Money Line Bets
This is a bet on the straight up total of an event or the
odds for a straight up prop bet. There are two totals given
for either side on a money line bet: a negative and a plus
side.
Dallas -170
Washington +150
This means that for every $17 you bet on Dallas, you win $10
if they win. For every $10 you bet on Washington, you win
$15 if they win. This is the way Sportsbook make money off
games by not giving points.
Spread Bets
These are the standard bets to make. Basically a proposition
bet at 11-10 odds where the conditions are you give or take
points on the team you are betting on, hoping that the modified
total of your teams score beats the other teams straight score.
Bets on the spread are often known as straight bets because
they pay even money (minus the 10% vig).
Tampa Bay +19 1/2
Miami -19 1/2
If you bet on Miami, Miami needs to score at least 20 more
points than Tampa to cover. If you bet on Tampa, the score
must be at least within 19 for you to win. The bottom team
is almost always the home team.
Proposition bet
Is a bet the sportsbook offers at odds and conditions of it's
choosing. Proposition bets can be exotic bets like which team
will score the most touchdowns, which team will shoot the
most three pointers, which running back will rush for the
most yards, etc. Most prop bets are offered at 11-10 odds,
but some of the
exotics will be offered at better or worse odds, depending
on the bet.
Over/Under Bets
These are also 11-10 bets on what the total of the game will
be. If the total posted on a game is 39 1/2 points, then you
can wager that the total score of both teams added together
will be either over or under the posted total.
Betting the over is known as "betting on the ball",
betting under is known as "betting on the clock".
Chicago -5 1/2 -180 1:00 pm
Atlanta +5 1/2 +150 42 1/2
This gives the money line, the point spread, and the total
for the game. It also tells you that Atlanta is the home team,
and the game starts at 1:00 pm. As far as I know, this is
the standard posting at mosts Books.
A Teaser bet
Is a bet where you can move the spread by a set amount, but
have to pay to do it. You must bet at least two teams like
a parlay and win both. You can move the spread by on all the
games by the set amount.
Buying a half point
You can shift the spread a half point in your favor by laying
6-5 odds instead of the standard 11-10. This is called buying
a half point. You usually want to stay away from this bet
except on three point spreads on football games. This is also
known as "buying the hook".
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