A popular pastime for many sports fans is placing a wager on the outcome of a game. While there are professional sports bettors who manage to make a living from it, the vast majority of people who place bets on sports do so out of love for the sport and as a way to enhance their enjoyment of a game. The thrill of a winning bet is hard to match and even the most disciplined bettor will suffer some losses along with their wins.
Betting on sports is more than just picking a winner, however. There are a variety of different bet types and terms you should be familiar with before making your first wager. These include:
Over/Under bets: These are bets based on the total score of a game. Over bettors want the combined scores to be greater than the proposed total while under bettors would like to see the score stay within the over/under limit. Oddsmakers come up with these odds by using a combination of factors including past events, weather conditions, player and team performance, etc.
Money management: The first and most important aspect of betting on sports is to know your bankroll. This will help you determine how much you can comfortably afford to bet each game and avoid depleting your account with one bad day. Ideally, you should aim to risk no more than 1 to 5 percent of your bankroll on each bet.
Hedging: This is the practice of placing a bet that is the opposite of your original bet in order to guarantee at least some profit in case your original bet loses. While this is not foolproof, it can be a great way to balance out your bankroll and increase your chances of winning.
Round robins: These are multiple bets on the same team or event in the form of parlays. They can be very lucrative, but you must understand the math behind them before placing them. For instance, a 3-team round robin consists of three 2-team parlays.
Futures bets: These are bets on a team to win a championship before the season ends. These bets are generally available all year, but their payouts will decrease over the course of a season as the odds of the team winning become more apparent.
Scandals: Throughout the history of sports, there have been numerous scandals involving sports betting. These have included point shaving (players affecting the final score by missing shots), spot-fixing (player action is fixed) and overall match-fixing (the entire result of a game is fixed).
While sports betting is becoming more common in the United States, there are still some important considerations to keep in mind before you start gambling on your favorite teams and players. Remember that betting is a vice and comes with the potential to ruin your life if you don’t have the self-control necessary to handle it responsibly. For this reason, it is important to be aware of the risks involved in sports betting and follow all federal and state regulations when it comes to gambling.