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Sports Betting Basics
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Sports Betting Basics Reading and Understanding Point Spreads What Is the Point Spread?In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other. Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched - meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process). If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and offshore sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team "winning" by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short). Let's look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team - so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England . But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet. How to Read the Point SpreadNew England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must "give" or "lay" points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7) In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a "push" or "no action" and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams. The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team's perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and thus receives or "gets" points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog's perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by: Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog's perspective; the later is from the favorite's. For Those Who Like to Consider Things MathematicallyNot a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Who Really "Won" the Super Bowl?Let's look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21 The favorite, New England , won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors. Looking at it from the underdog's perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors. Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats). Emily's boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily's boyfriend cashed his bet - giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner. And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
Reading and Understanding Money Lines What Is the Money Line?Like the point spread, the money line is used to equal out the attractiveness of the favorite and the underdog for the typical bettor. Money line results are
decided by an event's straight-up winner, without regard to any point
spread, since there is no point spread. Oddsmakers set the money line so
that more money must be risked on the favorite
(the expected winner) and less money on the
underdog in an effort to balance the willingness of bettors to back the
respective sides of a contest. How to Read the Money LineIn the case of Serena
Williams versus an overmatched opponent, a reasonable money line would
require Serena bettors to risk $400 to win $100; while a $100 bet on her
opponent would win $360. When Is the Money Line Used?Besides sports like NASCAR
and golf, where the margin of victory doesn't really matter, the money
line is also the standard way to bet MLB. If a point spread were used
with baseball, the smallest amount a line could be moved would be a ½
run, which would be much more significant than a ½-point move in
basketball or football. Using a point spread in baseball would not allow
an evening of the action with the necessary precision, so a money line
is used.
How the Betting Line is Made
Oddsmakers at LVSC are professional sports junkies who love what they do and would probably do it for nothing if you asked them, but they do get paid for it. By necessity their approach is very research-oriented and concise, since with millions of dollars at risk there is little margin for error. "You either have a passion for it or you don't," Seba
said. What Is the Line Trying to Accomplish?There is a common misconception that point spreads represent the oddsmakers' prediction of how many points the favorite will win by. That is not the case at all - their intent is NOT to evenly split the ATS result between the teams; rather, their goal is to attract equal betting action on both sides. Stated another way, they want to create a line that half the people find appealing to bet one way while the other half find it appealing to bet the other way (known as 'dividing the action'). Divided action means the sportsbook is guaranteed a profit on the game because of the fee charged to the bettor (called juice or vig - typically $11 bet to win $10). How the Opening Line Is MadeThe opening line is the first line created by the oddsmakers, which is then sent out to sportsbooks. Of course there is an entire method to the madness on how the opening line is created. Seba explained that it all starts with each oddsmaker creating a line on each game based upon their own personal approach. This usually includes having up-to-date power ratings on each team. Power ratings are the oddsmaker's value of each team and are used as a guide to calculate a "preliminary" pointspread on an upcoming game. The power ratings are adjusted after each game a team plays. Examples of non-game factors that would require an adjustment to a team's power rating are key player injuries and player trades. Once a game's power rating based pointspread is determined, the oddsmaker will make adjustments to that line after considering each team's most recent games played and previous games played against that opponent. Also, adjustments are made after reading each team's local newspapers to get a sense of what the coaches & players are thinking going into the game. Since the oddsmaker's ultimate goal is equally dividing the betting action, public perception and betting patterns must be taken into account. For example, the public might have heavy betting interest week after week on a popular college football team such as USC. If an oddsmaker comes up with a preliminary line of USC -7, then an adjustment up to -7.5 or -8 would be made in response to the public's expected USC bias. The last step in the line-making process for each oddsmaker is taking one final look to determine whether or not the line "feels right." This is where common sense and past experience with how games are bet enters into the picture. A round-table discussion among the 4-5 oddsmakers involved in making the line for each sport is then conducted and a consensus line is decided upon by the Odds Director before it is released to the sportsbooks. Of the 4-5 oddsmakers, generally the 2 most respected opinions are weighed more heavily by the Odds Director before he decides on the final line. Why the Line ChangesOnce the opening line is released by LVSC, the individual sportsbooks decide if they want to make any adjustments before offering it to the public. Reasons for such adjustments include:
The purpose of these adjustments, like all line adjustments, is to more equally divide the betting action. Once betting begins, sportsbooks can adjust the line at any time. In doing so they attempt to make more attractive the team that is getting less action. By moving the line, sportsbooks can influence how the public bets on a particular game. For example, if the pointspread on a game is 7 and most of the money is coming in on the underdog (taking the +7), sportsbooks will then move the number down to 6 ½ to try and attract money on the favorite. Moving the line is the oddsmaker's effort to balance
betting action, and often times such moves can have a major impact on a
bettor's decision. "The main objective is that our clients get equal action on both sides," Seba said. "We're not trying to pick the team that covers the spread, we're trying to make it a coin flip, a tough decision (for the bettor). If we've done that, we've done our job."
Overview of Bet Types What Can Be Bet On?Game Outcomes Oddsmakers use the money line so that more
money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and
less money on the underdog to balance the action on both
sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football
and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the
primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and
individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as
NASCAR.
Types of BetsStraight Bet |