Online Sports Betting 101
Practically everyone has bet on the outcome of a sporting event at one time or another. Usually it's just for fun - to add to the thrill of your favorite team being in a big game, or to spice up the office camaraderie with a March Madness pool. Sometimes these entertaining wagers are not even for cash, but for a favor or some type of mild public humiliation for the loser. The rules can just get invented as the bettors go along. If you want to wager profitably online, however, there are some basic guidelines you'll want to know and follow. I'll outline some of this basic guidance here.
1. Shop around for the best line on your game. While it is common to find several books with the same line on a game, it is also common to see the lines be slightly different. Here's why: the book is not trying to win the bet, the book is trying to keep the juice from all the betting. To do this, they attempt to balance the amount of wagering on each side of a bet. Books will shift the spread or the juice on a line to encourage more wagering in one direction or other to try to balance the wagering, dependent on the previous wagering they have accrued on that line. This is why the lines are so volatile near game time - the books are scrambling to decrease their exposure to one side of a line. So, one book may drop the juice from -110 to -105 on a line to encourage more bets on that side of the line, while another book is more balanced and can keep the juice on that side of the bet at -110.
Getting the bets you want at reduced juice will benefit you substantially over time.
Bettors should sign up at several of the reputable online sport books. Depositing isn't necessary until you find a line you want to wager on, but pre-registering can save much valuable time once a good line is found. After a while you'll discover the book(s) where you consistently get the best lines, and you can leave money deposited there if you choose.2. Hedge your bets if conditions change. You found a good line and made your bet. Then the star player for your team falls down a flight of steps and is out for the game. Ouch! The reason you bet on that team is no longer valid. You can hope and pray that the team prevails despite this setback, but the risk is possibly very great. You should make a hedge bet. You place a separate wager on the other team. You are likely locking in a small loss by doing this, but this is usually better than risking a huge loss. Just be careful that you are not getting a line on your hedge bet that makes it possible to lose both the original bet and the hedge bet.
3. Refresh, check, and double-check the lines. You have four browser windows running, each open to a different sports book. You've been reading and scrolling through 6 point font looking for the best lines for half an hour. Finally, you've found what you were looking for, and its just a few minutes before the kickoff! Time to hurry and get that bet in before it's too late! STOP! Take a deep breath. Don't get excited and rush to get your bet in. Refresh your browser and make sure what you are looking at is the current line that book is offering - they change quickly right before game time. Check to make sure you are selecting the team and bet you think you are. If your mouse or touchpad are like mine, they seem to get a mind of their own from time to time and stray clicks can be disastrous to your bankroll. Before finalizing your bet double-check the amount and the line tne final time to make sure you are getting exactly what you want. Once it's in, it's in, and there's no turning back. Use caution and avoid risking your money on careless mistakes.
4. Know your wagering limit at each book. Looking for the perfect line you discover the crown jewel of sportsbetting - an arbitrage bet. You quickly put $500 on one side of this risk free bet at one book, and move to the other book to put the corresponding $750 bet in - only to find out that your wagering limit at that book is $500. Now instead of a sure thing you have a major exposure problem and instead of automatic profits you are looking for ways to mitigate the damage. Knowing your wagering limits in advance at a site will allow you to avoid this problem.
5. Understand the rules of your book(s). You deposit for at a new book and receive a deposit bonus. Your picks can't miss, and you meet the rollover requirements in a week. Time to cashout those profits and buy your mom a new car, right? Maybe. Some books have strict requirements pertaining to their bonus terms. Many include keeping your money in the book for at least 30 or maybe even 60, days before your first withdrawal. Knowing this in advance can help prevent you from getting your bankroll stuck in a book for longer than you wanted. Read the terms and conditions for each site thoroughly before depositing.
Follow these simple guidelines as though they were laws and you will avoid many of the common pitfalls that newcomers to sports betting often wander into. Good Luck!