Different Types Of Sports Bets: Explained

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Sports betting used to be an underground activity enjoyed by a few but has recently grown into a worldwide industry worth billions, with millions from around the world betting on sports every week. With such a wide array of different options already available to punters, newcomers may find it hard to know what the best bet is to stick on. By understanding the different types of bets and making informed gambles, your wager is more likely to win, which will make your time betting a lot more enjoyable. So what are the different types of sports bets?

The Moneyline Bet

These are the simplest and most basic forms of sports betting you can partake in. Simply put, you are wagering your money on the winner of the game, whether that be a player or a team. Odds are assigned to the outcome of the bet, and these are set by bookmakers according to how much they are willing to pay out. A bookie’s favorite for the result will likely have minus odds, whilst the underdog or more unlikely victor will have positive odds. This looks a bit like this:

Team 1: -200 means you need to bet $200 to win $100 back.

Team 2: +150 means you will get $150 back from a $100 bet.

The favorite in this instance would be Team 1. The most common sports that people bet moneyline bets on are soccer, baseball, and boxing, where there is a good chance that there will be an outright winner. In the same way you would for any other purchase, shopping around to find the best odds on certain bets is crucial. Places like CasinoBeats make this easy by offering some of the best promotions and casinos offering sportsbook betting.

The Points Spread Bet

Points spread betting is another more common form of betting which is found in team sports. This type of betting will see gamblers wager money on the margin of points for the victory rather than just the victorious team. Many tend to opt for this option when betting on NFL, basketball, and rugby games.

These types of bets will come in the form of 0.5 numerical bets, where the punter is expecting the team to get 0.5 more than their bet to win the bet. This type of betting is great for when you can’t pick a winner between teams or for offering better odds on a team who are dead certain to win.

The Over/Under Bet

Similar in nature to the points spread bet, the Over/Under bet is focused on the combined score of the full game, usually rather than who wins, and can even be combined with other bets or singular players’ score tallies in games.

The 0.5 rule applies in the same way to Over/Under bets as it does to Points Spread Bets. This kind of bet is perfect for a game that is either going to be a dead cert, explosive match-up of greats, or an absolute snoozefest.

The Parlay Bet/Accumulator

Simply put, Parlay bets are essentially multiple single bets all joined together into one larger bet. They can also be called multi-bets or are commonly wagered in the United Kingdom on soccer and are known as accumulators. For a player to win a parlay bet, every single bet must win. In some cases, sports betting sites will offer promotions to bettors, allowing for hiccups on these types of bets. The attraction to parlay bets is their much better odds and equating payouts. However, with the bigger reward comes a bigger risk.

Parlay bets also allow punters to combine bets across different sports and can be great for fans of multiple sports looking to win money or even for neutrals who are looking to get more invested in sports they wouldn’t normally watch or take any interest in.

The Prop Bet

Proposition Bets are wagers that are placed on specific things or events to occur within a given game. For many sports, there can be huge markets for these, and they can be very extensive. They can be a great way to add some extra oomph to your parlay bets for a bigger cash prize at the end.

These sorts of bets are so varied and wide that they can be based on individual players, teams, different random events (especially at big championship games), or can even be mundane run of the mill things. They are there to add an extra dimension to your betting and appeal to those not heavily invested in either the games or betting.

The Future Bet

These sorts of bets are placed months or weeks in advance of a specific game. They tend to be placed before the season or tournament begins and offer the bettor the chance to predict larger outcomes like who will win the Super Bowl, the World Cup, or who is going to be the NBA MVP for the year. The earlier you place these sorts of bets, the better odds you are going to get, as you are predicting something from much further away, which is harder.

The Live Bet

As the gambling industry has become more expansive and sophisticated, so too have the types of bets you can place. One of the most telling advancements in gambling in recent years is the rise of live betting. This allows punters to gamble on certain events with altered odds during an actual game of sport. The odds will shift in real time and reflect the outcome of the game as it unfolds.

Finally

Understanding different bets is paramount to your gambling success. It doesn’t matter if you are just going for the straightforward bets or something more complicated; knowing what you are doing and how to do it. It allows for better strategies, smarter risk management, and ultimately, more wins.