When you’re involved in sports betting, there are certain terms and phrases you need to know and understand. Being familiar with these terms will enhance your experience and put you in a better position to succeed as a sports bettor! So let’s dive right in!
Hooks
A hook is any term used to describe the edge or advantage that one team or player has over another. For example, if you were to bet on the Chicago Cubs, you’d have to make a 5.0- to 1.0-point bet to earn back your initial investment. This means the odds are 95% in favor of the Cubs. It’s essentially a sucker’s bet because in almost all cases, the edge or advantage is greatly outweighed by the risk. In other words, you’re taking a long shot on winning money.
Hooks can either be positive or negative, and they can greatly influence the overall feel and tone of a betting line. A positive hook indicates that the team or player with the edge or advantage will most likely win the match. If the hook is negative, then it’s the opposite – they are statistically more likely to lose. In some cases, a team or player may even be favored due to an extremely high winning percentage over the years or because they’re playing against a weaker opponent this season.
Terminology
The terminology associated with sports betting is extensive, so let’s cover the basics. When you place a wager on a sporting event, you’re placing a bet on the outcome of the game. This is usually expressed in terms of the point spread. For example, if the football odds makers favor the New England Patriots to win the Superbowl this year by 2 points, this is usually expressed as -2.0 points. The key points to keep in mind are:
- The favorite is the team or player that the public believes will win
- The underdog is the team or player that the public believes will lose
- The point spread represents the amount by which the favorite will overcome the underdog
- The goal is to predict the winner of the game
- If you bet on the underdog, then you’re expecting them to lose
- If you bet on the favorite, then you’re expecting them to win
- Odds are the probability that the selected team will win
- Moneyline is when wagers are settled up to the minute of the game
- Proposition bets are wagers on a specific result, such as who will score the next touchdown
- Match bets are wagers on the outcome of a specific game, such as a college football match
- Futures bets are wagers on the score of a game that hasn’t been played yet
- Totals bets are wagers on the total number of points scored during a game
Risk
The risk associated with any kind of wagering is the possibility of losing. Although risk is always present in some form whenever you gamble, it’s particularly important to consider the risk associated with sports betting. You must be completely aware of the risks before you engage in any kind of wagering, and you must weigh these risks against the benefits you expect to gain.
The main risks you need to be concerned about are:
- The favorite is too strong to lose heavily
- Underdog is too strong to lose heavily
- Odds are too good to lose heavily
- Lack of understanding of the game
- Lack of understanding of the rules of the game
- Vast variety of sports to choose from – sometimes it’s difficult to figure out which sport to bet on
- Lack of confidence
- Inability to filter through the plethora of information online
- Lack of preparation before placing bets
Taking that Chicago Cubs example again, it’s worth noting that although they are currently a slight underdog, they have never once been favored to win the World Series. With spring training well under way and the regular season about to begin, now is a good time to prepare for some World Series wagering. In other words, although the chances of the Cubs winning are relatively small, it’s still relatively safe to back them. On the other hand, if you were to back the defending champions, the Golden State Warriors, you’d be taking on a bit of a risk. Even if they were to lose, which is extremely unlikely, you’d still lose a large portion of your investment.
Advantage
An advantage is any measure that favors one team or player over another. For example, let’s say the Cleveland Cavaliers have a significant advantage over the Golden State Warriors in terms of speed and athleticism. This could be expressed as +15 points in terms of speed and as +20 points in terms of athletics. To determine the overall advantage of one team over another, you add up all the individual advantages together. In the case of the Cavaliers and Warriors, their combined speed and athleticism edge them over the Cavaliers’ advantage in terms of funding and resources – they enjoy a +35-point advantage!
Like with hooks, the terminology associated with advantages is extensive, so let’s cover the basics. When you place a wager on a sporting event, you’re placing a bet on the outcome of the game. This is usually expressed in terms of the point spread. For example, if the football odds makers favor the New England Patriots to win the Superbowl this year by 2 points, this is usually expressed as -2.0 points. The key points to keep in mind are:
- The favorite is the team or player that the public believes will win
- The underdog is the team or player that the public believes will lose
- The point spread represents the amount by which the favorite will overcome the underdog
- The goal is to predict the winner of the game
- If you bet on the underdog, then you’re expecting them to lose
- If you bet on the favorite, then you’re expecting them to win
- Odds are the probability that the selected team will win
- Moneyline is when wagers are settled up to the minute of the game
- Proposition bets are wagers on a specific result, such as who will score the next touchdown
- Match bets are wagers on the outcome of a specific game, such as a college football match
- Futures bets are wagers on the score of a game that hasn’t been played yet
- Totals bets are wagers on the total number of points scored during a game
Proposition and match bets, as the name implies, are bets on the result of a single event, such as the winner of the next Superbowl. These types of bets are usually the easiest to understand because the outcome is essentially certain. On the other hand, futures and totals bets require a bit more imagination to predict the correct score, or total number of points. Because there’s always a chance that the selected team will lose, these types of bets are a little more difficult to place and a little more risky.
Parlay
When you parlay, you’re agreeing to wager a certain amount of money, with the understanding that if any of the chosen teams you’re supporting win their respective matches, then you’ll win your original investment back plus interest. For example, if you were to parlay five dollars on each of the New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns, then you’d win ten dollars if both teams win.
There are a variety of ways to make money off the sports pages. Whether you’re looking for a quick fix or want to create a passive income stream, you can use the information presented in this article to get started.