Among the tips and tricks we’ll teach you in this beginner’s guide, we’ll highlight these critical factors that are a “must know.
Once you understand the basics of sports betting, you can find good value and many different bets to help you beef up your bankroll balance.
Putting best practices into your betting routine will go a long way toward creating slow, steady gains over time as you navigate the wonderful world of online sports betting. Discipline, consistency in approach, and avoiding emotional betting are terrific habits to adopt and will become the keystone for your success.
What Is Sports Betting?
Sports betting is the act of risking money on the outcome of a sports game, match, or event. It’s one of the most popular forms of gambling because it plays off people’s passion for their favorite sports teams or leagues. Sports betting goes far beyond simply betting on the winner or an event, though, and there are ways to bet on sports by introducing odds and handicapping systems to get punters to bet on action on both sides of any given Understanding Odds
Odds measure the likelihood of a specific outcome in sports betting. Online sportsbooks will set up the betting line, the margin between two possible outcomes (the odds-on favorite or the underdog winning). The favorite team or competitor gets assigned a specific set of odds, as does the underdog team or competitor.
Good bookmakers who have spent much time in the industry know how to assign values to the odds they put out correctly. The idea for them is to get the public to bet equally on both sides of a bet; that way, there isn’t uneven action, and they don’t lose a fortune having to pay out bettors in the event of either outcome.
However, there are times when the bookmakers will assign incorrect values to bets, either overvaluing or undervaluing them. It’s the job of any good sports bettor to find these instances of misassigned value—these are the bets where you can make a lot of money. You can get a good deal on underdog odds and win a hefty payout if there’s an upset.
Types of Odds
Many sportsbooks will offer three formats for viewing your odds: American, decimal, and fractional. You can choose which format best suits you. Although certain odd formats are more prevalent in specific countries, you can easily switch between formats using US-based sportsbooks, and these settings will never be restricted based on where you live.
As long as we’re on the subject, American odds are favored in the United States (duh), fractional odds are favored by people in the UK and Ireland and decimal odds are favored by people in the other major Western nations: Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
Reading Different Odds Formats
Keep reading to find out how you read the three significant odds formats and how to determine your payout correctly.
American Odds
With American odds, the favorite to win is shown by a negative sign (-), and the underdog is shown by a positive sign (+)
The Falcons are favored to win this game, while the Eagles are the underdog team. If you’re betting on Atlanta, you’re staking $500 to win $100 for a total payout of $600. Betting on the favorite is risky, but not really. You’re staking more money on the favorite than you would the dog, but the favorite is likely to win, so you earn a minimal profit of $100.
If you bet on Philly, you’re taking a risk in the hopes that they can pull out a win and cause a significant upset. It’s been known to happen! For this bet, you must wager $100, and if Philly wins, you get a payout of $700 for a total payout of $800! If you play underdog bets right, you can win a lot more than betting on the favorite.
Fractional Odds
People in Great Britain and Ireland are partial to fractional odds. This format uses backslashes (/) or hyphens (-). A fractional odds example would be 4-1 or (4/1) odds, also known as “four-to-one” odds. This means you can win $4 for every $1 your wager.
Let’s say the oddsmakers offer 4-1 odds on the Eagles winning over the Falcons. You bet $20 on the Falcons, and they win the game. You win $80 in profit ($20 x 4) and get your original wager back, so your payout is $100.
Decimal Odds
Decimal odds are sometimes called continental or digital odds, and they are most used overseas in Europe and Australia. These odds are the preferred format for our Neighbor to the North, Canada. They’re called decimal odds because they are used in the numbers the oddsmakers post to the book.
In this example, the Falcons are still favored to win over the Eagles. 1.4 is the equivalent of -250 in American odds or ⅖ in fractional odds. It’s an implied probability of 71.43%. A bet of $100 on Atlanta would result in a profit of $40 ($100 x 1.4) and a total payout of $140 because you get your original bet back.
Those who bet on the Eagles need Philly to pull off the upset for the bet to be considered a win. 3.00 equals +200 in American odds, with an implied probability of 33.33%. Betting $100 on Philly would result in a profit of $200 and a total payout of $300 if the Eagles win over the Falcons.
Types of Sports Bets
Part of a good sports betting strategy is keeping your betting portfolio diversified with a good range of bets from various markets that you’re familiar with, but it’s also the type of bets that you place that can impact a well-rounded betting approach. Let’s go over how you can wager on sports—we’ll look at the basic betting formats and the exotic offers that most sportsbooks feature for their customers.
- Moneylines: These are bets where you’re trying to correctly predict the winner of a game, match, or event. This can be an entire team or an individual competitor.
- Point Spread: These bets offer action on both sides, so you can bet just as easily on an underdog as you could on a favorite to win. With these bets, you’re trying to predict (roughly) the margin of victory correctly.
