Sports betting is a fun way to add more excitement to the games you watch. However, it’s also a gamble and there’s a learning curve to understand how the different bet types work. This article is here to help you get started with your sports betting strategy and make sure you’re making the most of your wagers.
One of the most important things to understand about sports betting is value bets. This involves calculating the true odds of an event happening and comparing them to the odds set by the sportsbook to see if you can get a better return on your wager. This type of betting requires more research and understanding but can be highly profitable in the long run.
Moneyline bets are the simplest type of sports wager and simply predict whether a team will win or lose. The odds on a moneyline reflect the probability of that event occurring with higher-risk bets (favorites) paying out lower returns and low-risk bets (underdogs) returning higher rewards. If a game is perceived as even by the sportsbook, it will be listed as a pick or pick’em and you can choose which side to place your wager on.
Another key thing to understand about sports betting is totals bets. These bets focus on the final score of a game and predict whether the two teams will combine for more (over) or fewer (under) runs, goals, points, etc than the total amount posted by oddsmakers.