1. What type of sports bets are available?
There are 3 main bets that can be wagered on sports. (Note: It is not in the scope of this website to explain the basics of sports betting. Refer to the references at the bottom of the page for more details on how to find these resources.)
1. Money Line Bet
A "line" penalizes the bettor for betting on the favorite. The bettor bets more to win less. Generally the odds are expressed in one of 2 ways:
a) Team A - Team B 6 1/2 - 7 1/2
This means that if you bet the favorite (Team A), you need to bet $7.50 to win $5.00. If you bet the underdog (Team B), you bet $5 to win $6.50. This
b) Team A - Team B +130-150
This means that you will need to bet $150 on Team A (the favorite is always listed first) to win $100 and if you bet on the underdog you will need to bet $100 to win $130.
2. Point Spread Bet
In point spread betting the winning bet is determined by the final score rather than which team wins. For example if team A is favored by 7 points over team B, a bettor can still win even if team B were to lose. As long as team B loses by less than 7 points, then a bet on the underdog will win. In the case that Team A wins by exactly 7 points, the bet is considered a "push" and all money is returned to the players. Games that go into overtime may be considered "push" bets. Check with your bookmaker to see what specific rules there are for tie games and overtime games.
All bets pay $10 for every $11 bet (about 10%). The dollar the bookmaker keeps is the commission or also called the "vig" and is how sportsbooks make money. Note that you need to win at least 52.38% of any point-spread bets in order to break even.
A money line bet is useful if you like a favorite in an event but aren't sure it can cover the points.
3. Over / Under Bet
In this type of bet, the bettor bets on whether the combined score will exceed or be below the set points. If the combined score is the same as that set then it is considered a "push" and money is returned to the bettor.
2. What sports are best to bet on?
In general bet on the sport you are most knowledgeable about. In order to win consistently you must have some "edge" over the house. If you have no knowledge on the sport you are betting on then your edge is essentially zero and you will be essentially picking winners at random.
Baseball: Betting on baseball is about the starting pitchers more than the team. If you want to bet on baseball make sure you know the starting pitchers and their records.
Football: There are hundreds of football games that include both college and pro football. College betting in general requires more scrutiny as there are more variables in play such as player relationships, coaches' relationships etc. Pro football is generally less prone to these variable factors. Greater opportunities however exist in college betting for the line to be set incorrectly thus enabling greater profit opportunities. When betting football ensure that you understand that most scores fall in multiples of either 3 or 7. Make your point spread bet according to all possible scenarios and buy points if necessary.
3. What are the most common sports betting myths?
The bookmaker never loses
There are hundreds if not thousands of bookmakers that are out of business. Theoretically the bookmaker is trying to find the best middle ground where 50% of the bettors are on one side and the other 50% are on the other side of a bet. However due to fluctuations in betting patterns this does not always happen and the line they set cannot be adjusted in time. Often the bookmaker ends up taking a position on some events and if the bet is big enough it can cause a substantial loss.
You bet heavy when you're hot and you ease off when you're cold
There is no correlation of your future betting results with past results. This is just common sense similar to the situation when you are flipping a coin. Just because you get 5 heads in a row doesn't mean you will get 5 more. The same with sports betting as each event has a statistical probability of a particular scenario ocurring.
You can't bet the colleges as they're unreliable
Some college lines are not followed by the media and line makers as much as pro events. As a result the line set may be prone to weaknesses due to circumstances unknown to the bookmaker. This provides a great opportunity for the knowledgeable bettor to take advantage of such a situation.
4. Do you have to invest in a handicapping service to win?
The simple answer is no. Although I am not claiming that they are all fraudulent you need to look deeper into the numbers in order to accurately gauge their touts. You must remember that on standard point-spread bets, even a grandmother should be able to pick 50% of the games correctly. Many of these companies tout their winning percentages, however they often do this based on a subset of the total information. For example, many forecasting companies work this way: They will pick their game of the day. At random even a grandmother should be able to pick 50% winners without any knowledge of the games. Let's say there are 8 callers then that should mean that 4 callers get it right. These 4 winning callers are sure to call back the following week to get the winners for the next week. Assuming she picks games at random there should be 2 callers that have still had grandma pick winners for 2 consecutive weeks. These same bettors will continue to subscribe for the 3rd week. Many handicapping services work in this way, they make money based on the percentages and marketing to as many new customers is paramount to their success. After all it is a numbers game for them.
Although I am not suggesting all handicapping services are bogus, just be forewarned that these services do not necessarily guarantee that you will increase your winning percentages. Some people are willing to accept a handicappers success ratio of 50% however to put this in perspective, think of it like this, even your grandma can pick 50% at random on points spread bets. However in order for you to break even you need to pick 52.38% of the best correctly in order to cover your commissions.
5. Do sports betting systems work?
A sports betting system is a set of rules that determine the events and the amounts to be wagered on those events in a scientific manner. Sports betting systems are advertised via 1-900 toll numbers, newspapers, internet and television etc. and range from services that are proprietary (meaning you don't know how they pick the games) to actual systems that teach you where and how to bet. Sports betting systems are analogous to stock picking systems which have both proprietary (stock newsletters) and actual systems (e.g. technical analysis). They usually claim that by using their services that your success and thus your winnings will increase. An example of a quantitative sports betting system is the Blindfold system and is listed on our site at this page.
Like stock pickers there are cases of success and failures. Often a sportsbetting system will work successfully for a while and then fail for a while. Over the long term there are very few systems out there that can consistently pick winners substantially higher than the average. Most of the money in sportsbetting systems is made in actually selling the system to naive sports bettors. I am not discrediting the inventors of these systems however I am only warning those who purchase them to be careful of what they are buying as often the claims made by the seller are not entirely accurate.
6. Are sports information services useful?
There are services out there such as Stratfox which offer sports information to bettors. They do not make picks nor guarantee winners. All they do is provide a central source where relevant information on the sports event is available. Do not confuse them with sports handicapping services that tout winners in sports events. These services are useful as they provide information where you can ultimately make an informed decision on it. However note that there is also a lot of free information on the Internet as well.
7. What should I look for when choosing a sports betting bookmaker?
Reliability
Choose reputable bookmakers that have good reputations with lots of client referrals available. There are many online sportsbooks that do not have the necessary cash capital to pay in the case of a bet gone bad yet they continue to advertise and purport themselves as industry leaders. Some warning signs of dishonest sportsbooks are:
- Spamming (watch for companies that spam in order to get clients)
- Pay an unusual bounty or commission for referrals. The sportsbooks business is a competitive one with fixed margins. If they pay out a disproportionate amount in commission referrals, be suspicious of this.
The line
Find out if the line is "sharp" or "soft". Although sportsbooks often buy their lines from a 3rd party line making service, their own line will change as bettors enter the event. A line is said to be "sharp" when the bookmaker varies the spread due to increased betting on the event from either side. The line is "soft" if the bookmaker does not change the line due to betting patterns. The whole key in sports betting is to ensure that you are able to take advantage of the lines that are advantageous to your position. A difference of 0.5 points is enough to change your winning percentage substantially over the course of an entire season.
In general any serious sports gambler should have at least 4 different sportsbooks in which they can place bets. This gives the player more opportunities
Sports betting FAQ 
