Jumping into the sports betting scene without any prior knowledge is a great way to lighten your wallet. To avoid any unnecessary losses, you should at the very least understand the basics of sports betting so you can place bets and see them pay off.
We’ve covered the basics here, from how sports betting works and how you can place a bet with your favorite venues, and then the types of bets you can make. Then we’ve finished this post off with some handy tips that every beginner should keep in mind when they place their first few bets.
You can only learn so much by reading about betting. Once you’re confident enough, you can continue learning by experience through sites like https://www.fanduel.com.
Contents
The Legality Of Sports Betting
So, how does sports betting even work? First, you can find more on powerplay.com and let’s tackle the question of legality. In the distant year of 2018, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. This gives every state the right to legalize sports betting at their discretion, many states did this because people love sports and much more love betting on their favorite sports.
Needless to say, you must first make sure that sports betting is legal and available in your state. Even some states that allow sports betting only allow it at physical locations, not online or mobile wagering platforms. Fortunately, most states have legalized sports betting for the big leagues, those being the NFL, the NBA, the MLB, and the NHL. You may also be able to bet on international sports events and even major college football or basketball games happening locally. Professional handicappers online like Doc’s Sports are useful if you’re just starting to bet on sports, as they cover all types of sports and facilitate the betting process by cherry-picking the games based on the odds to help you place your bets.
How To Bet
The process of sports betting is simple. Winning? Not so much. You’ll have the same experience no matter where you bet, whether it’s a location or an online platform.
If you go to a sportsbook location, they will have an odds board that keeps track of the current betting lines so you know who the favorites and underdogs are when going into a bet. When you have your bet planned, you give it at the counter and get a ticket with the details.
Online, it’s as simple as opening a betting account. You’ll need to be twenty-one, the legal minimum age, where you can then use these platforms on both computers and smartphones. With your account, you need to deposit funds to play with before placing bets. Then you can find the sport and games that you want to bet on, click on them, and then enter how much you want to wager. You’ll see the potential payout when you make your bet and then the bet will be taken from your account. If you win, you’ll get a notification and it will be automatically added to the funds of your account.
Types Of Bets
So far we’ve been vague about what bets you’re placing. That’s because there are several you can make, check them out below.
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Over/Under
Over/Under betting, which is also called a total wager, is one of the more popular forms of betting where you bet on the specific scores that are achieved in a sports game. When you take one of these bets, you bet that the score will be over or under a number that the sportsbook will set.
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Moneyline
This is perhaps what comes to mind when you think about betting, a straightforward bet where you think a team will win. You can bet with the odds (which are set by the sportsbook) or you can bet against the odds if you believe in the team/players and you feel daring.
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Spread Betting
Another of the most popular betting types, particularly for smaller-scale football games, is where teams are assigned points by oddsmakers. You, as the gambler, then decide to back the favorite or the underdog players with those odds in mind.
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Parlays
Parlays are placed on two or more games and you have to win them all to get your cash prize. They can cover one team or even more if you want to increase your odds of profitability.
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Prop Bets
Prop bets are where you bet on specific events that occur in the game. For example, this is if you bet on which team is going to score first or who is going to score a home run and how many will happen.
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In-Play Wagering
As the name suggests, this is where wagers are placed after the game has already started. Online sportsbooks use sophisticated algorithms that keep track of odds throughout the games, allowing you to make bets before the action has finished.
Beginner Betting Tips
To finish off, here are some betting tips that every beginner should keep in mind as they start making wagers.
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Find The Best Betting Lines
Different sportsbooks offer different betting lines at different times. The prices and values of each bet determine your chance of winning and making money, so finding more favorable lines at other platforms can give you the edge you need. Just one point of difference in the betting lines could make a difference.
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Manage Your Bankroll
Find out what your risk tolerance is. It’ll be different for everybody but it should be money that you can lose without having adverse effects on your life. Are you going to place many smaller bets or are you going big on your favorite team? Find out which kind of bettor you are and manage your finances accordingly. As a beginner, we’d advise you to find your footing before trying riskier bets.
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Know When To Stop
Gambling addiction is dangerous to many bettors out there, ruining finances and then lives for those who don’t know when to stop. If you feel like you could get addicted to betting, reevaluate whether you should play. If you do make bets, know when to call it a day and accept losses without chasing the possibility of a future win. Set yourself a limit and stop when that limit is reached.
