Saturday, August 9, 2008

Sports Betting - A Brief Explanation

By Allison Thompson


There are two interests which many men enjoy which when combined together result in "sports betting". Nearly every time a group a of guys get together to watch a sports match they end up placing bets with each other as to who is going to win. Certainly it does not matter which sport it is they will always find something to talk about and which could even change the course of the games history. To really get involved in the action some spectators do like to try and determine which team is going to win certain games. It is this which turns a friendly game into one that involves sports betting.

It may sound addictive, but sports' betting is just for fun and is an ideal way for you to bond with your friends. You don't even have to bet much in order to still have a good time. Certainly sports betting can actually make the outcome of a game more meaning and certainly make watching or listening to it more exciting. Below are some basics to help you get started with sports betting.

To be able place bets you first need to become a member of a Sports Book. This is a place where you allowed to place bets. Currently in the USA there are only four States where betting is legal, but it can be done illegally and you will need to find a bookie in order to place yours and you have to be over 21 years of age. You can bet on all kinds of sports from professional and college football and basketball, to professional hockey or baseball, to horse racing and dog racing. In fact today whatever sport you like then you are sure to be able to place any number of different bets on them. You can place a bet relating to what the combined score of the two teams involved will be at the end of the game or you can bet which opponent will be knocked out in which round, to you betting on what side of the coin will land on after it has been tossed. What you are doing is placing bets on what you thing are the chances of a team winning or losing (statistical odds) will be.

With sports betting the bookies rely on these statics to help them determine which of the teams they think are going to win. There is also something they do called a "spread" which is a points advantage that is given to weaker teams who are expected to lose by a particular number of points. This is their way of making even bets possible for a Sports Book. So say a person bet on a team who is expected to lose, they will still win their bet as long as the team loses by the number of points stated.

Occasionally your bookie may ask you to place bets that are some points above what you would actually win and they do this in order that they can make some money.

With sports betting there are a number of different bets that you can place. You have straights, parlays, teasers as well as over/under bets. Yet the most common bet of all placed by many is the straight one and it is the one you decide whether the team you are betting on is going to win or lose the game. The over/under bet is the one where the scores for the two teams involved are combined. As for parlays you are asked to bet on the outcome of several games and teasers are similar to these except you have the chance to add or subtract points from the spread to make the bet you have placed much stronger. Therefore how interesting and challenging sports betting is for you will depend largely on what kinds of bets you place.

Above we have shown you what the basics of sports betting are. So why not give it a try and have some fun as well. But remember to not get too carried away and go out and use your 401K plan, you may just end up regretting this for the rest of your life.

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