How To Bet on Sports

Sports wagers have been around since the dawn of man. Surely the first men to walk the earth – as competitive as they are by nature – said to another guy, “Hey, bet I can beat you to that big rock!”, or “I bet I can throw a stick and hit that bee hive”, (cause men are known for their brilliance, too!)

The Romans wagered on the gladiators, the British wagered on their ponies, now days we wager on just about every sport known to man.

The most notable innovation in the sports betting world has to bet the internet. Online sportsbooks started popping up as early as 1996, and there has yet to be a lull in the activity at such online betting sites. In fact, the exponential growth has been incredibly impressive, as millions are now placing sports betting picks online.

So long as you have a computer and a bank account or credit card (and are of legal betting age in your jurisdiction!), you can be placing sports bets in a matter of minutes from the comfort of your PC, laptop, even your cell phone or any hand held mobile device with an internet connection.

How to Bet on Sporting Events Online

1. Choose a Sportsbook
There are hundreds of online sportsbooks, so it is rather important to make sure you’re joining the right one. Consider what sports you want to bet on. If you’re nervous about the honesty and security of online sports betting, choose an online sportsbook that’s been around for a few years. Irresponsible or otherwise unsavory operators never last that long. Check to see that you’ll be able to use one or more of the payment methods supplied, and that members from your country are accepted. Choosing the right sportsbook the first time can save a lot of time and headaches in the long run.

2. Managing Your Bankroll
After joining an online sportsbook, you’ll need to make a deposit. Visit the cashier section and choose a suitable payment method for depositing. Follow the instructions and you’ll have your account funded in no time.

Properly managing that sports betting bankroll is crucial to the success of your online sports betting endeavor. Don’t blow your entire bankroll on your first bet. Split it up so that you can make a series of bets, in case the first ones don’t go quite as you had intended.

3. The First Bet
Don’t jump into a type of bet you are not familiar with. As a new online sports bettor, you are likely to come across a lot of bets you may not have known existed. Stick with the basics. ATS and Over/Under are recommended in the early days of online sports betting.

An ATS bet is a bet “Against the Spread”. The spread is the amount of points one team is favored to win by over the other teams. Let’s say the NY Yankees are expected to beat the Minnesota Twins by 2 points. The spread becomes 2; -2 for the Yankees, +2 for the Twins. If you bet on the Yankees, they must win by at least two points or you lose the bet. A 2 point win is a tie, and a 3+ point victory is a win on your bet. The same works in reverse for a bet on the Twins. If they lose by 2, you tie. If they lose by 3+ you lose. If the tie or win the game, or lose by just 1 point, you win the bet.

Over/Under bets are wagers on the total overall score of the game, combining both teams’ points. Let’s say the Over/Under on the Yankees-Twins game is 8 (expected score Yankees 5, Twins 3). If you bet Over, the total combined scores must exceed 8 to win. Betting Under would require less than 8 points overall. If 8 points are scored, it’s a push.

4. Understanding an ATS/Totals Betting Slip
Below is an example of a basic online sports betting slip.

CONTESTANTS |SPREAD | TOTALS |
Yankees |-2 (-110) |8 (-110) |
Twins |+2 (-110) |8 (-110) |

You can see that the Yankees are favored to win by 2 points, therefore they lose 2 points (-2) on the Spread. The Twins receive 2 points (+2) on the Spread. The total expected score is 8, this being the Over/Under bet.

The -110 points to the commission you must pay the online sportsbook on a sports bet. The -110 means you pay $10 for every $100 you bet. So if you want to place a bet that would pay $100, you would actually need to bet $110. That’s a typical 10% commission.