Sports Betting Line Movement Explained From the time that betting lines are released until the time you’re ready to place your wagers, there can be some movement in odds, spreads, and totals. In general, the movement can be attributed to one of two reasons: action in the betting markets or news that developed after the initial lines are released. Sports betting lines on FanDuel Sportsbook are presented in what is called the 'American odds' format, with odds for favorites getting 'minus' odds while underdogs get 'plus' odds (i.e.120 for a favorite and +120 for an underdog). For the favorites, that line reflects how much you would need to wager to win a $100 payout. Sports betting adds a massive degree of emotion and excitement to any competition, even if its division III college volleyball. And of course, there is a lot of money to be made. However, understanding sports betting is crucial in order to get the most out of it. Keep researching and practicing your new hobby. Try sports betting! Sports betting is considered by many to be the easiest form of gambling to get started with. When betting on sports, your goal is essentially to predict the outcome of a sports event and wager money according to what you think is going to happen. When you’re right, you win money. Betting odds represent the probability of a specific outcome. And, odds show the profit, or return, that you can get if your bet wins. This likelihood of a certain outcome is additionally known as the implied probability. You need to know what implied probability is if you are going to bet on sports.
Interested in online gambling, but don’t want to do something too complicated? Try sports betting! Sports betting is considered by many to be the easiest form of gambling to get started with. When betting on sports, your goal is essentially to predict the outcome of a sports event and wager money according to what you think is going to happen. When you’re right, you win money. And when you’re wrong, you lose money.
Even those who have no real interest in betting on sports have at least a basic understanding of what’s involved. Actually, the main reason why it’s so easy to get started with sports betting is that you don’t actually NEED to know anything other than the basics.
Now, we’re not telling you this to suggest that you shouldn’t try to learn more. You are going to be putting your hard-earned money at risk, so the more you know, the better. A proper understanding of how everything works is very useful, even if you only plan to bet every now and then for fun. It’s pretty much vital if you want to take things seriously and have a chance of making long-term profits.
We’re not suggesting that you should learn everything there is to know about sports betting before even getting started. While that’s not necessary, there are definitely a few things you need to be aware of. That’s why we wrote this article. It’s essentially a summary of everything we think you should know before putting your money at risk. A lot of what we cover here is explained in more detail elsewhere in our sports betting guide. That’s because this article was created for complete beginners, and we left some of the more complicated details out.
We start by explaining what fixed odds betting is, as this is the most common form of sports betting. We look at the five main components of a sports wager and provide some examples. Then we explain how there are different types of wagers and some alternative forms of sports betting, too. We briefly cover how to actually place wagers with bookmakers, and look at the various types of bookmakers. We also explain how and why they make money. We finish by discussing the importance of defining your sports betting objectives.
Sports Betting Odds and Lines Explained
by Doc's Sports - 2/28/2012
by Doc's Sports - 2/28/2012
Are you new to the online gaming world? There’s a big event that might draw your betting interest nearly every month of the year. Perhaps you are looking to put down some action on the Super Bowl, the World Series, the NBA Finals, the Stanley Cup Finals. Perhaps one of the Grand Slam events for golf or tennis. Or any of numerous horse races. Or the Olympics! Maybe you just want to be well-versed in sports betting 101 to understand what your significant other, friends or family are talking about while watching sports. Here is everything you need to know with sports betting odds and lines explained.
The simplest and most common type of gambling is on the point spread – that’s the amount one team is favored to beat the other club. Now, one thing to be aware of is that oddsmakers aren’t necessarily predicting the outcome of an event but are putting up a line that will draw the most action from bettors, preferably on both sides.
A point spread is used in the NFL and college football, the NBA and college basketball among the major American sports. If you see a line at a site that has the Chicago Bears -7.5 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers that means the Bears are favored to win by 7.5 points over the underdog Steelers.
Understanding Sports Betting Lines Odds
Of course, there is no such thing as a half point in football or basketball. However, the sportsbooks use half points at times to ensure there is no ‘push’ – which means a tie and neither the sportsbook nor the bettor wins (all money is returned). So if you were to bet on that Bears-Steelers example, Pittsburgh essentially starts the game with a 7.5-point lead. If you wanted to win money on the Bears, Chicago would have to win by no less than eight points. If you wanted to win money on Pittsburgh, the Steelers would simply have to not lose by more than 7.5 points. So a 21-14 final score in favor of Chicago would be a win for Steelers bettors but not for Bears bettors. Any Pittsburgh victory obviously would be a win for anyone who bet the Steelers. There is also a point spread called a ‘pick’em’ – which means there is no favorite or underdog. All you have to do is pick the winner regardless of score.
There is also what is called a total. This is posted for every major American team sport. In football and basketball, the total is the combined amount of points the teams score in a game. You would either bet ‘under’ or ‘over’ that total. If the combined final score lands right on the number, then it’s a tie and all money is returned. In baseball, the total is usually between 6-10 runs scored combined by both teams in a game. In hockey, the total is usually between 5-6 total goals scored combined between two teams.
Explaining Sports Betting Odds
Often the over and under are both the same in terms of one or the other being a favorite. But there are times when either the over or under is favored over the other. This is when a moneyline comes into play. A moneyline is based on units of $100. It can also be used as a different way to bet on a winner or loser. In that Bears-Steelers example, Chicago could be listed at -150 on the moneyline and Pittsburgh at +200. That means you would have to bet $150 to win $100 on Chicago. But for that same $100, you would win $200 on the Steelers (in both cases minus what the book’s fee, or vigorish, is for accepting the bet).
Football and basketball often have both pointspreads and moneylines. You have the choice of betting either one or both. Betting on the moneylines to determine a winner are used prominently in hockey and baseball because usually these are low-scoring games where the winning team only wins by a run or goal – thus you won’t see pointspreads in those sports. But there are options in hockey and baseball to use either the puck line or run line. The Detroit Red Wings might be -1.5 goals against the Montreal Canadiens on the puck line – so Montreal starts the game from a betting perspective with a 1.5-goal lead. In baseball’s run line, the option is usually 1.5 runs to separate the teams.
Finally, fractional odds also are used in some American sports. Golf and horse racing are two prime examples. These odds are the net total that will be paid out to the bettor, should they win, relative to what they bet. It’s again best to think in terms of $100 units. So if a horse is the 3/1 favorite to win the Kentucky Derby, for example, or a golfer 3/1 to win the Masters, from a moneyline conversion perspective that would be +300. Thus, you would win $300 for every $100 wagered on the horse/golfer. If the horse/golfer is the 1/2 favorite, that means it’s -200 on the moneyline. Thus, you would have to bet $200 to win $100.
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