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Racebooks &
Online Casinos
>> THE BASICS OF SPORTS BETTING & SPORTSBOOKS
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>> Football Wagering
As far as wagering is concerned, football is king! Over 40% of all bets a sports book takes in are on football. Few sports give their adoring fans as many long weekends as football, with college and professional games running from Thursday through Monday night during most weeks of the season.
>> Running the Lines
As you learned before, the most popular football wagers are based on the point spread, in which the favorite team gives up points to the opposing team. When you bet a side, you're not actually wagering that your team will win, but on whether it will cover the point spread. You can also wager on the total, which is whether the total number of points scored by both teams during the game will be over or under a given number, or on the money line, which is the outcome of the game with no points involved. We'll explain each type of football wager as we show you how the posted line is read from an average sports book. A typical line reads like this:
A B C Denver Broncos OV -110 +140 San Francisco 49ers -3 44 UN -110 - 160
>> Getting a Read on a Game
If you're reading the board at a Nevada casino or receiving a rundown from your favorite offshore sports book, it's critical to know and understand each of these betting options: the point spread line is listed first, in column A. In this example, San Francisco is favored by three points. That means if you bet on the 49ers, they need to win by more than three points to cover the spread in order for you to win your bet. A three-point win by San Francisco will result in a wagering tie, and any money you bet would be refunded, as well as any money wagered by any other bettors who had the 49ers minus three or the Broncos plus three. If San Francisco wins by only one or two points, Denver beats the spread and a bet on Denver wins.
As we had mentioned earlier, with football, as well as basketball, whenever you place a straight bet on a point spread or a total, you lay $11 to win $10.
>> The Total Picture
The number shown in column B of the following example is used if you want to bet on the total number of points that will be scored by both teams during the game; it has nothing to do with who wins or loses.
A B C Denver Broncos OV -110 +140 San Francisco 49ers -3 44 UN -110 -160
In this example, the total is 44. If you think more than 44 points will be scored in the game (by both teams, collectively) you can wager $11 to $10 on the over (OV). If, on the other hand, you don't think the total score will reach 44, you would wager $11 to $10 on the under (UN). Don't bet the over just because you have a game between two high scoring offensive teams capable of putting a lot of points on the board. The linemakers also know that offensive powerhouses score a lot of points, so they put up a high number for the total. You don't win a bet on the over just because two teams score more points than average; you win by betting the over when the two teams score more points that the posted total. Same with the under - if you think two dominating defensive teams probably won't let each other score, the linemakers believe that also, and they put up a low number for the total.
Successfully betting the over or under takes just as much handicapping skill as betting a side via a point spread or a money-line wager. Like a point-spread bet, your payoff on an over or an under is figured on increments of $11 to win $10.
>> I Want to Bet on Who Wins the Game
If you want to bet on the actual winner of a game without the involvement of a point spread, you can place a money line bet on a football game. Column C in the following example represents the money line odds. All money lines are expressed in betting units of $100. The plus 140 (+140) means that a $100 wager on the Broncos will earn you $140 and return $240. To bet on the 49ers however, you have to wager increments of $160 to win $100, because they're the favorite and you're laying odds.
A B C Denver Broncos OV -110 +140 San Francisco 49ers -3 44 UN -110 -160
>> Parlays and Teasers
A Parlay is a wager on a group of two or more selections combined into one bet. For the parlay to be a winner, all individual selections within the parlay must win. A teaser is a popular form of parlay where additional points are either added to the underdog or subtracted from the favorite to make the wager more attractive. Except for selected special teasers, ties don't lose, they push or reduce down within the wager.
Here's an example of how a parlay works: suppose you want to bet on three games. The odds on a three-team parlay are 6 to 1 which means for every $10 you wager, you win $60 and return $70 if all three teams cover the spread. Parlays are extremely popular wagers among sports bettors because not only don't they have to lay a price, but they are in fact, getting odds. The more teams you select in your parlay, the higher the payoff odds. One very important thing to keep in mind; those big payoff odds come with an additional measure of jeopardy. The higher the return, the greater the risk. Parlays can be an excellent way to turn small money into big money, but always keep in mind the odds you have to overcome.
As we stated above, with a teaser you select two or more different teams, and each team has to beat a lesser spread for you to win your bet. Teaser bets are popular because sport books give you additional points over the regular point spread, usually 6, 61/2, or 7 points. For example, if Michigan is favored by 10 points over Iowa, a 6-point teaser would make Michigan -4 or Iowa +16. These adjusted point spreads obviously make it easier to pick winners, but the payoff odds are far less than you would receive with a parlay involving the same number of teams.
>> Handicapping Football Totals
Linemakers use the points-for (PF) and points-against (PA) for each team (along with other information) to set the totals. Here's how you can use the PF and PA to decide whether you think it's worth betting over or under a posted total. Most of the football statistics you need are listed in your local paper under NFL standings. Here's an example of what a match up between the Cowboys and the Lions might look like:
Wins Losses PF PA Dallas 11 4 388 303 Detroit 10 5 380 295
From this information, you can calculate the average PF to date by dividing each team's PF by the total number of games played. Then do the same for the PA. Add the PF and PA averages to get the average total points per game.
Avg. PF Avg. PA Total or Points/Game Dallas 25.86 20.2 46.06 Detroit 25.33 19.6 44.93
As you can see, these teams match up pretty well. With both teams averaging more than 44 total combined points per game, you might be tempted to bet the over.
Of course, you need to take into consideration a lot more information to win on a consistent basis, but this is a good start (besides, doing the research is half the fun, right?). When you're analyzing all of the latest information you have available, remember that the linemakers have already factored in most of what you have discovered.
For example, they'll usually add two to three points for the home team advantage. Although it's not obvious in the point spread for this game, without Detroit's home-team advantage, Dallas might have been favored by six points. Injuries are another critical factor that linemakers and professional handicappers figure in, and you can, too. You'll find injury lists published in the sports section of your local newspaper (also keep in mind that the NFL teams release their official injury reports every Thursday). They're usually arranged by team, and they list the current status of all injured players. Key player injuries can swing the point spread one to five points, depending on the position they play, their value to the team, and the quality of their replacements.
Some teams are very deep in personnel in some positions and very weak in others (meaning that one team might rely on a particular running back or defensive lineman, but could replace anyone else who gets injured). It helps to know the strengths and weaknesses of the teams you bet on, so you can anticipate how they will be exploited during the game.
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