People are more engaged in online betting platforms today than ever. Online betting is easy to access and can offer some of the best sportsbooks. The anti-gambling stigma is slowly fading away as more and more people are interested in learning about sports betting so they can have some extra action while they enjoy their favourite sports. This guide is for beginners who are keen on learning to bet of sports. It may seem like a complicated process, but once you finish reading these tips, you can start betting on an online platform. These are some of the terms that you should know before betting.
Favourites and Underdogs
The bookmakers address the teams or players as favourites and underdogs. They do this by deciding which team or player has a higher chance of winning. The favourites will get a minus sign next to their odds while the underdogs will get a plus sign. The underdogs will always have higher odds than the favourites.
Spreads
You can bet on favourites and underdogs in two different ways, and “spread” is one of them. It is also known as the point spread. It is the bet on the margin of victory. A favourite will give away points while the underdogs get the points. If the spread is ‘-7’ on the favourite, you will need at least 8 points or more to win the bet. If you get only 7 points, you will receive back the money you originally spent. Anything less than that is a lost bet. If the spread bet is ‘+7’ on the underdog, they should win the game lose by 6 points or less to win your bet.
Moneylines
Another way of betting is Moneyline. It is based only on which team will win the game. The favourites get a minus designation such as -100 or -200. It means that for a -100, you will have to bet 100 points to win 50 points. If you lose, your 100 points will be gone. Similarly, for underdogs, the sportsbook keeps the plus designation. It means that for every 100 points you will win 200 on the underdogs.
Over/Under
The bookmakers also set a total number of points in a game by both teams combined. This is known as Totals or Over/Under. You can bet on whether the game will go over or under the total. For a game of basketball suppose the total is set as 200. To win the bet, you need to bet on whether the score will be higher than 200 or lower. If you guess correctly, you will win.
How to manage money
Managing your finances is really important while betting on sports. You should have enough extra entertainment money to risk at the games. Also, sports betting is a marathon and not a sprint race. So the best way to play it is by going slow and making safe profits rather than expecting to win it all in one day.