First Christian Church

Category: Betting

Sports Betting In A Nutshell

Sports bettinghave been a part of human culture on every continent on Earth. Placing a wager on the outcome of a game has been a part of sports life. There is not a single sport you can name that doesn’t have some kind of betting audience.For many peoplesports bettingis a harmful way to add excitement to your favorite sports. For some people, sports betting is more than just a way to spice up a favorite past time; it is big business. All over the world, bets are placed on basketball, horse racing, football, soccer, baseball, and every other sport you can name. Some people win big, some people win consistently and others consider sports betting as their permanent source of income.One of the biggest questions surrounding sports betting is whether or not the activity is legal. The fact is that in many parts of the world, sports betting is legal. Most of Europe and Asia regulate sports betting quite heavily, but bettors can place their wagers without fear of legal reprisals. North America is a different story. In Canada and the United States, wagering on sports is only actually allowed in four states: Nevada, Delaware, Montana, and Oregon. Of these, only Nevada actually allows sports gambling outfits to operate.Now, this does not necessarily mean that North Americans are out of luck if they want to wager on a game. The Internet has opened up a wide range of opportunities for residents west of the Atlantic to places bets on sports, although they must do so through books operated in an area where sports gambling are legal. Even so, the status of those operations is a little bit shady.Let’s take a deeper look at what sports betting is all about and how does it workHow does sports betting work? Heres how. Official sports bets, those which take place through bookies rather than buddies, are carefully measured odds offered by shrewd business number crunchers. The sports books offer several different kinds of bets, all of which are designed so that the book itself makes a profit no matter the outcome of the event. That profit is known as the vigorish (vig for short). It’s usually around $10, paid by the person who loses the wager.Generally, bettors will select one of two options when wagering on a sports event. The first is the money line, in which a straight up win by the team picked will result in money returned to the bettor.They look like this, in a baseball game:Chicago White Sox -200New York Yankees +150That example tells us two things. First of all, the White Sox are the favorites. That’s indicated by the negative sign. If you bet the Sox, then you have to put down $200 in order to win $100. That’s the second thing the example shows us; the amounts indicate how much you win if the team you select comes out on top. For the Yankees, the underdogs, you only have to pay $150 to get a shot at that hundred bucks. But, of course, the Yankees will have to win (Just kidding because Im a Yankee fan)!So there you have it, sports betting in a nutshell. I hope that youve learned a lot.

Types Of Online Bets

Betting Online may be the word today, butnot everyone is acquainted with all the keywords and the type of bets one canplace online. Online Betting is done through Sportsbooks (US) or Bookmakers(UK) sites that accept bets. You can bet on the outcome of several sportingevents, such as; Baseball, Basketball, Football, Tennis, Hockey, Snooker andSoccer games. To start with you need to state what you are betting on by makinga selection, the type of bet and the amount you are wagering. Differentbookmakers offer different betting varieties and combinations. Some commontypes of bets which any avid player must be aware of are: Straight bet or SingleThis is the simplest and most common bet. You bet on a winner at given odds.Point SpreadThe Point Spread is the number of pointsallocated and is shown with a + sign for the favorite and a – sign for theunderdog. The favorite has to win by more than the Point Spread for you to win,otherwise you lose your bet even if the team wins.

The Money LineThe money line establishes the odds for each team and is indicated by a + forthe underdog and a – sign for the favorite.

TotalA bet for the number of points scored in the game by both teams combined,including points scored in overtime.Over/UnderA bet that the combined number of points scored by the two teams in the gamewill be Over or Under the total set by the oddsmaker.Parlay or AccumulatorThis is an example of a multiple bet. It lets you make simultaneous selectionson two or more games with the intent of pressing the winnings of the first winon the bet of the following game selected, and so on. All the selections mademust win for you to win the parlay. A parlay bet can yield huge dividends ifwon.TeaserIt is like a parlay, but with the option to add or subtract points (called’moving the line’) from one or more Spread bets. When betting a teaseradditional points are either added to the underdog or subtracted from thefavorite. However, teasers odds are usually worse than the parlays.If-wager and Open-wagerIf-wager allows the bettor to make a second wager, up to an equal amount, pendinga win on the first selection, where as open wagers allow the bettor to playteasers or parlays making a selection at different times and even differentdays.FutureThis is a bet on a future event. At the start of each season, the sportsbooksgive out odds for teams to win a certain championship. The odds change as thegame date approaches and in most cases get shorter, but if you win you get paidat the original odds that you took. This is possibly one of the most profitablebets if you are the one confident about your knowledge of the sports and theplayers you are betting on.Exotic BetsSometimes, betting is allowed on a wide variety of other sports related eventsand activities or just about anything you can think of.