How does sports betting work?

money line

Straight betting is the most common type of sports betting. It is simply betting on the outcome of a single outcome.

• Example 1: The Toronto Raptors are playing an NBA game against the Boston Celtics. You think the Raptors will beat Boston, so you bet directly on Toronto.

• Example 2: UFC heavyweight Francis Ngannou is fighting challenger Ciryl Gane. You believe Ngannou will win this game, so you bet directly on him.

Spread

Spread bets are related to margin of victory. A spread bet involves either “giving away” or “taking” a certain number of points, goals, runs and so on. That number is determined by the sportsbook and reflects the expected victory margin.

Bettors choose whether they’re going to “take” the spread (which means betting the underdog) or “give” the spread (betting the favorite).

• Example: Dallas Cowboys (-5.5) versus Philadelphia Eagles (+5.5). If you think the Cowboys will win by at least six points, you would give (or “lay”) 5.5 points. If you like Jalen Hurts and the Eagles’ chances to win the game or lose by five points or fewer, you would take the 5.5 points.

Point spread lines have odds attached to them, and more often than not, those odds are -110 for both teams. The price includes the vig.

As explained above, that means if you want to bet either the Cowboys -5.5 points or Eagles +5.5 points, you would have to wager $110 for a chance to win $100 (or $11 to win $10).

Totals

Also referred to as Over/Under betting, totals bets focus on the final score of a game rather than who wins.

When betting a total, you predict if the two sides will combine for more (Over) or fewer (Under) runs, goals, points and so on, than the total amount posted by oddsmakers.

• Example: A Los Angeles Rams-Seattle Seahawks matchup has a total of 42.5. If you think the Rams and Seahawks will combine for at least 43 points by the end of the game, you would bet the Over. If you expect a defensive slugfest that ends with 42 combined points or fewer, you would wager on the Under.

If you’re interested in diving into Over/Under betting, remember this popular saying as it relates to wagering on totals: “It’s never under until it’s over.” As long as a game is ongoing, it’s always possible to win your Over bet (or lose your Under bet). As most people know, sports can be unpredictable.

Conversely, if you bet on Seahawks-Rams over 42.5 points and the score is 24-21 at halftime, you’ve got a winner and don’t have to sweat out the second half.

Futures

Rather than wagering on a game taking place today or this week, futures bets are just that: bets that will be decided in the future.

Examples include betting on a team to win the World Series; a country to win soccer’s World Cup; a golfer to win next year’s Masters golf tournament; a player to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Futures bets tend to offer greater odds—and thus larger potential payouts—than straight bets. For example, it’s generally less likely to predict the Stanley Cup winner at the start of an NHL campaign than predicting which team will win a random regular-season game.

An important thing to remember about futures bets: The odds change. For instance, just because the Los Angeles Lakers have +1500 odds to win the NBA title on the first day of a season doesn’t mean those odds will hold firm for the next seven months. In fact, they most certainly will not.

Injuries, trades and performing below (or above) expectations will affect how a futures market unfolds.

The odds you get when you place your wager will never change—in other words, if you bet the Lakers at +1500, those are your odds all season.

If the betting market drops the Lakers to +400 because they’re playing well, you made a good bet, at least for the time being. But if the Lakers struggle and their odds fall to +5000, well … your bet has lost value.

It’s important to research a team or player before putting your money down. Price shopping is also recommended. Why would you bet the Lakers at +1500 at one sportsbook when another is offering odds at +1800?

Props

While other markets focus on the final outcome of a game or event, prop bets relate to an individual athlete’s performance—or even something that doesn’t show up in the box score.

One example of a player prop would be betting on Joe Burrow’s total touchdown passes in a game (Over or Under 1.5 TD passes).

An example of a prop bet that has nothing to do with the actual action on the field or court would be betting the color of Gatorade that douses the coach of the Super Bowl-winning team.

Here are some of the more popular forms of prop bets:

• Player prop: Relates to a single player’s performance, such as total number of points scored in a basketball game, goals in a hockey game or rushing yards in a football game

• Game prop: Relates to a single game, such as choosing which player will hit the first home run in an MLB game or which team will finish with more passing yards in a football game

• Novelty prop: Usually reserved for big events—namely, the Super Bowl—novelty props can range from the aforementioned Gatorade shower after the game to the coin toss before it.

Parlays

A parlay combines two or more straight wagers into one bet. Parlays are popular because they open the door to win bigger payouts while risking less money. Think of it as sports betting’s version of a lottery ticket.

The number of legs (bets) in a parlay and the odds attached to each of those legs determine how much a bettor can win. The bigger the parlay—and the bigger the bet—the bigger the potential payoff.

However, it’s important to note that parlays are difficult to hit—and the more legs you add, the degree of difficulty can increase exponentially. All it takes is for one leg to miss and your parlay is lost. For example, if you go 6-1 on a seven-team parlay, you might as well have gone 0-7.

Here are the two main types of parlays:

• Same-game: A parlay constructed with multiple bets from one game or contest.

• Multi-game: A parlay built with bets from multiple games or contests.

The legs of a multi-game parlay don’t have to be from the same sport.

A third parlay type is called a teaser bet, which is most popular in football (particularly the NFL).

Like a parlay, a teaser is constructed with two or more teams. The main differences: Only point spread bets can be included in teasers, and bettors can shift the point spread by a certain number of points in any direction.

Here’s an example of a four-team, six-point NFL teaser:

• Pittsburgh Steelers (-4.5) versus Cleveland Browns

• Miami Dolphins (-2.5) versus New York Jets

• Arizona Cardinals (+7.5) versus Los Angeles Rams

• Las Vegas Raiders (+3.5) versus Denver Broncos

If you put the Steelers, Dolphins, Cardinals and Raiders in your teaser, you would be able to move the point spread six points in your favor.

So teaser point spreads would be:

• Pittsburgh Steelers (+2.5) versus Cleveland Browns

• Miami Dolphins (+3.5) versus New York Jets

• Arizona Cardinals (+13.5) versus Los Angeles Rams

• Las Vegas Raiders (+10.5) versus Denver Broncos

Because bettors get to move the point spreads, the payouts on teasers are lower than parlays.

Tip: When executing football teaser bets, it’s important to remember two things. Never tease through zero, and do your best to tease through key numbers in the NFL, such as three, six, seven and 10.