Betting 101
Whether it is by boredom’s decree or if it is for novelty’s sake, we have all enjoyed ourselves a little betting every now and then. The cool part is, you can bet on anything in the world. Though, to take it to the world’s stage and bet on sports, that is all the fun in the world. However, a betting noob will be faced with an influx of cryptic language that, to them, is unheard of. Simple horse racing wagers feature the traditional win, place and show (first, second and third) wagers. A win wager is exactly that wagering on a horse to win the race. A place wager means wagering on a designated horse to finish second or better while a show wager is betting on a horse to finish third or better. While most sportsbooks will typically charge a -110 vig on each side, reduced juice books are far superior for everyday bettors since they typically have lines of -105 or -106. While bettors need to win 52.38% of their bets to break even with standard (-110) juice, that percentage drops to 51.22% when the juice is -105.
We lost the 2020 NCAA Tournament, unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic. It was a tough way for a great and wide-open season of college basketball to wrap up. A lot of people tend to play the brackets or bet on NCAA Tournament games, but they do not take the time to research and study during the regular season. We’ll help you get prepared for the 2020-21 college basketball season so you can build your bankroll. Some beginners aren’t familiar with the basic workings of wagering. We’ll hit all of that below.
College Basketball betting: Ways to bet
Betting 101 Spread
Access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list of today’s sports betting odds and lines.
Whether you’re a beginner, an intermediate bettor or you’ve been wagering your whole life, when you bet college hoops, it’s all about limits. The best rule of thumb for better success is to select just a few conferences on which to focus. If you try to bet all 353 Division I teams, the only thing guarantee guaranteed is that you will lose. That’s too much, even for the pro cappers.
For beginners, focus on one or two conferences, intermediate bettors can handle up to three, and the long-term guys can expand their focus to four or five conferences. Know them inside and out, study the injury reports each week and follow trends and statistics closely. Long-term players might also want to keep a spreadsheet with results and trends, and try and develop a statistical system.
College Basketball betting: Key betting terms to know
Most college hoops bettors wager on the spread. You either take Team A or Team B to win with a point spread. You can also bet the moneyline, which is simply taking one team or the other to win outright, regardless of the margin. In addition, you can bet the Over/Under on the total number of points in a game.
If you choose to bet a parlay, you bet two or more different things, and each bet needs to win for you to cash a winning ticket. Generally, the odds are much better with the more bets you include in a parlay, but the risk rises with each addition to the ticket.
College Basketball betting: How do odds work?
Let’s say Michigan is favored by 7 1/2 points over Indiana with a total of 129 points. If you bet the favorite, you need Michigan to win by at least 8 points to cash. If you bet the underdog, you need Indiana to stay within 7 points in a loss, or win outright.
If you were to bet the Over, you would need a total of 130 or more points for a winning ticket. If you bet the Under, you would need 128 or fewer points for your bet to cash.
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Anyone has the potential to be a sharp sports bettor with the right info. That’s why SBD put all the fundamentals into our introductory series for new bettors: Sports Betting 101.
Learn about the types of sports bets you can place, how to read odds, and how to manage your bankroll to get the most value out of your wagers.
We’ll break down some confusing terms you might encounter while getting started and walk you through some basic considerations to think about before placing a sports bet online.
Sportsbook Betting 101
Let’s get started!