Most people think that betting on sports is a way of wasting time, but that couldn’t be farther from true. Studies have shown that sports betting can be a form of investment or even a way of making money. If you’re looking to make some extra cash or are just curious about the ins and outs of sports betting, then continue reading.
Why Spread-Betting Is A Way Of Betting Against The Spread
Many traditional bookmakers will take wagers on games, but they don’t allow you to bet against the spread. That means that if a game is moving in one direction (either team is winning), you have to bet on that side. But what happens when the game is moved in the other direction (one of the teams is losing)?
With spread betting, you have the option of betting on either team. And that means that if the game is moving in one direction, you have the opportunity to cash in and make some money. Of course, if the game is just as likely to end up as it is to stay in motion, then there’s no real advantage to betting on either team. But if you’re able to find a team with a slight edge (for example, you think one team is more skilled than the other), then the opportunity to profit from the ups and downs of a game is at your fingertips. For the best odds, you can also spread your bet among a number of bookmakers who specialize in this type of wager.
How Much Can You Profit From Spread Betting?
It all depends on how much you’re willing to risk. The more you risk, the better your chances of making a lot of money. But to keep things simple, let’s say that you’re willing to risk $100 on a single wager. That’s a big chunk of change, but it’s also a lot of potential profit. If you’re lucky, you could win $100,000.
In a World Cup tournament, for example, you might consider betting on Brazil to win. This is despite the fact that they’ve never won the tournament and have certainly never been considered favorites to do so. What makes Brazil such an attractive proposition is the fact that they always beat their opposition by a wide margin. So even though they’re considered underdogs, you’re sure to make a profit on the bets you make.
As for how much you can lose, it’s relatively small if you play it safe. But if you risk everything and bet on the favorite, you could lose a large amount of money. For example, if you bet $100 on England to win the 2018 World Cup, you would have lost $100, but you would have also won $100,000. So if you wanted to keep your money in your pocket, you would have had to bet on Argentina or Croatia to win the tournament.
How Does Spread Betting Work ?
If you’ve ever played the lottery, then you know how it works — you buy a few tickets, hoping that you’ll win the jackpot. But the chances of winning are quite slim, as most people who play the lottery know. Yet, they keep on buying those tickets, as they believe that it’s a good chance to earn some quick cash.
In much the same way, spread betting works by taking a large wager (the more you bet, the larger your winnings) on the spread. For example, say you’re interested in betting on the NFL ? You could put $100 on the Atlanta Falcons to win. So long as they maintain a spread of 7 points or more, you’ll make a profit — even if they lose by 2 touchdowns. In that case, you wouldn’t have lost $100, as the final score would have been 48–32 in favor of the Falcons. But since you bet on the spread to go up, you would have won $28,000 (based on $100 bet x 2 points margin).
As you can see, while it’s typically considered a losing proposition to bet on the favorite in most sports books, you can make quite a lot of money if you play it safe. But you have to be willing to risk it all on one bet. Otherwise, you’ll never be able to generate enough cash flow to make it worth your while to play.
Now, some sports books will only allow bets of a certain size. If you want to take advantage of spread betting, then you’ll have to find a bookie who accepts large wagers. Otherwise, you’ll never be able to make the most of betting against the spread.
More On The Mathematics Of Spread Betting
As the name suggests, the spread signifies the difference in points between two teams. For example, if the spread is 7 points, that means the points are tied in the game. In that case, the oddsmaker adjusts the line, making it 5.5 points for the home team and 13.5 points for the visitor. Naturally, you’ll have to bet on the favored team to win. But there’s also money to be made on the underdogs. In that case, you’re essentially playing against the spread, as the line is already adjusted to reflect the prevailing opinion that the underdogs will lose.
Keep in mind: you’re not supposed to pick individual games; you’re trying to bet on the spread. So if you do happen to bet on an individual game and it turns out to be a push, then you’ll only lose the amount that you bet on the spread. For example, let’s say you bet $100 on the Atlanta Falcons to win the Super Bowl. If they end up losing by 4 touchdowns, then you’d only lose $100, because the spread was 4 points at the time you bet.
The History Of Spread Betting
While spread betting has been around since the early 1900s, it became a widely used strategy in the 21st century, mostly thanks to the internet. In the old days, people would gather around their radios and listen to the scores of games as they came in, which is how they found out what was going on in the first place. Naturally, since you couldn’t really follow the action via radio, people started looking for alternatives. Spread betting became very popular due to its convenience and the wide array of sports it tracks. And that, in turn, caused a significant growth in the number of online sportsbooks as well as the amount of money wagered through online betting portals.
It’s interesting to note that even in the early days of the internet, not everyone agreed that spreading your bets was a good idea. After all, getting the most for your money is usually the goal, so why should you risk it on a game that you think may not end in your favor? But, as mentioned, convenience is often the key when it comes to betting. At the time, placing a bet was quite the process—you would either have to go to a physical sportsbook or place a call to an operator. Now, with online sportsbooks and apps, it’s as easy as clicking a button or pulling a handle. Plus, as more and more people are getting into sports, the desire to generate some extra cash has also increased. So while traditional books will always have a place in the world of sports betting, modern-day gamblers are looking for new ways to make money—and they’re finding them thanks to the internet and new technologies.