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Betting on sports is one of the most popular forms of gambling in the world. It combines our love of sports with our even bigger love to risk money. Sports betting can be very profitable if done right, and is one of the few gambling activities where the bettor actually can expose and edge, and make money.
The problem with sports betting is that it can be quite confusing to the beginner. Thankfully, at Rake Shark we have put together a guide for you that will outline some of the bets and wagers you can place.
Before we get started, you will need a few things in order to bet on sports: - You will need some money
- You will need a sports book to place your bets at
- You will need to pick a few sports teams to bet on!
If you have those taken care of, then you are ready to learn sports betting. Click here to get a sportsbook account!
Below you will find some basic instruction on reading the lines and placing bets. Click these links directly below for more information on the respective topic:
- Parlays
- Teaser bets
- If Bets
- Reverse bets
- Betting on the NHL
The lines are what ever sports bettor uses to make their decision on what games to bet. It is kind of like the stock ticker lines for say the New York Stock Exchange. The betting lines are made by odds makers at various sports books around the world. Here is an example of what the line looks like for a game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns:
| Spread | Moneyline | Total Points | | Pittsburgh Steelers | -7 -110 | -330 | o33 -110 | | Cleveland Browns | +7 -110 | +270 | u33 -110 |
Now lets break down the line, and see what everything means.
At first the spread can be a little confusing, but it really is a simple concept. What the spread is attempting to do is set both teams even. Obviously in sports, some teams are good and other teams are bad. The points spread is used to equalize the teams, odds makers try to set a point spread that is as close to a coin flip as possible. So, lets look at our Steelers Browns game.
| Actual Score in the real world | Final Score | Results | | Pittsburgh Steelers | 24 | Pittsburgh Wins | | Cleveland Browns | 21 | Cleveland Loses | | | | | | Now lets take the spread into account and see who wins! | Final Score | Account for spread | The Betting mans final score | Results | | Pittsburgh Steelers | 24 | -7 | 17 | Pittsburgh loses! | | Cleveland Browns | 21 | | 21 | Cleveland Wins! |
In our line above, for the spread, you will also notice it says -110. This simply represents the return you will get on your money. You can also look at it as the price the book is charging for your bet. When you see -110, that means you will need to bet $110 dollars to win $100. Some books offer lower pricing, so for example, if you see -105, that means you will need to bet $105 dollars to win $100. It obviously is proportionate to the amount you bet, all the way down to the book minimum.
The moneyline bet is simply where you bet on who you think will win the game. Obviously because it would be pretty easy to pick this one right most of the time, the book has to set the odds of each team different. In our example above, we see the money line for the Steelers is -330. That means you will need to lay $330 dollars just to win $100. Or, you will need to lay $3300 to win $1000! Now, on the other hand since Cleveland is the dog in the game, you get much better odds. The moneyline for the Browns is +270. So now, you can bet $100 dollars, and if Cleveland wins, you win $270 dollars!
The moneyline can be very profitable but you need to do your research and bet it wisely. The favorite always seems like a sure bet, but remember, your laying a lot of money for minimal returns.
The total points line is very simple. You are simply betting on weather or not the combined scores of each team will be over, or under a certain amount. In our above example, the over is 33 points. So if you bet on the over, the combined score would need to be 34 or higher for you to win the bet. It is just the opposite if you bet the under. Like spread bets, these wagers usually offer between -105 and -110 return.
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Poker Strategy 
