Beginner’s Guide to Sports Betting

learn basic betting strategies

The Easy Start Guide to Sports Betting

learn to calculate wagers

Knowing basics of sports betting is key for new bettors, as only 2% of players always make money. Winning at sports bets needs you to get good at three main things:

Main Bits of Sports Betting Success

Knowing Odds

Learn the three main types of betting odds:

  • American Odds (+150, -200)
  • Decimal Odds (2.50, 1.50)
  • Fractional Odds (3/2, 1/2)

Common Types of Bets

70% of new bettors try these usual bet types:

  • Moneyline
  • Point Spreads
  • Over/Under (Totals)
  • Parlays

Smart Money Use

Put in place smart betting plans:

Boost Win Rates with Study

Study stats to up wins by 23% by:

  • Checking past records
  • Looking at team stats
  • Seeing both teams’ past games
  • Thinking about the weather

Not Falling into Traps

67% of new bettors mess up by:

  • Trying to get back lost money (lowers earnings by 43%)
  • Betting with heart
  • Not enough study
  • Bad record keeping

Master these basics to be part of the small group who win at sports betting.

Full Guide on Understanding Betting Odds

Three Main Odds Formats

Getting odds right is key to winning at sports bets. The top three odds formats are:

  • American Odds (-110, +150)
  • Decimal Odds (1.91, 2.50)
  • Fractional Odds (10/11, 3/2)

Turn Odds to Chances

American Odds Change

For minus American odds (-110): Chance = |odds|/(|odds| + 100)

For plus American odds (+150): Chance = 100/(odds + 100)

Decimal and Fractional Same

  • Decimal odds of 1.91 are same as American odds of -110
  • Fractional odds of 10/11 are just like that too
  • Switching formats helps bettors see value in different markets

Know Bookie Edges

law and safety matters

Look at Market Edge

The bookie’s edge is often from 4.5% to 7%, showing their in-built plus. This edge shows when:

  • Adding likely chances of all results
  • Seeing total percent above 100%
  • Checking differences in prices between bookies

Top Odds Tips

Knowing odds setups helps bettors to:

  • Find good bet chances
  • Work out expected money returns
  • Plan solid betting ways
  • Watch market changes well

Famous Sports Bet Types: A Full Guide

Basic Sports Bet Ways

Sports betting has a few main bet types that see a lot of action, with moneylines, point spreads, and totals pulling over 70% of new bettors.

Each bet form fits well within current sportsbook work.

How Moneyline Bets Work

Moneyline betting is the purest form of sports betting, just picking the winning team.

When a sportsbook lists Team A at -150 and Team B at +130, bettors need to risk $150 to win $100 on the favorite (Team A), while underdog backers (Team B) can win $130 on a $100 bet.

The Basics of Point Spreads

Point spread betting adds a win casino norms margin to the bets.

Favored teams must beat the spread margin, while underdogs can lose by that range. NFL markets show this clearly, with 42% of games having spreads between -3 and -7 points.

Over/Under Bet Ways

Totals betting looks at the sum scores of both teams. Common numbers include NBA totals at 220.5 points and MLB totals around 8.5 runs.

Study shows a 48.6% success rate for over bets in big sports leagues, showing a fair shot for new bettors.