Basic Sports Betting Tips

Here is our introduction to betting on sports and some solid betting tips and suggestions.

Sports betting is one way that sports enthusiasts can enjoy the game of their choice. For some people, sports are nothing more than a simple game or tournament to enjoy. For others, sporting events are ways to enjoy the game and profit from it a bit in the meantime.

There are several ways in which people can bet. Some people place bets with official bet collectors, but this is difficult for many beginners. A sports book is a place where people can place bets on any sporting tournaments, from the Super Bowl to a football match in Spain. There are different ways of placing sports bets. Sometimes the bettor will make predictions of who will win the game, and by how much.

Betting against the odds is an easier type of bet and one that is much more well-known. This is easy because it is simple and common: the gambler makes a bet on who will win and who will lose a given sporting event.

Over-under betting is also a style of betting that people employ with sports bookers, although it is not as common. With an over-under style of betting the person making the bet gambles that the full amount of the bet will go a certain amount over or under the total that the booker has stated.

Most people place sports bets with people that they know. Friendly betting is one of the most common forms of betting, done at work, done at school or among social circles. Whether you choose to use a sportsbook or do some simple betting with friends it is important to be responsible and choose wisely.

Ravens Ray Lewis to return next season

The Baltimore Ravens are still licking their wounds after letting a trip to the Super Bowl slip through their fingers against the New England Patriots on Sunday. With the Ravens making two big mistakes late in the game against the Patriots with a dropped touchdown pass by Lee Evans (which could’ve won the game) and a missed chip shot of a field goal by kicker Billy Cundiff, Baltimore was crushed by coming that close to a Super Bowl appearance and missing it due to unfortunate mistakes.

The big question after the 23-20 loss to the New England Patriots for the Baltimore Ravens was whether or not veteran perennial Pro Bowl linebacker Ray Lewis would return. With Lewis not getting any younger at 36-years-old (37 before next season), the consensus has been that he will hang them up sooner rather than later, but that doesn’t appear to be the case for the future Hall-of-Famer as he wants to come back for at least one more season with the Baltimore Ravens.

As for talks of a decline in play for Lewis, those talks can be put to rest as the superstar linebacker recorded 12 tackles against the Patriots on Sunday and showed that he still has something left in the tank. With the Baltimore Ravens being one of the league’s elite teams and seemingly getting better and better with every passing season, it is hard to blame Ray Lewis for coming back for another season as this team’s chances of competing for a Super Bowl title next season are very good to say the least.

This season the Baltimore Ravens proved that they are ready to take the next step under head coach John Harbaugh with a 12-4 regular season record and an AFC North division title. Not only were the Ravens dominant through the majority of the NFL regular season, but they dominated their arch division rivals and defending AFC champions in the Pittsburgh Steelers with two convincing wins.

That success alone is enough to merit the return of Ray Lewis as long as he can stay healthy. With four games missed by the perennial Pro Bowl linebacker, Lewis realized he isn’t made of a steal and will have to retire at some point in the near future. Baltimore still seems to back their face of the franchise as the Ravens are willing to stick with their superstar linebacker next season.

If the Baltimore Ravens do fall short of the Super Bowl once again next season, it wouldn’t surprise me to see both safety Ed Reed and linebacker Ray Lewis call it quits. It is still way too early to anticipate moves being made by the Ravens to improve this football team, but with as good as they looked in the NFL playoffs this team could stand pat with minor moves being made before next season.

AFC Wild Card

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Denver Broncos Sun. Jan. 8, 2012 4:30 p.m. EST

The first week of the NFL playoffs will be a good one with all the Wild Card teams battling it out for a chance to face the cream of the crop in the form of the New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers, Baltimore Ravens and the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers. Even though most of these Wild Card teams don’t stand much of a chance against the big dogs in the playoffs, there is always a possibility of one of these teams doing the seemingly impossible.

The one team that comes into the playoffs as arguably the biggest underdog is the AFC West division champion Denver Broncos with second-year quarterback Tim Tebow leading the way under center. Not only are the Broncos arguably the biggest underdog, but they will have arguably the toughest challenge ahead of them as they will have to face off against the lockdown defense of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Pittsburgh Steelers offense is a bit banged up coming into this matchup with two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Ben Roethlisberger nursing a sore ankle and running back Rashard Mendenhall (torn ACL, right knee) out for the season, but this team has been good enough on the defensive side of the football that they might be able to takeout the Denver Broncos without much trouble.

