Different Types of Sports Bets

Betting on sports is becoming quite popular today. Nearly every sporting event across the nation has odds set on the game or match. Spectators are now getting some action on games whether they are regular season games or bigger televised postseason games. Sports’ betting is not easy and for the newcomer, it can be quite easy to lose all of your money. Having a solid sports betting strategy is very important to making money. We are going to take a look at a few points that you should understand as you set out to create your sports betting strategy. The basic fundamental behind any sports betting strategy is research and knowledge. Never make a wager without doing the proper research on that game. Know the players, the teams, the weather conditions and more. Take some time to research the previous matchups between the teams. You should also be aware of any injuries that could affect this game.

Not doing this proper research and betting blindly on a game is a terrible sports betting strategy and a recipe for disaster. Another key to sports betting strategy is shopping for the best odds. Every sportsbook has a slightly different set of odds on each game. For the most part, these odds are very close from Sportsbook to Sportsbook. But they lines may differ by a little bit and as we all know, every little bit counts. A good sports betting strategy would be to have an account at many different sportsbooks. Have them all funded with a little bit of money. When you are ready to bet on a game, take a quick glance across your set of sportsbooks and find the one that offers the best odds or the least amount of juice. This may not seem like a big deal, but in the long run this strategy could save you tons of money.

Win Bets (Also known as Straight Bets)

The Win Bet is probably the simplest type of bet one can make. This is where you bet that a team or person will win a race or game. The bettor will place a bet at specific odds that the sports book will set before the event takes place. Should the person or team you bet on win then you will win your bet back plus the profits from the odds.

Place Bets

A place bet is a bet that a specific horse, person, or team might not win a race or event but they will finish in one of the top spots. These bets are normally only used in racing events. In regards to payouts it doesn't matter if your horse or driver comes in first, second or third. You will get paid the same amount regardless of where your horse or driver finished the race.

Parlay Bet

A Parlay bet is a bet where you bet on 2 winners in at least 2 separate games. Most sports books allow you to bet up to 12 different games on a single parlay ticket. You must be correct on all selections for the bet to win, a tie will veto one of the parlays. So if you bet on 5 games and 4 of them win with one tie you then only have a 4 parlay win. If that tie was a lose you then win nothing and the entire bet is lost. Because these can be very difficult to win the payouts can be very high.

The Each-Way Bet

The each way bet is a split bet between the win bet and a place bet. This is another bet that is usually reserved for racing related events but is some rare instances you will see it in other sporting events like tournaments. So if you place one of these bets and your horse comes in first you win both bets but if your horse comes in second or third you win the place bet but lose the win bet.

Lay Bet

Lay Bets are betting on a lose instead of a win. Most sports books don't offer these kinds of bet but you will find them on betting exchanges.

Correct Score Bets

This is a bet where you predict the final score of a sporting event. For example betting that team 1 will beat team 2 by 5-2. Because this bet is so difficult to predict the payouts are very good.

Half Time Bets

This is a bet where you predict the score of the second half of the game. These bets can only be placed after the first half has finished and must be placed before the second half starts.

Half Time Result

This bet is like the win bet in regards to odds but the difference is with this bet you're betting on the who will be winning after the first half is completed.

Half Time/Full Time Bets (Also know as a Double Result)

This is a bet where you bet that a specific team will be winning/losing or tied at half time and will win the game when finishes.

Over/Under (Also Known as Total Goals)

Betting on how many goals will be scored in a game between both teams. The sports book will set an over/under goal total for a specific game. So they will say the total goals for this game will be 4.5. If you bet on under you need 4 or less goals to be scored in order to win and more then 4 if you bet on over. They add the .5 to make sure that you don't land right on the line.

Handicaps (Also Known as Point Spreads)

A handicap is when a weaker team is given free goals to make the playing field more level. So lets say team a is favored to beat team b by 3 goals then the sports books would set the handicap at 3 and the weaker team will start with a 3-0 lead in the eyes of the sports books.

Proposition Bets

A proposition bet is a bet that something will happen. This can be sporting related and non sporting related. For example you might be who will be the first player to hit a home run in the world series or who will win an Oscar for best actress.