How to Bet on Sports Events
As sports betting becomes legal across the country and more states, allow you to place wagers on the games, teams, and events you love, it is now more important than ever to understand how to bet on sports events.
It can be intimidating at first. There are so many sports and so many different ways to bet them. Figuring out where to start and how to start can be enough for some people to give it up entirely.
The goal here is to make sure that you don’t end up frustrated or overwhelmed because, truly, once you understand the basics of betting on sports events, the rest will fall into place. You, too, will become one of the millions of people who enjoy betting on sports, and maybe one of the lucky ones who actually make money at it too.
Sports Events to Bet On
More than 100 million people watch the game in the U.S., plus another 50 million people worldwide.
The NBA Playoffs richly reward you. The slog of the basketball season is replaced by a seven-game sprints to the NBA Finals.
Stanley Cup
It is often called the hardest trophy, and it provides some of the best wagering anywhere on the sports betting calendar.
Daytona
The long history of auto racing has been dominated by two big races – the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500…
World Series
Historians now believe that Abner Doubleday’s baseball actually descends from English sports like stoolball, trap ball…
Masters
As with all golf betting, the standard bet on the Masters is a wager on the eventual 72-hole winner.
World Cup
Most of us played soccer as a kid, so we understand the sport, and nearly 4 billion others around the world.
Kentucky Derby
Since May 1875, the horse racing world has gathered for the “fastest two minutes in sports” – the Kentucky Derby.
March Madness
When March begins, almost every Division I team has an opportunity to win the national championship
UFC
Brutality that can only be seen inside a hectogon ring drive real adrenaline and excitement.
Choosing the Right Online Sportsbook
In order to bet on an online sportsbook, you are going to open an account, give out personal information, and send this sportsbook money. You want to make sure the sportsbook you choose is reputable.
Do your due diligence on learning the history of each sportsbook and its overall reliability. Finding good reviews on each one is easy, so be sure to read them. You want to make sure that your money is safe and will be easy to withdraw. And you always want to join with the confidence that your personal information will be protected.
Once you have your list of reputable sportsbooks, turn your focus to fit.
- Does that sportsbook offer the sports you like to bet?
- Does it give you the variety you want?
- Will you be able to expand the way you place wagers as your knowledge expands?
- And does that sportsbook offer help to guide you through that growing process?
The last thing you want to do is waste your time with a sportsbook that falls short of meeting your needs. So do the research upfront, so get it right the first time.
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Why You Should Bet Online
If you’ve been inside a packed sportsbook during a major sports event like the Super Bowl or NCAA Tournament, there is no substitution for the excitement and adrenaline you experience while watching the game. But since you probably don’t live near a top retail sportsbook, and since you’re also going to place bets the rest of the year, there is no better time to be alive than right now.
Thanks to 21st-century technology and the expanding legality of online sports betting, it is easy and legal to place all the bets you want from the comfort of your own home.
And not only is it more convenient, but it also makes more financial sense to place your wagers online. At a retail sportsbook, there is just the wager. Maybe a special rate on occasion, but typically there are no other bonuses or incentives.
But with an online sportsbook, there are always extra bonuses to help expand your bankroll. From sign-up bonuses and deposit match bonuses to increased odds and sports-specific multipliers, betting online offers you a myriad of ways to get extra money.
It’s also much easier in today’s world to place bets online and fill up your account. At a retail sportsbook, it is cash only. But with an online account, you can pay with a credit card, prepaid sportsbook card, bank transfer, online bill pay, PayPal, and more. And withdrawing your money comes with just as many options.
Featured Sportsbook Bonus Codes
As we just mentioned, when betting with an online sportsbook, you will get access to exclusive online bonus offers, sports and event promotions, and in some cases, a VIP or rewards program that connects to a partner casino.
Bonus codes are the simplest way to get free money. Either as a sign-up bonus or deposit match bonus, when you use a provided bonus code (in some cases, a code isn’t required), you will receive a payment into your account.
In the case of a sign-up bonus, it will generally be a fixed amount. Standard is between $20 and $50. But for a deposit match bonus, the amount can be much higher. Some sportsbooks will match your initial deposit 100% for up to $1,000.
Once you wager the total amount of that deposit a fixed number of times, it will be released into your account, and you can then make a withdrawal.
Promotions are different in that instead of free money; you might get a boost in odds on a specific sport on a set day of the week. Or insurance on a bet that pays you back the wager amount, even if your team loses. These are less standard and vary from sportsbook to sportsbook.
While many online sportsbooks don’t offer a rewards program, some do, and they can be quite profitable. The more you bet, the more points you accumulate, and the more incentives you earn, like free bets, gifts, special deposit assistance, and even stays at area casinos and resorts.
How to Bet Online
Opening An Account:
Now that you’ve found a reputable online sportsbook that offers you the variety you want in sports betting, plus a handsome package of bonus offers to immediately grow your account before ever placing a bet, it’s time to sign up.