With a three-game losing streak coming into this game on Sunday in the Mile High City, the Denver Broncos are struggling with the offense having trouble scoring and the vastly improved offense shouldering the load. Now that Tim Tebow and company have started to struggle on offense, the defense has been on the field much more than usual and as a result this team has begun to fall apart.

Throughout the NFL regular season, the Denver Broncos were without a doubt the most talked about team in the league with Tim Tebow seemingly the one thing this team was missing. Despite winning the AFC West division title and getting back into the playoffs for the first time in quite a while, the Broncos just don’t seem like the same team that was so impressive and driven earlier in the year.

Betting tip 101: Bet on your Favorite NFL Team with Bovada Sportsbook

With that being said, the Denver Broncos will have their hands full against the defending AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend and will not be the favorites even though they are playing on their home field. Like I said before though, anything can happen in the playoffs and there is always a chance for an upset.

As of right now, the Pittsburgh Steelers are the heavy favorites in this AFC Wild Card game with a -9 point spread. Even though I believe the Steelers are capable of blowing out the Broncos and covering this large spread, taking Denver seems like the wise decision.

Take the Broncos at +9.

NFC Wild Card

Atlanta Falcons @ New York Giants Sun. Jan. 8, 2012 1 p.m. EST

The Atlanta Falcons have been one of the more intriguing football teams in the NFL this season with Matt Ryan and company playing extremely well when firing on all cylinders. Even though this team can play with anyone when on their game, the Falcons have also been very streaky with this team either showing up or struggling right out of the gate.

Despite their struggles this season on both sides of the football, the Atlanta Falcons have been able to clinch a playoff spot via the NFC Wild Card and will take on the NFC East division champion New York Giants as a result. Much like the Falcons, the Giants have also been very good when on their game and terrible when not. The Giants were able to turn it on in the second half of the season and takeout the arch division rival Dallas Cowboys in the regular season finale, but there is no telling what team will show up in the playoffs.

As arguably one of the more even matchups in the first round of the NFL playoffs, the New York Giants or the Atlanta Falcons could easily get the win on Sunday and advance to the next round. The team to watch though should be the Giants as they have been impressive over the last few weeks of the NFL regular season and might have hit their stride at just the right time.

With Eli Manning playing more like a healthy Peyton Manning recently, the Giants have a great chance of winning this football game with some potent offense and decent defense. New York has been more of a defensive-minded football team over the year, but this season their bread and butter seems to be on offense with a good mix of run and pass.

This team definitely wins and loses games with the play of Eli Manning and with that being said the two-time Pro Bowler will have a lot of pressure on him to put up some big numbers this weekend. The running game will also play a big factor for the Giants in this matchup with Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs looking to get involved in the offense.

As for the Atlanta Falcons, Matt Ryan, Roddy White, Michael Turner and rookie wideout Julio Jones could be potentially huge for this team. The Falcons are as good as any team in the league on offense when all four of these guys are playing up to their potential, but it is definitely hit-or-miss with this bunch.

As of right now, the New York Giants are favored to come out on top at home in this NFC Wild Card matchup with a -3 point spread. Conclusion: Our Football Betting Tips Guru says: This game could definitely go either way, but in the end I believe the Falcons will get the win at MetLife Stadium.

Take the Falcons at +3.

Super Bowl XLV: Green Bay Packers early favorites

Almost immediately after the Pittsburgh Steelers sealed the deal against the New York Jets in the AFC Championship game last weekend, the Green Bay Packers were given the edge against Ben Roethlisberger and company in Super Bowl XLV.

Obviously, the -2.5 point spread is a bit premature considering the fact that there are many things that could happen between now and Super Bowl Sunday. One of the main concerns before the Super Bowl will be the health of the players on both the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The two players that made headlines on both teams in terms of injuries over this past week have been perennial Pro Bowl quarterback Aaron Rodgers and All-Pro center Maurkice Pouncey. Apparently, Rogers has a sore shoulder from when he rushed for his only touchdown against the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship game while Pouncey has a broken ankle that he suffered in the AFC Championship game against the New York Jets.

