Betting on sports is often invigorating, while allowing you to earn or lose a ton of money. However, if you ever enter the betting arena armed with an in-depth knowledge of the correct betting strategy you’ll then win money irrespective of the fate of the match. One important move that needs to be implemented is on how to read sports betting lines since this will help you to obtain the most out of your bet and in addition prevent you from losing more money than you should, in case the other team wins.
While betting on sports is not legal in most states in America, you can still bet if you go online. You can practically bet on any sports such as football, basketball, baseball and even on car races and horse racing, be it college sports or simply professional sports including those hosted by pros for example the NFL, NBA, and NHL. While sports betting lines differ according to the sports, most have common features that mention the names of the teams including the favored along with the underdog, the odds, the over, under and on points plus the spread, if any for the outcome of the match. Even as it seems complicated, an example can help in simplifying the matter easily. For instance, a Dallas against Pittsburgh football match could display the following sports betting lines.
Dallas -11.5-130 -180
Pittsburgh +11.5-130 +220
38.5 ov-130
Firstly, the – sign beside Dallas indicates that it is the favored team to win whereas the + sign next to Pittsburgh signifies that they are the underdog. The next figure i.e. 11.5 on both lines signifies that the favored team has to win and that too at least by way of the figure or points mentioned on the spread. The subsequent number i.e. 130 that may be mentioned on both lines indicates just how much you will have to bet in an effort to win $100 on that bet.
The last numbers on both the lines indicate the money line. If you’d like to bet on any team winning the match outright, then you need to bet on the money line. Should you bet on the underdog then the risk is higher and you simply win more money for a lower stake whereas when you bet on the favored team you’ll win a smaller prize while you will have to put a higher stake. Hence if you bet on Pittsburg, i.e. the underdogs then a $100 stake gives you an additional $220 should they win the match but if Dallas win and you have betted with them then this stake of $180 will get you a further $100.
The very last line indicates the over-under, i.e. 38.5. Hence, no matter what which team wins, in the event the game finishes having a score of 12-10 and if you have bet under, then 12+10=22, hence you win because it’s lower then 38.5. The number 130 next to the ov indicates how much you will need to bet to win $100 on this sort of bet.
You can start by gambling only on outright results of each game or match before venturing to gambling on spreads and over-under. The above sample is only one example that can help make your entry into sports betting a lot easier. Once you learn on the way to read sports betting lines then you can fine-tune your strategy to win huge amounts of money.