Idea to Sticky: The Sports Book FAQ

I've noticed that in a few images of sports tickets, there's something in there that says like "Win $150 to pay $160" I can't quite translate that, (yeah I'm new and interested in learning about this)

Can any one help? THANKS IN ADVANCE!

 

"Win $150 to pay $160" basically means what when you cash your ticket, you will get $160... which is the $150 win plus the original $10 cost of the ticket".

 

As your "sporty" mod, I will run the idea of a Sports Betting faq sticky up the flagpole and see if it sticks....

 

That would be awesome, I'd like to know everything there is involved in sports betting, so I'm surfing this area and compiling this information as the research progresses. I'm even working on a website with the information so that every newcomer will have the foundation of all games in preparation for vegas. I've never been to vegas, but going there on June 20th, so I want to be mentally prepared for what I come across and trying to be a "know-it-all" and yet not really act the part, basically just yet another guy with all the information to help others if necessary.

 

I'm willing to author the section on bad bets that don't work out. I'm an expert.

 

I am working on this, but since my real world work is piling up, it will still be a while before I have a good draft of this sticky to post

 

Good idea, many casual bettors always want to ask about drink tickets, when to arrive for big games, how prop bets work, etc.

 

The absolute worst is when people stand at the ticket writer for five minutes to put down a $10 bet because they don't know how bet in a casino.

I see it every March Madness and football Sunday in the sports book. 10 minutes until kickoff and you have two or three morons at the front of the line standing there forever.

How long does it take to say "$110 on #251?" That gets my blood-a-boiling.

 

You can spot these guys a mile away. Look at their sheet in their hand.....look up at the board. Repeat two dozen times while the line moves forward.


One of the big screens in the sports book should have a constant loop showing how to place a wager at the book. (The horse windows need this as well.)

We all made our first wager, and I get not knowing the ins/outs. But some guys do this crap as a routine, and it's sickening.

These are the same guys who bitch about how slow the line is at the store, and then when they are at the register and the clerk has added up all of their junk and tells them, "That'll be $57.28", the clown starts fishing for his wallet!

 

I think the key there is "they don't know how"

Everybody has to have a first time. Maybe you had a buddy hold your hand and walk you through the process for the first time, but not everybody will have that and so some people have to ask for help.

My first time placing a bet in a sportsbook I was probably up there for a couple of minutes asking questions and then my next few times were faster, but I still had questions... so I guess I would say: :Þ

For this I am thinking:
The two or three people at the front of the line taking forever are probably inexperienced...
And then I am thinking the moron is the impatient guy who seems to know it all, except that he should maybe show up earlier to place his bets because there are always two or three people at the front of the line standing there forever when its 10 minutes to kickoff...


Somewhat related to this: I am still a bit surprised that Las Vegas sportsbooks don't have electronic betting terminals.

The only thing I can think is maybe they are afraid that some professional sports gamblers would just use the terminals to place bets over and over again to either manipulate the line or to place large wagers on one side, but doing it in smaller bets that they go unnoticed by the book.

I would have to think that they would speed up the process for either novice gamblers or the veteran pros.

 

Great idea for a sticky. I'm going in Sept and would like some tips or hints to make a simple bet or two. Because otherwise, I'll be that woman taking 10 minutes at the window, asking a million questions. But hey, there's gotta be a first time, right?

 

Yep, everybody was a first timer at least once... its easy if you have a friend or somebody there to help you out, but if not its ok to ask questions.

I still have questions to ask from time to time and so I try to get there early when there isn't too many people around, usually early (I think most of the horse racing starts around noon eastern, so thats when they seem to start to pick up) or later in the day when most of the games are done and the late (7PM Pacific Time) games have started. With questions I would avoid any time on Saturdays or Sundays.

And if anybody gives you a hard time for asking questions I would just ignore them - its not like the sportsbooks open with only scant few minutes to spare before any big games or racing starts, so its their own fault for being stupid enough to cut it so close to game time before coming to make their bets.... if its so all fired important for them to put money on the game they should have gotten out of bed 5-10 minutes earlier.

 

This is the exact reason I did not bet on a baseball game or 2 when I was in Vegas. I wanted to bet on a mariners game with king Felix on the mound but I had no clue what the -numbers and +numbers where about and what bets to do. So I sat in the area to relax and watch the games for a few minutes. I have been looking at some things but I don't plan on really digging in to what means what until next month that way it's fresh in my head for when I go out.

Also the same reason I don't play craps. No clue what to do and what's going on. But I wanna learn both.

 

This is where you could have just gone up to the window and said "Hi! I have never bet on sports before so I am not sure what to do... I want to bet $50 on the Mariners to win"

With the numbers the only thing you really need to know is: a negative number means a favorite, a positive number means something is not a favorite. If you can't or don't want to do the math once you have your ticket it will tell you how much you would win.

Craps is an interesting game: on the surface it is really simple, but it can get complex because there are so many different bets you can make.

But all those extra bets are just ways to get more chips on the table and if you just stick to the basics (PASS or DON'T PASS, buying odds) its pretty simple to learn.

The big thing is that a lot of casinos, especially most of the MGM casinos, offer lessons on how to play craps where you can learn the game with other new players and then the table becomes live where either you can stay and keep playing, with other new players, for real money or you can just go.

 

Conveniently there is already a sticky for that in the Casino Gaming section.

https://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93780

Good luck next time you go, you will be hooked on craps.

 

During off peak times is the best way to learn how to bet in a sports book. Just go up to a ticket writer and ask away. Usually they have no issues answering general questions.

In baseball, there are two types of side bets, moneyline and runline... I won't discuss runlines here. The moneyline is a straight up bet and it will look something similar to this: NYY -165, NYM +155. In the example, NYY is the favorite and NYM is the underdog. -165 means if you bet $165, you will win $100 and the ticket will pay $265 (the win + the original bet). +155 means that if you bet $100, you will win $155 and the ticket will pay $255 (the win + the original bet).

You can also bet a total in baseball... what is generally referred to as the "over/under" on a game. A total is the combined total number of runs in a game. A total may be set at 8. You can bet over 8 runs or under 8 runs. Usually, these types of bets have a juice or vig set at -110. The rules apple to this bet as betting on the favorite above (betting $110 will yield a $100 win).

Here's a good article from the wizard on betting:

http://wizardofodds.com/games/sports-betting/mlb/

He has other links at the bottom for betting sports as well.

 

Just curious is there a number (-170 and above for example) where you will not bet the favorite because the risk is too great vs. return?

 

I always used the -160 rule.
If a team was a favorite by -160 or greater on an opening line I threw the game out.
No matter who the starting pitcher was.
Too many variables in baseball with the girly man injuries.
And possible rain delays that can last.

 

This is a good rule of thumb, though I would look at the run line and you may end up even / +110/130 betting the favorite -1 1/2 runs. Teams which win will cover the run line about 3/4 of the time, so you may as well bet the run line on favorites and take the favorable spread.

 

That's the number I tend to hover around too ... -160. And even then it makes me cringe sometimes.

And the past few years you have to take umpires and their worsening at calling games and interjecting themselves into the outcomes.

I love playing RL under dogs in baseball. A couple years ago I hit on the Phillies -1.5 at +175 with $500 on a Ryan Howard double in the bottom of the 8th. I was drunk and threw the $500 out with no regards or thinking - just being an ultimate homer.