Despite the shoulder injury being a major concern for the Packers, head coach Mike McCarthy hasn’t really said much about his quarterback’s health issue which leads people to believe that either it is no big deal or they want to keep the media out of it completely.

Even if Aaron Rodgers is banged up heading into Super Bowl Sunday, the quarterback is as tough as they come and has learned from playing behind three-time NFL MVP Brett Favre that you can play even if you’re arm is falling off.

In terms of this matchup, the one thing that everyone will be talking about is the defenses of both of these extremely talented football teams. Even though the Steelers have lived and died by their play on the defensive side of the football, the Packers defense could be just as good if not better than Pittsburgh’s.

Along with having a dominant defense led by Clay Matthews and Charles Woodson, the Green Bay Packers also have one of the best offenses in the league with Aaron Rodgers being arguably the best quarterbacks in this league today.

With that being said, the real matchup here will be Aaron Rodgers against lockdown defense of the Pittsburgh Steelers. If Rodgers can get the best of Troy Polamalu and company, I believe the Packers should cruise to victory, but if he struggles and is a good chance he might as the running game will be virtually nonexistent, this game could come down to the wire with yet another thrilling finish in the Super Bowl.

Another thing to watch for is the running game of the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Green Bay Packers defense. Last weekend running back Rashard Mendenhall had a big day against the New York Jets defense and might be key to victory for the Steelers against the Packers.

It will be interesting to see how this pans out for both teams, but I am convinced that the Green Bay Packers are the better team and will look to prove that point with a win over one of the most successful NFL franchises in the league on Super Bowl Sunday.

Blackjack Tips

Sports Betting Tip – Round Robins

A round robin is a method that allows you to create multiple Parlays at one time. Depending on the sportsbook you visit you can choose between 3 and 12 teams and then create parlays using all possible combinations of those teams. Round robins are an effective wagering option because usually you will only need to win one of your parlays to cover the money you are risking on all the others. And if you hit more than one of your parlays your profit goes up even more.

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It’s a bit hard to explain a round robin in words. An example is the best way to illustrate the concept. Let’s say that you believe that each of these three Major League Baseball teams will win their games on the same day;

Tue@7:05pm Philadelphia Phillies -1½ (+150)
Game must go 9 innings (8.5 if home team is ahead) or this pick is NO ACTION.
Jo Jo Reyes (L) must throw first pitch for Atlanta Braves or this pick is NO ACTION.
Kyle Kendrick (R) must throw first pitch for Philadelphia Phillies or this pick is NO ACTION.

Tue@7:05pm Cleveland Indians -1½ (+170)
Game must go 9 innings (8.5 if home team is ahead) or this pick is NO ACTION.
Justin Duchscherer (R) must throw first pitch for Oakland Athletics or this pick is NO ACTION.
Paul Byrd (R) must throw first pitch for Cleveland Indians or this pick is NO ACTION.

Tue@7:10pm New York Mets -1½ (+105)
Game must go 9 innings (8.5 if home team is ahead) or this pick is NO ACTION.
John Lannan (L) must throw first pitch for Washington Nationals or this pick is NO ACTION.
John Maine (R) must throw first pitch for New York Mets or this pick is NO ACTION.

Instead of putting together a three-team parlay and needing all three teams to win in order for you to win any money, you can place a round robin bet. The round robin creates every possible two-team parlay from the three teams that you are favoring.

First parlay:
Philadelphia Phillies -1½ (+150)
Cleveland Indians -1½ (+170)
Risk $10 to win $57.50

Second parlay:
Philadelphia Phillies -1½ (+150)
New York Mets -1½ (+105)
Risk $10 to win $43.00

Third parlay:
Cleveland Indians -1½ (+170)
New York Mets -1½ (+105)
Risk $10 to win $45.40

Since each parlay carries a $10 wager, the total amount you are risking for all three parlays is $30. The maximum payout would be $146.10 assuming all three parlays hit. But you can also see that if even the lowest paying parlay hit while the other two lost you would more than cover the losses with your winnings.

