Introduction to Sports Betting

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Sports Betting
Introduction to Sports Betting
By Kelly Reynolds
Mar 30, 2002, 19:00

Sports betting can be a very lucrative form of betting on sports since the bettor is not in direct competition with the house. Actually, it is possible to gain an edge on the house when betting sports if you are able to identify a game(s) where the line posted does not accurately portray the true odds for the outcome of the game.

The best approach to making a wager on football, basketball, baseball and any other sporting event, is to use the numbers assigned to each team by the Nevada Sports Schedule. Used on a worldwide basis, these numbers are used for the convenience of everyone involved in the medium of sport betting. There are two numbers on the betting board: on the left is the team’s assigned number and to the right you will find the odds for that particular game.

There are extensive amounts of betting propositions available when placing a wager. Minimum and maximum bets may vary according to where you choose to place your sports bet. More importantly, pay attention to the pointspread in each game. The pointspread is also referred to as the line, and is used as a margin to handicap the favorite team. The favorite team is always indicated by a minus sign (-), and the underdog is denoted by a plus sign (+). With a point spread, winning the sports bet is not determined by the final score of the sporting event. If you take the score of the favorite team and subtract the number of points posted on the sports betting board, the team with the most points is the team that wins for betting purposes.
In sports betting, there are a variety of factors affecting each line that must also be taken into account before placing a wager. Topping the list are weather and injuries, both of which can have an effect on the sporting event while it is still in play. Particularly, the weather is a very important factor when it comes to baseball and football betting. Injuries to integral players are extremely vital, and are a perfect example of why a bettor should wait to place a bet as close to the game as is feasible.

While it is impossible for anyone to finitely determine which team will prevail in any given sporting event, it is possible to make an educated guess. In sports betting, tools such as pointspreads and outside factors such as weather and injuries make all the difference in the world. Practically applying this information will make all the difference between winning and losing when it comes to betting on sports.