How do you bet on sports? NEED HELP!!

Alright so I know a lot about football, basketball, and baseball. Favorite teams being the Cleveland Browns, San Diego Padres, and Sacramento Kings. I will be going to Vegas on Wednesday(march 6) and would really appreciate if someone could explain to me how betting on sports works. I always see sports books but those scrolling charts just look complicated as hell. I have no idea what an over or under is. What is the minimum you can bet? If I bet 20 dollars on the Kings to beat the spurs does that mean I win 40 dollars. I'm just confused as hell. Really wanna get into sports betting. I know I'm a complete noob, but thanks in advance to anyone that can help me out here.

 

There are three basic ways of betting (100's exist, but these are the basics)

1. The Moneyline (ML). This is where you have to pick the winner. Since one team is usually better than the other, you have to bet more/less to win the same amount. $100 is always the number used to base the payoff from.
Example: Duke playing Western Kentucky school of the blind.
In order to win $100....you would have to bet $300 on Duke.
In order to win $100....you would have to bet $30 on WKSoB.
(just an example of course)

2. The Spread. Now you have to beat the number that the book establishes.
Lets say Duke is favored by 12 points. Duke will be -12 on the board. This means that the other school will be +12, but that will not be shown.
If you bet Duke --- they have to win by 13 or more for you to win.
If you bet against Duke --- the other team has to lose by less than 11.
12 points would be a push.
Most of the time these bets are 110 to win 100. (but not always)

3. The Total (Over/Under) Add up the final score of both teams, you bet under or over. Pretty easy. Same usual rule --- bet 110 to win 100.

Just because 100 is the standard used for calculations, doesn't mean you have to bet that amount. Any amount is accepted at the window, and your payouts will still be the same in terms of odds. No penalty like in craps.

Where you staying when you go out??? I'm there the exact same days....

 

Here's a resource for you: http://www.vegas.com/gaming/gaming_tips/betting.html

I think that these are the most basic things to know:

Payouts: You'll see a three-digit number like -110 or +170 next to a bet. Negative numbers like -110 mean that you have to bet $110 to win $100. Positive numbers like +170 mean that you win $170 if you bet $100. If you win a $100 bet at +170, the cashier will give you $270 (the $100 you bet plus the $170 you won).

Line Bets: To keep payouts around even, the sportsbooks use a line. Say the Lakers are favored to beat the Mavs by 6 points. There will be a -6 on the board next to the Lakers. You can take either the side. If you take the Lakers, it means that they have to beat the Mavs by more than 6 points for your bet to win.

Here's four examples at Lakers -6:

Lakers 100, Mavs 93 - Lakers line bet wins.
Lakers 100, Mavs 95 - Mavs line bet wins.
Lakers 100, Mavs 101 - Mavs line bet wins.
Lakers 100, Mavs 94 - Push (you get your money back).

The odds for these bets are usually close to even, e.g., -105, -110.

Money Line Bets: This bet is for straight up who wins. The odds for these can more dramatic because there is often a clear favorite in a game. For example, the Harlem Globetrotters versus the Washington Generals would be something like +1000 on the Washington Generals and -2000 on the Globetrotters. That's an extreme example. In reality, the sportsbook wouldn't even offer the ML bet on that game because the Globetrotters are such a favorite.

Over/Under: This bet is for total points scored in the game. If the O/U for the Mavs Lakers is 200 and the final score is 99 to 100 then the under wins.

Placing Bets: Figure out what you want to bet before you get in line. There will be a number on the left side of each team in a game. If the Lakers are number 459 and you want to bet the line on them, you can just go up and say number 459, line bet, $100. And they'll give you a ticket. Check the ticket to make sure it's right, don't lose the ticket, and hope you win.

 

Thanks A LOT!!! You just made that sound so easy. Now I feel like a damn idiot lol

I'll be staying at Quad. Arrive in Vegas at about 3:30

 

Jameezy,

I wrote a fairly detailed post, but it's tied up in the approval process. I'm new to the board, so I'm not sure why, but you may get a late and repetitive response sometime.

