Betting 101

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When you first start to bet on sports, you might feel a little overwhelmed by the amount of options in the sportsbook. There’s nothing to be intimidated about, though, because the reality is that there are just handful of major bet types. In this article, we’re going to run you through them so that you have a clear understanding on how they work at SportsBetting.com and beyond.

Different Bet Types

Horse Betting 101

Horse Race Betting 101: The Complete Guide for Dummies It’s estimated that horses were domesticated some six millennia ago by nomads living in Central Asia. As soon as they turned wild horses into their humble servants, nomadic tribesmen wanted to test who’s got the. Refer to the tabs above to learn how to place a bet, betting terms and what they mean, which types of bets can be placed, and how to box, key, and wheel your bets to get the best value from your wagering dollar. Betting 101 Here are the options for types of bets you can place. Click each of the buttons below for explanations on the different bet types. Here are the options for types of bets you can place. Click each of the buttons below for explanations on the different bet types. The bet calculator allows you to input your.

Moneyline

The moneyline is a type of wager that focuses on the outright outcome of the game. In other words, if the team you bet on wins, you win your bet. The trick here is that you have to understand the odds that are associated with these wagers. Let’s look at an example from SportsBetting.com:

Colorado Rockies +125

Los Angeles Dodgers -150

101

What you want to key in on here is the plus or minus sign. The plus sign tells you how much you’d win if you bet $100. In this case, a $100 bet on the “underdog” Rockies would pay out $125 if they won. On the other hand, the minus sign indicates how much you’d have to bet to win $100. In this case, a $150 bet on the “favorite” Dodgers would win you $100 if they won.

Of course, you’re not tied to wagering these exact amounts. You can risk whatever amount you’re comfortable with. This just gives you an indication of what the payouts would be on each side.

Point Spread Betting

The point spread is a one of the most common types of bets in football and basketball. This is essentially a margin of victory. Let’s take a look at an example.

Denver Nuggets +4.5

Los Angeles Lakers -4.5

The key here is to take note of the plus or minus sign. The plus sign indicates the “underdog” while the minus sign is assigned the “favorite.”

The minus sign indicates the amount of points that team needs to win by. In this case, the Lakers have to win by 5 points or more to win or “cover the spread.”

As for the Nuggets, since they have a plus sign in front of their odds, they are getting 4.5 points. That means if they lose by four, three, two or one, or win the game outright, that side wins the bet.

Total Betting

The total, which is also known as an over/under, is a way to bet on the game that focuses on the final score. What you’re looking at here is the combined final score of the two teams participating. Here’s an example:

Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Lakers

Total: 215.5

What we’re evaluating here is whether the final score of this game will be over – or more than – 215.5 points or under – or less than – 215.5 points. A final score of 125-100 or 114-103 would constitute an over. Final scores of 111-97 or 105-103 would result in the under side winning.

Futures Odds

While moneylines, totals and spreads focus on day-to-day betting (those bets are decided once the game is over), futures are a type of longer-term bet. These types of wagers are decided at a predetermined future time.

Some examples might be betting on which team will win the Super Bowl in the preseason or who’ll win a division or conference. Here is an example of how those odds might look:

AFC West Odds

Kansas City Chiefs -150

Los Angeles Chargers +175

Denver Broncos +1200

Oakland Raiders +1600

When you bet on one of these teams, your bet is locked in until the season ends the division winner is decided. That means it could be months before your wager is graded. The downside is that it takes a while for you to get your payout, but on the plus side, if you’re right the payout tends to be larger than a traditional bet.

Prop Bets

Props are a type of alternate bet where you focus on the performance of a player, team or outcome outside of the final score of the game. Here are a couple of examples:

Jerry Jeudy Total Receiving Yards: Over/Under 77.5

Will the Broncos Score a Touchdown in the First 7.5 Minutes of the Game? Yes +120/No -140

Betting 101

With Jeudy, you’re betting specifically on whether he’ll record more or less than 77.5 yards. Depending on the matchup and how he’s playing, you might see value there. With the Broncos prop, you’re just evaluating how you think they’ll perform in the first half quarter of the game.

Props are a good way to bet on the games if you don’t have a good read on which team will win outright or cover the spread.

