A Beginner’s Guide to Sports Betting
For many people, sports betting can seem like a complicated and even intimidating endeavor. The truth is, however, that it doesn’t have to be. With a little bit of knowledge and understanding, anyone can be a sports bettor. In this article, we’ll explain the basics of sports betting and online sports betting odds in Nigeria so that you can get started.
Types of Sports Bets
There are two primary types of sports bets: straight bets and parlays. Straight bets are simply wagers on which team will win or lose. In a parlay, you’re essentially combining multiple straight bets into one larger bet. If any of the individual bets in the parlay lose, then the whole thing loses. Parlays offer the potential for larger payouts than straight bets, but they’re also more risky.
How Odds Work
When you place a bet on a particular team, you’re essentially saying that team is more likely to win than the odds suggest. For example, let’s say that the Los Angeles Lakers are playing the Boston Celtics and the Lakers are listed at -5.5. This means that if you bet on the Lakers, they would have to win by at least 6 points for you to win your bet. Similarly, if you bet on the Celtics, they could lose by up to 5 points and you would still win your bet.
The amount that you stand to win or lose on a particular bet is determined by the odds. Odds can be expressed either as a decimal (e.g., 1.50) or as a fraction (e.g., 3/2). Decimal odds are typically used in Europe while fractional odds are more common in the United States. To calculate your potential winnings from decimal odds, simply multiply your stake by the decimal odds (e.g., £10 x 1.50 = £15). To calculate your potential winnings from fractional odds, multiply your stake by the numerator (top number) of the fractional odds and divide by the denominator (bottom number) (e.g £10 x 3 / 2 = £15).
Moneyline Betting
In addition to betting on whether a team will win or lose by a certain number of points (the point spread), you can also bet on who will simply win outright—this is called moneyline betting. Moneyline betting doesn’t involve points spreads; instead, each team is given odds based on their likelihood of winning outright. The favorite will have lower odds while the underdog will have higher odds—and thus offers higher potential payouts.
For example, let’s say that in our earlier example involving the Lakers and Celtics, the Lakers are listed at -200 and the Celtics are listed at +150. This means that if you were to bet $100 on the Lakers, you would stand to win $50 if they won outright—since their odds are 2-to-1 against them winning outright (or 2/1). Similarly, a $100 bet on the Celtics would result in a $150 payout if they won outright—since their odds are 3-to-2 in their favor (or 3/2).
Conclusion:
Sports betting doesn’t have to be complicated or intimidating—anyone can do it with a little bit of knowledge! There are two primary types of sports bets: straight bets and parlays. Straight bets simply involve wagering on which team will win or lose while parlays involve combining multiple straight bets into one larger bet. When placing a bet, you’re saying that team is more likely to win than suggested by their given odds.
Odds can be expressed either as decimals or fractions and indicate how much money you stand to make based off your initial stake. You can also place MoneyLine bets which don’t involve point spreads but rather focus on who will win outright. Now that you know all this, what are you waiting for? Get out there and start placing some bets!