>Favorites are represented by a negative number (-3, for example), and the underdog is represented by a positive number (+3, for another example). Using these numbers, a bet on the favorite will only win if that team or competitor wins by more than three points. For the underdog to win, that ream of competitors has to win outright over the favorite (an upset), or they can lose by no more than three points! - Totals (Over/Under): Oddsmakers will try to correctly guess the total number of points scored during a game and let bettors try to predict if the final combined score will come in over or under this number. Again, this is another type of sports betting where it’s easy to bet on the favorite and the underdog.
Choosing a Sports Betting App
There are several ways to narrow down your choices and find the right sportsbook for your online betting needs, but that is if you plan on using a single sports betting app to handle all your actions. Consider these factors as you shop for the right app to use a sportsbook to deliver the desired experience!
- Legality and Licensing: Choose a sportsbook that’s available in the state or jurisdiction where you live. This ensures you use legit, regulated platforms that adhere to local or state laws. You can check the bonuses a sportsbook offers and use this as one of your primary criteria for finding the perfect betting platform.
- Banking Options: Another good way to narrow your choices is to find a sportsbook supporting the banking format that works for your budget and lifestyle. Most sportsbooks offer credit/debit cards, online banking, e-wallets, or the Play+ Card as options for deposits and payouts. Find the banking options that work best for you!
- Customer Support: Check out the support options. You’ll want good customer service backing up if problems or issues arise. We recommend choosing a platform that offers support options like live chat, phone support, or email messaging. It’s all based on what’s important to you and your desired betting experience.
How to Place a Bet
Follow these steps to select your bets and apply them to your bet slip.
- Choose your sportsbook. Enter your name, email address, and date of birth to begin registering your new account.
- Create a username and password to access your new account. You’ll use These login terms to get in and out of the sportsbook safely and securely.
- Choose a deposit method that works for your budget and banking needs. You can typically choose between credit cards, prepaid cards, e-wallets, and bank/wire transfers. Enter the amount you want to make for your first deposit and submit it.
- Select the sports market and game you’d like to bet on. You can find the markets along a vertical menu on the left-hand side of the screen. The specific games or matches will appear in the middle once you select your market.
- Choose the odds on the bets. You can choose between moneyline bets, point spreads, and totals. Click on these to add them to your bet slip.
- Next, enter the money you want to place on the bet. Remember the minimum and maximum bets that come with the odds or bet you’re placing.
- Confirm your bet before submitting it. Ensure the game, odds, and the amount you’d like to bet are all correct.
Bankroll Management
A significant aspect of sports betting is good bankroll management. This is where you use your gambling budget responsibly, including practices like staying committed to a budget, using percentage or unit betting to avoid burning through your bankroll and spreading your money over several wagers to minimize losses and enjoy small, incremental gains over time.
Tips for Good Bankroll Management
While making solid betting decisions is essential, the other side of the equation for success in sports betting is managing your finances well. Follow these strategies to manage your bankroll responsibly and to build your balance over time.
- Set aside a specific amount of money for your gambling budget. Keep it separate from your regular money, and don’t go over.
- Set up the units you’ll use for betting. You can use a percentage of your bankroll or establish a unit size you’re comfortable with. Make sure it’s a smaller amount, and apply this to all your bets, no matter how hot the bet might be.
- Don’t chase losses. Either walk away from your sportsbooks and take a break to minimize the money you could lose. Or keep betting using the same unit or percentage. Don’t up the amount of your bets to offset what you lost!
- Choose low-variance bets. These guarantee steady returns, though they are smaller than the big payday you could expect betting on underdogs or betting using parlays or props. The idea is to rake in small, steady returns versus a few big, exciting payouts.
- Gamble using logic and reason. Don’t bet using your emotions like anger, frustration, or excitement. Stick to your betting strategy. If you can’t, take a break from sports betting to clear your head.
- Keep track of your bets. Record the date of the bet, the matchup, the type of bet placed, the odds, the spreads or totals, the amount of your bet, your profit, and the final result. Once you’ve compiled this information, you can review it to see your betting strengths and weaknesses. You can hone your strategy and approach once you discover your weak areas.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
The more you can learn as a newer bettor, the less likely you’ll be to run into these common pitfalls that novice punters are susceptible to—sidestepping these betting mistakes can put you miles ahead of other bettors who have as much experience as you.
- Bankroll Mismanagement: The most important thing to do right in sports betting is to have a tight grip on managing your gambling budget. Set aside a certain amount of money that you can afford to lose. Never use money that’s needed for debts or living expenses.
- The best practice when it comes to bet size is to choose a betting unit that you keep consistent across all bets, no matter how good the odds are. It’s best to make your bet size around 1-2% of your bankroll. Stay consistent and keep all your bets in this 1-2% range.
- You shouldn’t go into sports betting with the expectation that you’re going to make a living on it or that you’re going to make your fortune. The reality is that a slim portion of the population has been able to pull this off.
