Money Line Wagers
The money line, also referred to as odds, lists how much
money your wager will return. In most sports "-110" will be
offered for all side and total bets. For the moment, we will
only discuss this number.
The easiest way to understand the "-110" figure is to
consider $110 the price of the bet if you would like to win
$100: if you bet $110 and your bet wins, you will receive
earnings of $100. Of course, you may bet any amount between
the minimum and maximum and it is this fraction (110/100 or
11/10) that will always be used to compute your winnings. For
example, if you bet $11 and your bet wins, you will win $10.
If you bet $55, you'll win $50.
The -110 money line is used by the house to guarantee that it
receives some payment for its services. If the house offered
even odds (1/1) and the action, or the total of all wagers
received, was divided evenly across the two teams, the house
would be doing volunteer work: handing all the loser's money
over to the winners with nothing left over. This money line
comprises, in a sense, even odds with a 10% house commission -
sometimes called the juice, vigorish, or vig - for providing
the action.
The types of bets are common in baseball, golf, tennis, horses
and futures, but can also be applied to football and hockey.
Example
The player makes a football wager on Miami -160 at Buffalo
+260. A bet of $160.00 would win $100.00 if Miami wins (plus
return of the original $160 bet). A bet of $100.00 would win
$260.00 if Buffalo wins (plus return of the original $100.00
bet).
Straight Wagers
The player or team wagered on must win by the point spread given at
the time of the wager. The player or team perceived to have less
chance of winning is given a handicap of a certain
number of points for wagering purposes. This
handicap is known as the point spread, and is
sometimes called the line or price. If a player
or team
has a greater number of points after the point spread has
been factored into its final score, the bet is said to have
covered the spread.
The favorite is always listed with a negative number.
Why a negative number? For wagering purposes, points
are subtracted from the favorite's final score to determine
if the favorite is a winner.
Conversely, the underdog is given a
positive number because points are added to the
underdog's final score to determine a wager's winners and
losers.
Unless otherwise indicated, the
odds are generally $1.10 to win $1.00. Events that tie
are considered "no action" - no one wins or loses. Due
to changing events, the point spread may fluctuate at any
time.
Example
These bets are common in football. Let's say a player makes a football bet of $110.00 on Miami -7 to beat Buffalo +7.
If Miami wins by more than 7 points the
player wins $100.00 so the total payout including the initial
wager would be $210.00. If Miami only wins by 7 points,
then the game is considered "no action" and all money is
returned to the bettor. If Miami wins by less than 7
points the wager is lost.
These types of bets are also common in
basketball and some hockey (puck line) wagers.
Total Score - Over/Under
The bet is on the combined score of both teams for games
wagered on. All totals generally lay $1.10 to win $1.00
unless otherwise indicated.
Example
The player lays a football bet of $220.00 on the Over in the Miami/Buffalo game.
The total, or over/under, for the game is 45. If both
teams' combined score is more than 45, then the player would
win $200.00. If the combined score is equal to 45, the
game is considered "no action" and the money is returned.
If the combined score is less than 45, then the wager is lost.
Parlays (also known as Multiples)
A parlay is a single wager that links together several
individual bets. The parlay can be comprised of a
series of bets on a team, over/under bets, or any mixture of
the two. For the parlay to be a winning wager, every
one of its individual bets must win. If any of the
individual bets is not a winner, then the entire parlay wager
loses.
If, however, one of the individual plays is a push or
no action, then the parlay is still on for the
remaining plays. For example, a three-play
parlay would become a two-play parlay; a two-play parlay would
become a straight bet, with corresponding reductions of the
payoff.
Why wager on a parlay and not make several individual bets?
The payouts for parlays are significantly higher than
for individual bets. But remember, since every one of
the individual plays must win, it's an all-or-nothing bet.
If you win two out of three plays, the parlay still loses,
whereas you would have won those two plays as individual
straight bets. You are given better odds because
predicting the outcomes of several events together is
significantly more difficult than predicting any individual
event.
Example
A player wants to make a 5 team football parlay bet:
Miami -7, New York +3, Seattle -4,
Denver -10, and San Francisco -8.
