How to Bet on Sports

A moneyline bet is a wager on the outcome of an event, such as which team or competitor will win a game, tournament, match, race or championship. It’s one of the simplest types of bets available, and also one of the most popular.

A futures bet is a wager on the outcome of an event that will not be decided until a future date, rather than the result of a single game or match. Futures bets typically involve picking outcomes such as which team will win a championship, or which player will win MVP come the end of the season.

Point spread betting is a type of bet where you place a wager on how many points a team or player will win or lose by in a sporting event.

Live betting, also known as in-play betting, involves wagering on events as they are happening. A range of bets can be placed once the game, match or race starts, and odds can change in real time while the event unfolds.

 A parlay is a bet that includes multiple individual wagers, such as bets on the outcome of two or more separate games, that are combined into a single bet. All of the individual bets are required to win for the parlay to be successful.

An over/under bet, or totals bet, is a wager on the total points, or other metric, that will be scored in a game. The sportsbook typically sets a total for the game and you can choose to place either an over or under wager against the sportsbook.

A prop bet – or proposition bet, to give the wager its full title – gives gamblers an alternative to betting on the overall result of a game. Instead, it offers the chance to bet on a particular event taking place within it. This kind of bet offers intrigue, excitement, and the chance of big wins.

Sports betting lingo can be puzzling. Some terms are almost archaic, having been in use for centuries while newer betting jargon spring up as sports and gambling move on. The more you bet, the more sports betting terms you’ll come across. So, if you don’t know your pleaser from a teaser or the ATS from the SP, here are all the betting terms and abbreviations you need to know to talk like a sharp.

Juice or vigorish (‘vig’) is the commission that a sportsbook takes for accepting a wager. While a healthy intake of juice maintains profitability for the book it can also restrict the ability of bettors to make money in the long term. Understanding how vig works is important when choosing the best sportsbook for a particular wager.

Buying points means paying a premium to give your wager a better chance of success. Moving a line in your favor can be the difference between a bet crashing out early or it staying alive to the end and winning.

Combining multiple smaller parlays made up of a group of teams or players, round robin bets enable you to multiply the potential return from a wager without needing every leg to win for the bet to succeed.

Hedging is a key strategy employed by pro sports gamblers but its principles can equally be used by casual bettors. So whether you’re new to betting on sports or have been wagering for years, read on to learn more about hedging and how to use it in your sports betting strategy.