Since in this example the odds for all three teams are different from the standard line of (-110), you would be using true odds to obtain the payout information on each parlay. We have already calculated them and shown you the results in terms of winnings on a $10 wager. But you can review our article on Parlay Odds if you want an exact method of calculating them.

Our Tips on Betting The Money Line

Here is a great tip: When you simply want to bet on one player or team to win a game then you are betting the money line. If the team you bet on wins the game, then you win your bet. This happens regardless of how many points separate the winner from the loser. Since one team is almost always considered the favorite, the odds are adjusted to reflect this. You don’t win as much by betting on the favorite because the bookmakers expect them to win. Here’s an example of money line odds on an NBA game between the Boston Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks where Boston is the favorite;

Boston (-330)
Atlanta (+400)

What do these numbers mean? Well, a ‘minus’ in front of the money line indicates that this team is the favorite, while a ‘plus’ sign indicates the underdog. If you wanted to bet on the favored Boston Celtics, you would have to bet $330 for the chance to win only $100. If you wanted to bet on the underdog Atlanta Hawks however, you would only need to risk $100 for the chance to win $400.

Betting the money line is a great way to win a lot of money if you have a strong instinct that the underdog team is going to win the game. In one 2008 NBA playoff game the Celtics did in fact play the Hawks, and in one game of that series the money line on the Hawks was (+4000). If you had bet $100 on the Hawks that day and they had won the game, you would have made $4000!

In the famous Super Bowl upset of February 2008, the New England Patriots were expected to defeat the New York Giants by a wide margin. The money line on the Giants was about (+330) that day. But the underdog Giants beat the undefeated Patriots. If you had bet $100 on the Giants in that game you would have gotten your $100 back plus you would have been paid an additional $330 in winnings!

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There are instances though where neither team is the favorite. In these cases the moneyline would be about (-110) for both teams, meaning you would risk $110 for the chance to win $100. Risking $110 to win $100 is the standard bet for almost every sportsbook when two players or teams are evenly matched and neither is the favorite. You might be wondering why you aren’t allowed to just bet $100 for the chance to win $100 in an evenly matched contest. For an explanation of why the books require that you risk $110 to win $100, see the section titled How do Sportsbooks Work.

Now it so happens that risking $110 to win $100 is also the standard for point spread bets. The reason for that is very simple. It’s because with a point spread, extra points are given to the underdog in order to make the game once again more or less evenly matched. Take a look at the section on The Point Spread for more on this subject.

Sports Betting Tips – The Point Spread

Most of the time in a sporting event, one player or team is the favorite, and the other player or team is the underdog. The favorite is, of course expected to win. The point spread is the number of points that the favorite is expected to win by. So how does that figure into the betting scene?

Well, let’s say that the Pittsburgh Steelers are expected to beat the Baltimore Ravens by about 7 points. You probably can guess that you couldn’t bet $100 on the Steelers and then expect to win $100 if the Steelers win the game. That would be known as “even money”, and the odds of the Steelers winning are just too much in your favor to justify paying you that much. Instead you would probably have to risk perhaps $200 on the Steelers in order to win $100 with a Steeler victory.

But most sportsbooks want to level the playing field so to speak, and create a situation where you can bet even money, or pretty close to it. The reason why they do this is explained in the article called How do Sportsbooks Work and it’s a very simple reason. Sportsbooks can accomplish this goal of offering “even money” even when one team is clearly the favorite. They do this by giving enough extra points to the underdog so that the game turns into a toss-up more or less.

In the case of the example above, the Ravens would be given perhaps 7½ points. Since the Steelers are about a 7 point favorite, giving 7½ points to the Ravens makes it almost as likely that a bet on the Ravens will win as a bet on the Steelers. Here’s what the Point Spread would look like;

Pittsburgh Steelers -7½ (-110)
Baltimore Ravens +7½ (-110)

This means that at the end of the game you take the Ravens score, add 7½ points to it, and compare that to the Steelers score. If the Ravens total is higher than the Steelers and you bet on the Ravens using the point spread then you would win your bet. If the Steelers total was higher however, and a player had bet on the Steelers then that player would win his bet.

Supposing that the Steelers beat the Ravens by a score of 24 to 17. You would take the Ravens score of 17 points and add 7½ points to it for a total of 24½ points. Since the 24½ points is higher than the Steelers score of 24 points, you would win your wager if you had bet on the Ravens. For every $110 you bet on the Ravens you would win $100, plus of course you would get your $110 wager back.

However if the Steelers had beat the Ravens by a score of 24 to 16 it would be a different story. The Ravens total would then be 16 + 7½ or 23½ points which is lower than the Steelers 24 points, and anyone betting on the Ravens using the point spread would have lost their wager. In such a situation, the Steelers would be said to have “covered the spread” since they beat the Ravens by more than the point spread. A $110 bet on the Steelers would win $100 in that case.

You are probably asking yourself why the point spread is 7½ points instead of just making it 7 points. The reason for this is based on the fact that you cannot score ½ point in Football. If the point spread is a fraction like 7½ or 10½, then every bet will either be a winner or a loser when the Ravens points are compared to the Steelers points at the end of the game. But if the point spread was 7 for example and the Steelers won by 7 points then the result would be a tie.

If a bet is neither a winner nor a loser but is instead a tie, it is called a “push”. This means that your wager is returned to you – you win nothing and you lose nothing. Actually there are certain cases where the point spread in football is given in whole numbers, but you generally see spreads in ½ point increments in order to guarantee that you don’t wind up with a lot of bets turning out to be “pushes”.

Enjoy Betting the NFL Season

You should be aware that although (-110) is very typical for odds on a point spread, it is not the only odds that can be offered. Also, sports like NBA basketball are much more likely to give point spreads in whole numbers. That’s because so many points are scored in pro basketball that having one team beat another team by the exact point spread is not nearly as likely as it would be in football or baseball. Take a look at the betting lines for this NBA game;

Detroit Pistons +6 (-115)
Orlando Magic -6 (-105)

This is an example of a point spread in which the odds are slightly different than the standard (-110). For this contest you would need to risk $115 to win $100 if you wanted to bet on the Pistons. But you would only need to risk $105 to win $100 if you were betting on Orlando. The reason that these odds are different is probably that the sportsbook wants to get more bets on Orlando. They encourage this by making the odds for Orlando a bit more attractive while at the same time they make the odds on the Pistons a bit less attractive.

Sports Betting Tips – The Over/Under

Very simply, the Over and the Under are wagers that you make on the Total. The Total is the number of points scored in a contest by both teams or players combined. To give an example, here is what the typical Over and Under betting lines might be for a major league baseball game;

New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers
9½ (-125)o (+105)u

In the above example, the Total is 9½, the Over is (-125)o, and the Under is (+105)u. The sportsbook is guessing that the number of runs scored by the Yankees plus the number of runs scored by the Tigers will be about 9 or 10. They list the Total as 9½ however for reasons also discussed in the Point Spread article. The setting of the Total as a fraction means that anyone betting on the Total will either win or lose. That’s because you cannot score ½ point in baseball.

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If you believe that the total number of runs scored by the Yankees and the Tigers will be 10 or more then you would bet the Over of (-125). You would risk $125 for the chance to win $100 in this case. On the other hand, if you think that the total number of runs will be 9 or less then you would bet the Under of (+105). If you did that you would be risking $100 for the chance to win $105.

Assume that the final score of the baseball game is New York 6, Detroit 4. The total number of runs scored in the game is thus 10. If you had bet $125 on the Over you would have won $100 from your bet because the actual total of 10 is “over” the Total of 9½ runs listed in the betting lines. But if you had bet the Under, you would have lost. Of course, if the score was New York 5, Detroit 4, then any player who bet the Over would have lost. But betting $100 on the Under would have won $105 since the actual total of 9 would be “under” the betting lines Total of 9½ runs.

Over and Under bets can be made on just about any sport. Boxing matches often have Over/Under bets on the number of rounds that the boxing match will last. And most other sports also allow you to bet the Over or the Under based on the score halfway through the game. You can even bet the Over and the Under on the total points scored by just one team, although these would usually appear under “Team Props” rather than under the betting lines for the game.