If all these bets win, then the player
would have won at 20-1 odds. If only 1 team loses then
the entire parlay loses.
Typical Parlay Payouts
|
2 Teams |
13/5 |
|
3 Teams |
6/1
|
|
4 Teams |
10/1
|
|
5 Teams |
20/1
|
|
6 Teams |
40/1
|
|
7 Teams |
75/1
|
|
8
Teams |
150/1
|
|
9
Teams |
300/1
|
|
10
Teams |
7000/1
|
Teasers
A teaser is a parlay in which you adjust the point spread
or total of each individual bet.
Like a parlay, a teaser is a single wager that links
together several individual bets (generally from 2 to 8 in the case
of teasers). You can combine a series of straight bets,
over/under bets, or any mixture of the two. A teaser
allows you to buy points - adjust the point spread or totals
in your favor - on the individual bets that comprise the multi-part
wager. Adjusting the spread and/or the
totals gives you more favorable odds, thus less of a return on
your wager.
You cannot
select different point adjustments for the different bets:
the amount of points you buy will be applied to all of the
individual bets that comprise the teaser. You cannot buy,
say, 4 points on one game and 5 on another.
What are the advantages of playing a teaser rather than a
series of individual buy wagers? You receive significantly
better odds than you would playing the adjusted money line
wagers. Also, compared to a money line wager, the teaser
generally offers
you a greater number of points with which to adjust the point
spreads and totals. The disadvantages? As in a parlay, winning
two out of three or three out of four is still a loss. If
those winning bets had been individual wagers, you would
have come out ahead. As always, going for a bigger
payout entails a bigger risk.
Typical Teaser Payouts
|
2 Teams |
10/11 |
|
3 Teams |
8/5
|
|
4 Teams |
5/2
|
|
5 Teams |
4/1
|
|
6 Teams |
6/1
|
If Bets
If bets are used by many players as a method of money
management. Like a parlay, an if bet links together 2 or more
individual bets. Unlike a parlay, an if bet is not an
all-or-nothing wager: the individual bets remain individual
bets and pay at the listed money line if they win.
For example, let's concentrate on an if bet
that contains just two wagers. You bet on an initial team or
total, if that bet wins then the second bet that you chose
will automatically be placed. You should therefore always list
the bet you are most confident about first. If your initial
bet loses, then the second wager is not placed. The status of
the linked bets has nothing to do with the games' starting
times or what order they are played; it is strictly a logical
relation. Even if the first game in your 'if bet' is played
hours after the second one, the status of the second bet must
wait for the first game's results.
The amount of the total wager is collected at the time you
place the entire bet sequence. All individual bets that
comprise the 'if bet' must be for the same amount. You can
only bet the same or less on the following wager. The
advantage of playing an 'if bet' is that it reduces your
exposure to losses. Since the second wager is placed only if
you win, the maximum amount that you can lose is the amount of
the first wager. If the first wager wins, then the original
stake is used to place the second wager and so on.
'If bets' can generally contain up to 6 individual bets, and the process
just described continues for each one. If at any time an
individual bet loses, then the remaining wagers will not be
placed.
Players have an option for choosing the conditions of an if
bet: "single action" or "double action." Single action
specifies that the remaining bets in the sequence will only be
placed if the preceding bet wins. If the preceding bet is a
"push" or is cancelled for any other reason, then the
remaining bets will not be placed. Double action specifies
that the remaining bets in the sequence will be placed if the
preceding bet wins, results in a "push" or is cancelled for
any other reason. In other words, "double action" means that
the remaining bets in the sequence will not be placed only if
the preceding bet loses.
European Odds
European odds are different from the North American style of
odds. In North America, money lines are used to
determine the line. In North America, a team that is
+140 would be a 40 point underdog. This means that for
every $100 wagered the bettor would win $140. The total
return would be $240 (the winnings plus the original amount
bet). In a European style of betting, these odds would be
expressed as 2.40 -- meaning that for $100 wagered the bettor
would receive $240 ... the 2.40 represents the amount won and
the return of the original bet.
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