Sports betting is a billion-dollar industry—and it’s still growing. If you think that placing a few bets here and there is pretty exciting, you’d be right. But the question is, how much should you actually bet? And on what? There’s no simple answer to that question, but if you’re looking for some inspiration, you’ve come to the right place. Here, we’re going to lay out everything you need to know about sports betting so that when it comes time to place that first bet, you’ll be prepared to hit the jackpot—or at least place a profitable wager.
Types Of Sports You Can Bet On
To start things off, let’s discuss the types of sports you can bet on. There are four basic categories:
- American Football
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Boxing
Each of these sports has its perks and quirks. For example, while football is a popular sport in the U.S., there isn’t a lot of action happening on the field. That means you might not always get your money back. But in general, if you’re looking for an easy way to make a few bucks, you could do a lot worse than betting on sports. As for the types of bets you can make, the choices are endless. You can bet on the total score of a basketball game, pick the winners (or losers) of sports, or place a variety of wagers on the outcome of an individual play.
How To Place A Bet
Now that you’re familiar with the types of sports you can bet on, let’s discuss how to place a bet. First, you’ll need to identify the appropriate venue and time for placing your bets. Then, you’ll need to consider how reputable the bookmaker is—and if you land on a website that’s not properly licensed, you could wind up in legal trouble. After that, all you have to do is place your bets and await the results. Of course, if you’re lucky, the outcomes will match the bets you made and you’ll end up making a profit. If not, you’re back out another $100 or so (unless you’re betting on boxing, in which case you lose money).
The Madness Of Over/Under Bets
One interesting aspect about sports betting is the over/under (O/U) betting. Essentially, O/U betting entails betting on whether or not a particular stat—like the number of points scored in a game—will go over or under a certain amount. If you’re not familiar, stats are the measures used by sports franchises and broadcasters to quantify player performance. (Think of them as numerical representations of on-field actions.) For example, CBS Sports describes O/U betting as “betting on whether a team will exceed or fall short of some predetermined measure,” like the number of touchdowns scored in a game. O/U betting can get pretty hectic, especially when major sporting events are on the line. For instance, if you think that the underdog is going to win the Super Bowl, you might want to bet on them being under 42 points. If you think the favorite is going to win, you might want to bet on them being over 45 points.
The Math Behind Multi-team Ties
O/U betting gets a little bit more complicated when your bet includes more than one sports team. For example, if you think that the Kansas City Chiefs will beat the San Diego Chargers this upcoming October 28th, you might want to bet on them being under 7 points. But if you think that the Chargers are going to win that game, you might want to bet on them being over 8 points. (And if you think that the over/under is going to be close, you might want to take a flier on a parlay bet that includes multiple games.) Essentially, with O/U betting, you’re not just betting on one or two teams. You’re betting on the whole enchilada. So if you’re not used to doing a lot of sports betting, make sure that you get all the math worked out ahead of time. Otherwise, you could find yourself with an unexpected win or loss once the betting actually starts. (Hint: if you’re not sure how to do the math, ask a friend or family member who is. Or, better yet, hire someone to tutor you. A little bit of math goes a long way in this industry.)
The Money That You’ll Need To Bet
One of the most important things to consider when betting on sports is how much money you’ll need to do it. Sure, you’ll get your initial $100 deposit back via a free bet if you place a wager of $10 or more. But after that, you’ll need to find another $100 to keep betting. That’s not a problem if you’ve got it. But if you’re still skimping on cash flow, you might want to consider how much money you’re really willing to risk. If you’re looking to make some serious money, you’ll need to decide how much you’re prepared to risk. Fortunately, there’s an answer for that too. You can use this handy dandy calculator to show you how much money you’ll need to bet (based on the amounts you’ve input) every week to hit the big money. You’ll need to input how much money you intend to risk, how much you want to deposit, and how much you’ll need to win to make back your investment. For example, if you want to risk $500 per week for 5 weeks on a single football game, you’ll need to make a $2,500 deposit. And if you win, you’ll need to return $7,500 to your investment. So, in that case, you’d need to make 10 football bets to hit the jackpot. But if you lose, you’ll need to return $500 to your investment. (Note: these are just example amounts. You should do the math for your individual situation and risk level.)
Now that you know the basics of placing a bet on sports, how much money should you bet? That is the million-dollar question. The answer is, it depends. As we mentioned above, there’s no simple answer to this question. It depends on a variety of factors. But you can use this handy dandy calculator to figure out how much money you need to risk per week based on how often you want to bet and how much you want to win. As for what you want to win, it depends on you. What are you hoping to gain from betting? Is it a lark? Or are you looking to make some serious money? The answer to that question is completely up to you. It depends on how much you want to risk. (If you want to risk less, you might want to consider placing smaller bets. Or if you want to risk more, you might want to consider placing larger bets. It’s all about having fun and making money. So have at it!)
Hopefully, this article gave you some good ideas on how much you should bet on sports. But the important thing is that you know what you’re doing and can confidently place that first bet. In case you want to review any of this information or have any other questions, feel free to hit us up in the comments below. And as always, if you’re looking for more information on betting or how to place a bet, you can always check out our guide to online betting or browse our guide to betting strategies. Good luck out there.