Millions of sports fans around the world watch their favorite games and think to themselves, “Betting on sports must be easy!” But it’s not. In fact, after accounting for the vig (the amount of money taken by the sportsbooks), the most successful “expert” sports bettors get less than 60% of their bets correct. Still, there are ways to maximize your chances of success – including discipline (betting only what you can afford to lose), research and seeking the advice of winning bettors.
The most basic of all wagers in sports betting is the straight bet. A straight bet is placed on a team or outcome to win by a specific number of points. Straight bets are generally offered at lower odds than point spreads and moneylines, and thus have a higher return on investment.
Another type of wager in sports betting is the over/under bet. Over/under bets are placed on the total combined score of a game, and like point spreads and moneylines, have varying prices depending on how confident the bookmakers are that the result will occur.
Proposition bets, or props, are wagers on a specific aspect of a game or event that doesn’t show up in the boxscore. Examples of props include player or game-related wagers such as the number of strikeouts by a baseball pitcher, or a more novel bet such as the first song that will be played at halftime during the Super Bowl.