You may have heard the term “10/10” or “10 point-blank” thrown around in reference to an important football or hockey game. Or, perhaps, you’re even a fan of the game and know precisely what those terms mean.
If you’re completely unfamiliar with the betting terminology, then here’s a quick breakdown of what those terms mean and why they’re significant.
Point-Blank
If you’ve ever watched a game on television, you may have seen the refs blow the whistle when the puck or the football is about to cross the goal line and know the importance of this signal. When the whistle is blown, the play ends immediately and the other team gets a point regardless of whether they scored or not.
A point-blank range shot is one that will definitely hit the target. In the case of a football, it’s a signal for the offense to stop their play and reset the point of attack. To give you an idea of how significant this is, think about how much time is typically consumed by the playclock during a football or hockey game. If a team wastes the play clock, then their opponents gain an advantage because they have more time to do their thing.
Double-Digit Odds
If you’re a fan of the NBA, you may have noticed the biggest games have increasingly larger odds than the more usual games. Take the 2019 NBA Finals as an example; the line for the Boston Celtics was +700, while the Golden State Warriors had odds of 10/1. What this means is that the Vegas casinos are giving you a better chance at winning money with the Golden State Warriors.
This is because sportsbooks across the country are forced to take a bet on every game due to the increasing numbers of people engaging in sports wagering. Since the beginning of this year, the NBA has seen a 300% increase in average betting on games, according to statista.
What Are The Most Popular Sports In America?
The most popular sports in the U.S. are undoubtedly football and basketball. According to the latest numbers from the NPD group, these two sports combined for 88.9% of all sports bets placed in the country in April 2019. The next most popular sport is MLB Baseball, followed by the XFL, the NLL, and the NHL.
Of course, the percentage of bets that each sport receives will vary by region. For example, in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states, football is far and away the most popular sport, while in other regions, baseball is a much more significant factor.
The Upset Special
If you were a betting man (or woman) in the 1800s, you may have placed a bet on the University of Virginia playing Cincinnati in a football game. The small college would go on to upset the Big Ten champion and win the game, which was played on a muddy field in a driving rainstorm. Naturally, the oddsmakers at the time had to take some sort of bet on the game, and you would have made a decent chunk of change.
Today, an upset special would be a game where the consensus is that the favorite is not supposed to win. There are a number of these types of games each year, with March Madness being the most well-known example. If you want to make a profit off these types of games, then you need to bet against the public, not with them.
Long-Haul Gamblers
If you travel often for business or pleasure, then you know how tedious it can be to try and fit all your sports wagering into one trip. That’s why you might want to consider playing a long-haul game. With these bets, you can pick the winner of an entire season or more in advance. Although, you will usually hear people refer to long-haul gamblers as “seasonal” or “year-round” bettors, that’s essentially the same thing.
If you took a trip around the world in 80 days and used the marathon as your main form of transport, then you would be sporting a different surname. Your friends, family, and coworkers would probably call you “Rambo” too. But, you might still go by Dan, the adventurous type that you always wanted to be when you grew up.
What Are The Most Popular Sports In Europe?
The U.S. is undeniably the world’s leading country when it comes to sports betting, but that doesn’t mean other regions of the world don’t hold their own. In fact, several European countries, namely Spain, France, and Italy, have developed huge sports betting markets because of the enormous popularity of their football teams.
The three most popular sports, according to a 2019 survey by Global Media Insights, are football, basketball, and baseball. Those three sports combined for 88.3% of all sports bets placed in Europe that year. Football was the most popular sport in all regions of the country, followed by basketball and baseball.
Red And Blue
If you’ve ever shopped at Walmart, then you probably know exactly what blue and red represent. These are the official colors of the NFL, and in order to avoid any confusion or errors on your part, the sportsbooks always indicate which team is which with these colorful terms. Just remember: if you’re betting on an NFL game, then the betting line will be in favor of the defending champion, so you might want to avoid betting on a game involving one of those famous brother-sister teams (e.g., the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers).