moneyline, you’d get back $125 – which means you’d profit $75. I’m not saying you should open up an online account without doing your research, but what I’m saying is that online sportsbooks, or those in Las Vegas, are where you can make the most money – if you get lucky.
Start with the outcome: This should be entirely self-evident, but I know from plenty of conversations with casual bettors over the years that it is not. When you look at the Super Bowl -- or any other game ever played, for that matter -- the first step has to be to take the time to break it down and think about how you expect the game to turn out. Once you have done that, you can look at the lines and prop bets that are being offered, and you can quickly get a sense of which ones are the most attractive and which ones are not at all worth betting.
Sports Betting For Dummies Pdf
Know what you are betting on: If you go to a Super Bowl party with a lot of people that don't spend a lot of time betting on football through the year, I guarantee you will hear things that will amaze you. Casual bettors too often have no understanding of what a line is and how it works, what it costs to make a bet, why some bets make more sense than others, and even how to tell if a bet is a winner or not when the game ends. If you don't know what you are betting on, you obviously can't make a good bet. This is especially important with the Super Bowl because all of the prop bets that are offered can sound fun and interesting but often aren't quite what they appear to be.
Utilize Your Options: If you want to bet on the Super Bowl and want to be on the point spread, you must first figure out what the point spread is. This year, the Kansas City Chiefs are 3.5-point favorites over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That means, if you place a bet on the Chiefs -3.5, they have to win the game by four points for your bet to be considered a winning one. If you bet the Bucs at +3.5, the Bucs can win the game outright, or lose by three or fewer points, for you to win. Now, different sportsbooks will be offering up different line value for this one. Sportsbook X may offer KC -3.5 at -110, whereas Sportsbook Y may offer KC -3 at -130. The difference between the two is you are paying extra to turn a half-point loss into a push (get your money back) if the Chiefs win by three points. If you think the Bucs will win the game outright, most sportsbooks are offering them up at +150. However, if you shop around and utilize your access to different lines, you can find the Bucs at +155 or maybe even +160, which means more money for you if the Bucs win. The same thing holds true for the prop bets. Shop around and find the lines that make the most sense for you and the bankroll.
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