Common Betting Mistakes

If you want to make money betting on sports, the first thing you need to do after learning the basics is the same thing you would do to improve your chances of success in any endeavor, so our advice, and one of our top betting tips is that you avoid common betting mistakes. This wagering tip means that you study the most common mistakes that have been made by others in the past and you learn not to make them yourself. Here are some of the more costly errors in sportsbetting that you should learn to avoid.

Betting more than you can afford to lose – The vast majority of people are able to wager responsibly, but some cannot and wind up betting over their heads. While doing so can be a symptom of deeper problems it can also be a simple beginner’s mistake made by a bettor who has not had sufficient experience or instruction. Even your bookmaker does not want you to lose all your money because a client who is broke is no good to him. Set aside only an amount of money that you can comfortably risk without having it affect your ability to cover life’s basic expenses like rent, food and health care. The peace of mind you will achieve by limiting your losses properly will only enhance your ability to make better decisions about sports wagers and thus increase the likelihood of winning your bets. See our article on Bankroll Management for more on this subject.

Trying to win back lost money – This is a mistake that results from an incorrect perspective about money which has been lost on a wager. People who make this mistake see lost money as a negative number on their balance sheet which must be changed into a positive, or at least returned to a break even point. This is a poor and unproductive attitude. Someone in manufacturing or retail sales might be correct in trying to earn more profits after a quarter of poor performance. But money which has been lost on a wager is no longer part of your financial equation. The only reasonable approach to betting after a loss is to place future bets using methods that are designed to minimize the potential for future losses. Not so strangely, these turn out to be the bets that have the greatest potential to be winners in their own right.

Not understanding the percentages – You need to realize that the whole system of betting lines and odds is a very tightly controlled business, and those who succeed are doing so by exploiting small percentage differences. One of the more usual misconceptions about wise guys is that they have winning percentages of about 65% of their wagers. In truth, most winning sport bettors are only successful about 55 to 58% of the time. Does that sound like a low winning percentage? It shouldn’t when you consider that with the standard odds of (-110) you would need to win only about 53% of your bets to make money. And when betting on the underdog with favorable odds you can actually win less than 50% of your wagers and still come out ahead.

Betting the first lines you see – We have just explained that the way successful sports bettors make a profit when wagering on sports is to get an edge by taking advantage of small percentage gains. That being the case, it should be obvious to you that when betting lines from one sportsbook can give you as much as a 3 to 4% advantage over betting lines from a competing sportsbook it would be foolish not to take the extra edge. Shop around before you bet and see what lines are being offered by different bookmakers. And don’t simply take a brief look and assume that all the betting lines will follow that trend. Look specifically at the event you want to wager on and check out the odds for Point Spread, Moneyline and Over/Under bets.

Betting too much on a single event – The people who make profits by wagering on sports will likely be betting the same amount of money on just about every game they are wagering on. Part of this has to do with their understanding of basic betting strategy as explained above and not chasing losses. But the larger reason is that they have accepted the fact that no particular team or player is so likely to win that it warrants risking any more than the amount you would normally bet on a game. Sporting events are uncertain enough even when just considering the strengths and weaknesses of the teams that are facing each other. When you throw in the possibility of poor officiating, colossal goof-ups by otherwise sure handed players or even acts that might be attributed to divine intervention, you start to realize how flawed the concept of a “sure thing” in sportsbetting really is.

Betting on the wrong criteria – For some unfathomable reason many sports bettors still evaluate games using outmoded methods of analysis such as a team’s win-loss record, ranking of the team’s offense and ranking of the defense. Bettors who depend on a team’s winning percentage as an indication of their likelihood to win any given game are giving those stats way too much credit. Even simple performance statistics such as a football team’s net yardage earned per game or yardage earned per passing or rushing play are usually a much stronger basis for comparison than the number of total yards that an offense has gained or a defense has given up. If you have ever wondered why major online sports networks are so focused on power rankings, it’s because performance stats that compare two teams head to head on a per play basis are the better indicator of what’s going on in the trenches and are therefore the better predictor of winners.

By exercising discipline and adhering to the fundamentals of betting you increase your probability of winning. But it is critical that you avoid making the errors listed above. You need to be patient, focused and not overly emotional if you intend to succeed at sports wagering. With a consistent and informed approach by reading our betting tips and following them carefully, you can be a consistent winner at your favorite sportsbooks.