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Internet sportsbooks are very similar as a
sportsbook accessed via telephone. Instead of
calling in your bet to a bookie, however, you
just fill out an online form. In most cases,
sportsbooks have the same deposit and withdrawal
options as online casinos. (In many instances
sportsbooks are just extensions of an online
casino.)
The more imaginative
online sports books give
you quite a variety of interesting bets,
including parlays, round robins and teasers. If
you've been puzzled by the terminology used in
this popular gaming arena, here's a little help:
Straight Bets:
A straight bet is the most common bet, where you
pick a single side to win. It could be the team
to cover the spread or the game total to go over
or under. The format of line will vary depending
on the sport that you're betting on.
Parlays:
A parlay bet is a single wager involving
multiple propositions. The bettor must chose the
winner of each proposition in order to win the
parlay (point spreads are applicable). Payout
odds increase as the number of included
propositions increases.
Teasers:
A teaser, like a parlay, involves multiple
propositions. When betting a teaser additional
points are either added to the underdog or
subtracted from the favorite. Odds are changed
in accordance to the number of points the spread
is moved and the number of teams combined to
form the teaser.
Pleasers:
Pleasers are similar to a teaser, only you give,
versus receive additional points; additional
points are either subtracted from the underdog
or added to the favorite (e.g., if the regular
line on your selection is -4 and you select a
pleaser, then your line would be -10).
If Bets:
If the first game wins, ties cancels or is
suspended, etc., you have action on the
remaining team or teams. An IF bet is a
combination of 2 - 6 teams.
Reverses:
If the first game wins, ties, cancels or is
suspended, etc. you have action on the remaining
team or teams. A reverse is a combination of 2 -
8 selections.
Props:
A proposition bet is a bet offered with
conditions and odds determined by an odds maker.
These bets are usually exotic bets like which
quarterback will complete the most touchdown
passes, which team will score the last points in
a game, or which will complete the longest
field goal. Many prop bets are offered at 11-10
odds, but some will be offered at better or
worse odds, depending on the bet.
Futures:
Futures are a single wager on the outcome of an
event that will be determined sometime in the
future. For example, picking the winner of the
NFL championship, the Stanley Cup, or the World
Series.
Round Robins:
A Round Robin is a series of parlay-type wagers
built from all possible groups of the specified
round robin group size. The selections can be
any combination of sides, over/unders, money
lines, run lines, or puck lines. Currently, up
to 9 teams can be grouped by either 2's or 3's.
Each round robin series has the "Grouped By"
number of teams in it and some series can win
and other series loss. Each individual series is
graded like a parlay. With 4 selections (A, B,
C, D) grouped by 2's then you would have the
following groups of 2's: A&B, A&C, A&D, B&C,
B&D, C&D.
Half Times:
A line on only the first half, or only the
second half scoring of a football or basketball
game.
Totals (over/under):
A total wager is a bet on the number of points
scored in the game by both teams combined. You
can bet on whether the actual number of total
points scored is over or under the line posted.
The total points scored includes points scored
in overtime. You can also bet whether the
combined number of points or goals scored by the
two teams in the game will be over or under the
total set by the odds maker. For example, if the
total is 32 and you believe that the combined
points scored by the two teams will exceed that
number, you would bet over 32.
Point Spread:
The point spread is the number of points that
the favored team is expected to win by. For
example, say the New York Knicks are favored to
beat the LA Clippers by a point spread of 7.
That means that if you pick the Knicks to win,
they have to win by more than 7 points for you
to win your bet. If they win by fewer than 7
points or lose the game, you lose your bet. If
they win by exactly 7 points (the point spread),
the result is a push or tie. That means that you
don't win or lose, your original bet is
refunded.
Money Lines:
The difference between a point spread bet and a
money line bet is that there are no points
involved. Instead, money odds are wagered on the
favorite or underdog. There is a different
money line total for either side on a money line
bet, a negative side (the favorite) and a
positive side (the underdog): Dallas -170
Washington +150 What this means is that Dallas
is the favorite and for every $17 you bet on
Dallas, you win $10 if they win. For every $10
you bet on Washington, the underdog, you win $15
if they win. By offering different odds for each
team the sportsbook is able to balance action on
both teams.
Action Points:
When wagering against the point spread, if you
think that the spread is low or high you may
wager 11/10 for each point you think the spread
or total will go over or under.
Buy Points:
Buy Points means that you can move the
point spread so that you give away less points
with the favorite or get more points with the
underdog, for both football and basketball. To
do this you must pay an extra 10% for each ½
point you buy in your favor. For the NFL and
NCAA football, you will pay an additional 20% to
buy on or off of 3, or 10% to buy on or off of 7
points - also know as Key Points.
Summary:
While the goal of this page is to give you an
understanding of the basics in sports wagering -
you should be sure to read through the rules
pages posted on any Internet Sportsbook you may
join. Rules do vary and the variance can be the
difference between a winning season and a
loosing season.
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