SportsBetting.com is a licensed sportsbook in the state of Colorado. Customers 21 years and older within Colorado state lines can wager legally through the website or mobile app beginning September 1. The content above is solely for informational purposes and does not guarantee future winnings.

BETTING BASICS

A Beginners Guide to Betting on Horse Racing

+ BETTING 101

  1. Decide how much you want to betThe minimum “basic” bet is $2 but you can bet more.
  2. Pick your horseHave some fun with it, pick your horse based on name, number or colour. If you’re a little more serious about your pick, a race program is available to give you information on every horse and for every race being held. From this you can base your pick on a jockey or driver’s record or the horse’s past performance.
  3. Pick your basic betWIN: Your horse must finish firstPLACE: Your horse must finish first or secondSHOW: Your horse must finish first, second or third
  4. Placing your betOnce you’ve decided on the dollar amount, horse and bet type, you’re ready to place your bet. You can bet at the betting window or at a self-serve terminal.
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At the Betting Window:

Racetrack Name: Hastings RacecourseRace Number: Race #1Bet Amount: $2Horse Number: #7Bet Type: Win

Put it all together and say:“Hastings, race 1, two dollars on number 7 to win.”

At a Self-Serve Terminal:

Follow the step-by-step directions at the terminal. Be sure to check your ticket to confirm it’s the bet you want!

AFTER THE RACE

When the race is “official” take your ticket and check it against the official results to see if your ticket is a winner.

PLAYING THE ODDS

The Favorite: The more favored a horse is by bettors, the lower the odds and the lower the payout.The Longshot: Less popular horses have higher odds and a higher payout.

Odds are the numbers appearing beside the horse’s number, they are displayed on the TV monitors around the track, on the in-field board or within the racing browser on the website.

An example of how a $2 bet pays out at various odds:

ODDS1/28/52/17/25/110/1
PAYS$3$5.20$6$9$12$22

Once you’ve mastered the basic bet you’re ready to try exotic bets and boxed exotic bets for the chance to win more money

+ EXOTIC BETS

Exotic bets are similar to making a basic bet, but a lot more fun with the chance for bigger payouts!

Payouts are determined by how much money is bet into each of the pools, so watch for payouts of these exciting bets on the TV screens as soon as the race is declared “official.”

Exacta
Pick the top 2 finishers in a race in the exact finish order.
$2 Exacta – horse numbers 1,2 = Cost $2

Trifecta
Pick the top 3 finishers in a race in the exact finish order.
$2 Trifecta – horse numbers 1, 2, 3 = Cost $2

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Superfecta
Pick the top 4 finishers in a race in the exact finish order.
$1 Superfecta – horse numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 = Cost $1

Daily Double
Pick the winners of two consecutive races.
$2 Daily Double – horse numbers 1, 1 = Cost $2

Sports betting 101

Pick 3
Pick the winners of 3 consecutive races.
$1 Pick 3 – horse numbers 1, 1, 1 = Cost $1

Pick 4
Pick the winners of 4 consecutive races
$1 Pick 4 – horse numbers 1, 1, 1, 1 = Cost $1

+ BOXED EXOTIC BETS

When you “box” an exotic bet your scheduled finishers can finish in any order. With a typical exotic bet you must identify the exact order the horses will finish in order to win.

Exacta Box
Pick the top 2 finishers in a race.They can finish in any order within the top two positions$1 Exacta Box – horse numbers 1, 2 = Cost $2

Betting 101 The Spread

Trifecta Box
Pick the top 3 finishers in a race.They can finish in any order within the top three positions.$1 Trifecta Box – horse numbers 1, 2, 3 = Cost $6

Betting 101 Line

Superfecta Box
Pick the top 4 finishers in a race.

They can finish in any order with the top four positions.$1 Superfecta Box – horse numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 = Cost $24

+ TIPS

When you bet on horse racing, you should always keep the following statistics in mind:

Favorites WIN only 32% of the time.

Favorites PLACE (come in first or second) only 53% of the time.

Favorites SHOW (come in first, second or third) only 67% of the time.

Sports Betting 101

These tips are intended as a guide only. These tips are based on historical results and do not represent actual or implied future performance.

You must be at least 18 years of age to bet.