There is no doubt that sports betting can be complicated. From Parlay Bets and Prop Bets to Future Bets and Teasers, it can all get very confusing. Thankfully there are a few common bets that are simple to understand. These are the ones that most punters go for, given that they are approachable by just about anyone that wants to get in on the action.
Let’s take a look at the most common bets and get an understanding of how they work.
Win Bet Or Moneyline Bet
Perhaps the biggest reason for confusion in the world of sports betting is that the United States decided to do what it does best. Namely, give new names to everything that already had a perfectly good name. The rest of the world refers to a bet on a team to win as a Win Bet. The US refers to a Win Bet as a Moneyline Bet. Regardless of the name the concept is about as simple as it gets; a single bet on a team to win. If the chosen team wins a payout is made according to applied odds.
The vast majority of the betting community makes this wager on a regular basis.
Totals Or Over/Under
The world refers to this next bet as Over/Under, only for the US to once again decide that it likes the name Totals instead. Again, the bets are exactly the same despite the name difference. The idea is that a match will have a total of points scored, taking both teams into account. The sportsbook makes a prediction as to what the total will be. It is then up to the punter to bet on whether the actual total is higher or lower than the sportsbook’s prediction. Hence; Over/Under.
Over/Under bets are often used in conjunction with a Win bet. Since the wagers are not connected it means that a punter can still win even if they lose the other.
Point Spread Or Handicap
In keeping with the theme this bet is referred to as Handicap in the rest of the world and Point Spread in the US. The concept is similar to Over/Under, but with a focus on the spread of points a team will win by. The sportsbook makes a prediction of how many points a team will win by. The punter decides if the sportsbook’s prediction is over or under the actual total.
The Handicap bet is less common than those above but still works will in conjunction with a Win Bet.
Futures And Outright
Last we have the riskiest bet of the lot, referred to as Futures or Outright. This is, simply put, a wager on which team will win a tournament outright. Given that the bets are normally placed well in advance of the tournament itself, the prediction takes a great deal of foresight and knowledge of teams. As such, not only do many punters avoid such long odds, but the payouts are also normally rather generous.
Active punters will often combine an Outright bet with several smaller To Win bets.