SportsBetting Strategies 

by Gayle Mitchell

SportsBetting Strategies is for new players who want to receive an education about this gaming option either online or off.  
We begin with additional Sports Terms, followed by basic sportsbetting strategies. 

Betting or Money Line: is established by the casino in-house or purchased from a company or individual who calculates or ‘makes’ betting lines.
The casino’s commission or vigorish is built into the winning bets, just like a banker bet at the baccarat table.

The purpose for the casino is not to bet against the bettors, but to provide an equal opportunity for bets on both sides, so the casino does not end up paying out more money than it takes in.
It is the line maker’s job in creating the betting line to utilize a method of handicapping that will penalize the favorite bet and strengthen the opposition bet.

This betting line can rise and fall up to the start of the contest allowing the casino sports book to gather as many bets as possible on the under-bet team, thereby, eliminating ‘steam’ (heavy action on one side) and establishing a profit no matter who wins the contest.

You lay, or give odds when betting the favorite, thus laying or giving a large bet to win small, or taking odds on the underdog (dog) small wager to win big. 

Point Spread Bet: Betting information for sports is quoted with the point spread or ‘spread’ on the big board. The spread gives the underdog extra points, thereby challenging the ‘favorite’ bettor to bet not just on the win, but the win by more than the spread.
A bet on the underdog wins if the game is theirs, or if the favorite wins by less than the spread.

If the favorite meets the spread exactly, the game is a tie for the point spread bet, and all wagers are returned.
You are always laying odds on a point spread bet for whatever side you choose, thereby paying more, e.g. $11 to win $10 and the house gets it vig. Your bet is now locked in for you, regardless of any future changes in the line.

You can buy 1/2 point (+ -) usually 3 limit-by accepting the odds that go along with it.
Example: to change a spread from +3 to +3 1/2 or from -7 to -6 1/2 on a bet of $100, you must risk $120 to win $100. 

Total Bet: is available to wager on the total number of points scored by both teams during the game, based on an over/under quoted number.
These bets are layed based on the quoted total number of points scored, OV=betting over what the board offers, or

UN =under-betting that the teams won’t score that many points together.

Big Sports Board: explains these three bets, and quotes betting information.

SportsBetting Strategies:
The biggest mistake sport bettors make is following their heart rather than their head--betting on their hometown or favorite team knowing the odds are stacked against them.
Quality bets require research, starting with the newspaper sports section, sports magazines, online forums, searching the internet or the many TV sports programs.

Think carefully about betting more than 2 games that are played at the same time.
Are they all quality bets?  Can I stand to lose (get waxed) on all these bets, and still stay within my budget? 
Remember you have to win at least 53% of point spread bets to keep ahead of the house vig. 

I would suggest that novice sport bettors ‘get down’, placing simply a line bet-which team will win, after doing your homework, of course. This will let you wade in slowly as opposed to jumping in cannon ball style.

Upon graduation, you can move forward to Parlays and Teaser bets where multiple correct selections will bring in bigger profits.
SportsBetting Strategies should inluce Futures betting--betting on a team to go the distance with odds based on that team’s projected finish order.