Sportsbetting takes you places
One of my favourite pastimes is logging on to Fox Sports and checking out the latest upcoming sports schedule. There are more games going on every day than I can keep track of – and I imagine it’s like that for most folks – so I limit myself to a few options such as the NFL, NHL and NBA. These sports categories have lots going on all the time. When it’s football season and the Superbowl is hotting up – the entire country is locked in football-fever mode. The same can be said for both the National Hockey League and its greatest prize the Stanley Cup as well as the National Basketball Association. These are not only American sporting sensations, they are revered the world over as top-tier sports with lots of betting money to be made on them.
Entering the world of sports betting
Before I put this to rest, I’d like to add that the feeling you get when your team/player wins is that much more amplified when that team/player also wins you money. That’s where it’s all at for me. The combination of passion for sport and cold hard cash are like the duo – dynamite and kerosene. Take a peek at the following money lines:
- Chicago Cubs +145
- LA Dodgers -110
What we can tell right off the bat is that the Cubs are the underdogs and the Dodgers are the favorites. This is reflected by way of the + for the Cubs and the – for the Dodgers. It’s a little tricky for a first-time punter but I’ll try to be as clear as possible in this explanation. A punter wanting the Dodgers to win would be willing to wager $110 for a $100 return for a winning outcome. A standard bet on the Cubs would be wagering $100 to win $145. Now if the underdogs come in that’s a return of 45% on your investment of $100 – not too shabby J However if the Dodgers don’t come in , then you’ve wagered $110 – lost it – and the most you would have received was $210 ($110 wager + $100 winnings). Note that each and every sport has different money lines. These can get really tricky if you’re not familiar with the tote. When we turn our attention to point spread betting then the bookie hopes that there is a relatively equal ‘spread’ of bets on both the favorite and the underdog. This always guarantees the bookie a profit. But if every one always bets on the favorite and he/she always wins, then the bookies go out of business.