This is the simplest step of the entire process. On the main page, either online or on your mobile device, you will see a button to click to register your new account.
Once you have your list of reputable sportsbooks, turn your focus to fit.
- Name
- Physical Address
- Email Address
- Phone Number
- Date of Birth
- A Portion of your Social Security Number for Identification
This information is used to verify your identity and that you are of legal age to open a sports betting account. In rare instances, you may be required to provide a document, like a utility bill, to further verify your residence.
Once you do that, you will verify that all of the information is true and that you are, in fact, legal age. You may also be asked to create a couple of security questions in case your account ever becomes compromised. Otherwise, that’s it. You are ready to proceed.
Making a Deposit:
Once your account has been registered, it is time to make your first deposit. And remember to check the details of any deposit matching bonuses before doing this. If the sportsbook matches your first deposit up to $250, don’t only deposit $100. You will be leaving free money on the table.
Each sportsbook will make it clear how you can make deposits. The simplest, fastest, and safest is by online bill pay.
It’s just like paying your cable or electric bill online. The money goes from your account to the sportsbook, and you never have to give an account number to another person. Most sportsbooks prefer this method of deposit.
If you don’t want to use online bill pay, you can use a credit card (be careful about extra bank fees), payments from an e-wallet account like PayPal or Neteller, purchase a prepaid card that is attached to your sportsbook account, pay by personal check, or pay with cash, either through a PayNearMe terminal or at an affiliated retail sportsbook.
The specifics of each deposit, including minimum and maximum deposits, will vary slightly from sportsbook to sportsbook.
Understand Betting Terminology
Terminology:
One of the best ways to become comfortable as a new sports bettor is to learn and understand the basics of betting terminology. It’s not hard, but it is necessary.
One, you don’t want to sound like a rube. And two, it will help you more easily understand tip sheets and any betting predictions you might want to read before placing specific wagers.
Basic game bets are broken down into three categories: point spread, moneyline, and total:
- Point spreads are the number of points the favorite must win by in order for the bet to win. It’s also the number of points the underdog can lose by, and the bet still wins.
- The moneyline is a straight win/loss bet that pays out in odds. If it pays +150, that means a $10 bet will win you $15.
- A totals bet, also known as an over/under, is a bet on the total combined points in a game.
You may also place proposition bets, which are wagers on individual accomplishments inside a game, futures bets, wagers on events yet to take place or engage in live betting, which are wagers on events already taking place.
Before you fill your bankroll, check the juice, and drop a buck on that day’s lock, find a betting glossary online and read through it. Otherwise, you’ll sound like a square.
Tips and Advice:
As you get starting as a new sports bettor, here are a few tips that will help lessen the growing pains.
Start small. Keep your bets to a minimum while you’re getting your betting feet. You will lose many bets, so lose less while you’re figuring out what makes for your winning strategy.
Never ever bet more than you are able to lose. And never chase a losing bet by trying to quickly win a bet that you wouldn’t place otherwise.
Start focused. Instead of placing bets on basketball, hockey, baseball, and golf, all on your first day, pick a sport, then study it. Information is the key to being a successful sports bettor, so be focused on what information you attempt to absorb.
Instead of trying to become a B student in all the sports, pick a single sport and become an A-plus student. And if it’s a sport you already feel comfortable with, all the better.
Bet with your head, not your heart. Again, information is how you win sports bets, not biases. And if you can’t separate your desire for a team to win from actually believing they will win, it’s better to bet on teams for which you have no feelings.
This also plays into home team bias, which is something you should study. Apart from believing that your favorite team will win quite often, the betting public believes that the home team will win more often than it actually does. This exact amount of home team bias varies from sport to sport, so you should study the specifics before placing any bets.
Keep records. Sports betting is fun, but this is also an endeavor that you hope will turn a profit. So take notes on the bets you place and the end results. Learn from your successes, as well as your mistakes.
And make sure you keep financial records too. Always know how much money is going into your account and how much money is going out. If you’re making a profit, where is that money coming from? If you’re operating in the red, where is the money going?
Sports Betting How To Guide
How Money Line Works?
Moneyline betting is by far the easiest way to place a sports wager. There are no point spreads to parse, no garbage-time free throws to ruin your betting day, and no last-minute meaningless touchdowns to take you from a winner to a loser.
How to Bet Odds
When we, as sports fans, learned our multiplication tables, we aced the number 7. Seven, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42 were easy because we all watched football on the weekends. Multiplication by sevens, then add a three, a six after a missed PAT.
How to Bet on NFL Games
Baseball is America’s pastime, but football is America’s crazed passion, with its weekly schedule of games, millions of television viewers across the country and the world, and the billion-dollar stadiums that serve as Sunday cathedrals in 32 American cities.
What is the Spread?
If you are a golfer or have ever played on a bowling team, think of a point spread like a handicap. It is a way for two teams of differing abilities to play each other on equal footing. The better team, and the favorite in the game, gives a certain amount …