 

The above story is FULL OF HOLES :Þ

 

Good explanation, tmaas21.

Here’s what the board might look like for a point spread bet:

101 Duke -12
102 WKSB

The first number (101, 102) is just how you let them know what team you want. You wouldn’t say “Duke”. You’d say “101”.

The -12 indicates that Duke is favored by 12 points.

Here’s what it might look like for a money line bet:

101 Duke -500
102 WKSB +460

The “minus” indicates that Duke is the favorite and that you need to bet that amount in order to win $100.

The “plus” indicates that Western Kentucky School for the Blind is the underdog and that you would win that amount if you bet $100.


You need to make sure to tell them which type of bet you want. If you don’t mention the bet type, they will assume you want the point spread.

Also, if you are betting on an event with many different competitors (NASCAR, NCAA Championship, etc.), the board might look something like this (we’ll use the NCAA’s as an example):

101 Indiana +450 (you might see this posted as “9-2”)
102 Duke +500 (this might be “5-1”)
103 Florida +550 (11-2)
104 Michigan St. +650 (13-2)
105 Miami +700 (7-1)
106 Gonzaga +800 (8-1)
Etc…

Just like the money line…you win the amount after the “+” if you bet $100 and your team wins.

 

Oh, and don’t forget to ask for drink ticket(s)! They probably won’t give you any for making a $10 bet. But, if you make several bets or a $100+ bet or whatever, they’ll give you a drink ticket or two. And a $5-10 tip will usually make them much more generous with the tickets.

 

Dont worry about it! Being a Browns fan, you have a lot bigger problems than not knowing how to make a sports bet!

 

My advice, learn how to bet one sport at a time. While learning to read the board is an important first step to any sports wagering, figure out one sport and go from there. The easy way to start: bet ten bucks on your favorite basketball team. They'll be playihng in mid-march. Make a moneyline bet and a bet (hopefully) laying the points (or taking if your team is an underdog). Then kick back, enjoy the game, and see how it pays out. I compare sports betting to learning how to play craps. Start with the pass line, master it, then learn the other bets. Same with sports. Start with one sport or team you like, learn how to make a basic straight bet or moneyline bet on them, and learn more from there.

 

Here is my limited help:

Spread: there is a percentage charge when you make the bet, usually 10%.

For example, let's say you see something like this:

M/L O/U
101 Spurs +5 +165 192.5
102 OKC -5 -170

If you think the Spurs will win game or lose the game by less than 5 points, you would take 101 for $110 to win a $100. Conversely, if you think OKC will win by 6 or more, you take 102 for $110 to win $100, or $11 to win $10, etc.

The + in front of the number indicates that the team is the "underdog" rather than the favorite. So if you have a strong feeling that the "underdong" should win, then take the money line bet. Money line bet is just betting straight up for the team. So, if you pick the favorite to win, you usually have to put out more money to get less back. In this example, you have to bet $170 on OKC to win $100, or $17 to win $10.

Conversely, if you think Spurs will win, and you want a better payout, you will take the moneyline on spurs. Here you would be $100 to win $165 if the spurs win.

If you take the spread on the Spurs, you could still win even if they lose. Say they lose by 4 points, your $110 still will net you $100.

As for the over/under, it just means that by the end of the game, the combined score of both teams should be over or under the listed points.
In this case, if you pick the over, both teams have to score a combined score of at least 193. On the other hand, if you pick under 192.5, if they score combined total of 192 or less, you win your bet.

Lastly, if you want to increase your payouts, but reduce your odds, you could try parlays.

If you pick two team parlay would pay 2.6 times of your bet. Say you picked OKC to win by 6 or more and for both teams to score under 192.5 and you got both right, your $100 bet will net you $260. BUT, if you only got one team right, then you lost your whole bet.

a 3-team parlay nets you 6 times your bet
a 4-team nets you 10 times,
and so on and on

Hopefully I did not confuse you. Cheers!

 

Only one word you need to learn to hit it big

PARLAY

 

When I started betting on sports over 8 years ago I learned a lot from friends but I read a lot and learned a lot from www.covers.com

You will find everything you need to know there.