Ever wonder what the symbol +2 means when used in betting parlance?
If you’re not familiar, the plus sign is used in betting to denote a second event or choice of wager following the original wager or proposition. So, for example, if a gambler makes a $10 bet on a sporting event and the outcome is a hit, he or she would win $20 – the original $10 stake plus the $2 placed on the second event.
What Is the Appeal Of Plus 2?
Plus 2 has been around since the 1800s and was originally used in horse racing. As the name implies, it was originally devised to allow bettors to place additional wagers following the original wager. During that time, horse racing was mostly illegal in New York state, hence the reason for the name. Today, plus 2 is accepted everywhere and has been adapted to suit all sorts of gambling activities. The following explains the appeal of plus 2 in more detail.
Allowing Multiple Choices
One of the biggest draws of plus 2 is that it provides gamblers with an opportunity to make multiple choices. Imagine if you’re playing roulette and you place a $10 bet on red. As the number comes up, you have the option to place another $10 bet on black or leave the $10 on red. In most cases, you would leave the $10 on red because that’s what you initially placed the bet on. However, if you’re feeling adventurous, you could place another bet on black – giving you the option of making a winning $20, a losing $10, or a winning even $10.
Similarly, if you take a card game like blackjack and bet $10 on black, you have the option to double down and bet another $20 or leave the $10 on black. If you’re feeling particularly lucky, you can even gamble on red again with the $10 you already placed. Of course, you’ll lose the $10 but at least you have a chance of making a winning $20.
The point is that you have options when it comes to plus 2. Many gamblers find this appealing because they like the chance of making multiple winning bets in one sitting. Even if you lose, you have options in most cases since you can always choose to walk away with what you already have or place another bet. Plus 2 provides much flexibility, which is attractive to many gamblers.
Giving Gamblers A Sense Of Advantage
While plus 2 gives gamblers flexibility, it also gives them a distinct advantage. Because they have an extra option when it comes to betting, they have the opportunity to identify patterns and anomalies that others might not. This, in turn, gives them a leg up in terms of placing winning wagers. This can be particularly useful in sports betting, where knowing that a team is likely to lose or win based on certain statistics can give you a leg up in terms of making a wager.
For example, if you’re watching the NFL draft and you see that the Cincinnati Bengals have the third overall pick, you might want to make a wager that the New York Jets will win the draft. You have two options; you can either put down $10 on your favorite team, the Jets, or you can place a $2 or a $5 option on the Bengals. Now, if the Bengals win the pick, you could walk away with $20 – or if they lose, you would have a $10 plus the $2 or $5 you originally placed on the Jets.
The advantage of placing multiple options on the same bet is that it creates a diversity of interests. If one of your options loses, you’re not overly invested in the outcome because you have alternatives. For example, if you bet $10 on the Cincinnati Bengals and they win the draft, you would win $20. If they lose, you still have the option of laying another $10 on the New York Jets – giving you the opportunity to create a winning $30 total, which is superior to what you would have if you’d betted on just one team.
Since the start of this year, the U.S. Supreme Court has given its stamp of approval to plus 2 in gambling, allowing it to be used in all states. Now that it’s official, you can use plus 2 in all your wagering activity.
Making Parimutuel Wagering Legal
Plus 2 in gambling is just one of the ways that the Supreme Court has opened the door for more modern gaming. In January, the high court declared that states can legalize parimutuel wagering, otherwise known as “instant racing.”
This is a type of betting where all bets are placed at the same time and a winner is determined by the addition of the winning horses’ earnings times the number of bets made. The concept behind parimutuel wagering is that the more bets, the more winning chances there are. With plus 2 in particular, this is made easier because you have an additional bet that you can make, which gives you more opportunities to win.
In effect, the Supreme Court declared that a state can allow for multiple wagering choices on the same bet, which makes sense because why would anyone want to bet on just one horse when they can have a look-see at all the choices? More importantly, why would anyone want to limit themselves to just one wagering option when they can make multiple choices?
Final Takeaway
The appeal of plus 2 in betting is that it offers versatility. Because players have options, they can identify patterns and present an advantage. The ability to make multiple choices gives them the ability to increase or decrease their stake in line with their advantage – or lack thereof. Of course, this advantage comes with a cost – the potential of losing money. Because of this, it is best suited for recreational and social gamblers. However, if you’re looking for a quick way to make money, you might want to avoid plus 2 altogether – or at least place it on less expensive bets.