Sports Betting Guide

By: Matthew Buchanan | Last Updated: October 16, 2024

Whether you’re just starting out with sports betting or you’re looking to simply sharpen your skills, welcome to our official guide for betting on sports online or in-person. We’ll show you the ropes if you’re new or give you a few pointers if you’re already familiar with online betting! You don’t need a PhD to get good at sports betting, but it does require a little bit of research, some discipline, and a sound, logical strategy if you want to succeed and become good at getting the most value possible out of the odds you place on your betting slip.

We’ll review some of the betting basics for newcomers, but we have a ton of resources for seasoned bettors who want to brush up on their strategy. Our review has some basic tips and strategies for newbies and middle-of-the-road gamblers, but we’ve also included some advanced betting techniques as well for anyone who’s interested in leveling up! We run the gamut when it comes to online or in-person sports betting, so get onboard to add to your gambling knowledge. It could be the difference between making money betting on sports or losing the majority of your bets!

For quick access to the information you need, use the jump links to get around our sports betting guide with ease!

Beginner’s Guide

Are you completely new to online or in-person sports betting? Well, join the club of millions of people across the globe who are interested in making some extra money in their spare time or simply enjoying the leisure of casual sports betting. In the following section, we’ll talk about the basic concepts of sports betting, how to choose a good book for placing your bets, and how to place your bets once you’re registered. We’ll review all of the basics you’ll need to know!

If you’re ready to jump right in be sure to learn more in our beginner’s guide.

Understanding Sports Betting

Sports betting is a form of gambling involving wagering on sports. The ultimate goal is to turn a profit, or at the very least, break even. Sports betting comes with risk—if you don’t correctly predict an outcome, it could cost you money. Popular sports bet types include betting on the outright winner (moneylines), betting on the favorite underdog team to cover the point spread, or correctly predicting the final combined score for both teams.

In 2024, this sports betting can be done using online sports betting apps or submitting wagers at retail sports betting locations, typically found at casinos, racetracks, or OTB centers.

Choosing a Betting Site

Choosing a quality sportsbook can make all the difference in your overall betting experience. Check out some tips on what to look for in an online betting site as you’re making the big decision. Choosing multiple books can actually help you significantly because you’re exposing yourself to a wide array of odds, making it easier to spot edges in the numbers.

How to Place a Bet

If you’re not sure how to place a sports bet or wager online, take a look at our step-by-step guide on placing your first bet. What you can expect from each sportsbook might vary slightly, but these are the general steps you’ll experience as you place bets online.

If you’re brand new, we’ll begin from the ground up, starting with signing up for an account with an online sportsbook.

  1. Choose a good, reliable sportsbook that is available where you live. Register your new account by entering some basic information like your name, address, email, and date of birth.
  2. Create a username and password to get in out of your sportsbooks safely and securely. Once you’ve finished registration, log into your new account to get started.
  3. Choose a banking method that works for you—most sportsbooks take the major credit cards, prepaid credit cards like Play+, or e-wallets such as PayPal or Skrill. Enter the amount of your first deposit and submit.
  4. Select your sports market and find the game or match you’re interested in betting on. Look at the types of bets you can place like money lines, point spreads, or over/under totals.
  5. View the odds and see which you’d like to place on your bet slip. Once you’ve chosen your market, game, bet types, and odds, add them to your bet slip. Be sure to review all the information to make sure it’s correct.
  6. Enter how much money you’d like to bet. You must adhere to the minimum or maximum limits that are in place and should fall within your budget parameters.
  7. Now, click the confirm button to send your bet along. You’ll get confirmation that your bets have been successfully placed.
  8. Next, watch the event and check the results of your bet when things wrap up! If your bet wins, the money will be added to your account balance.

Glossary of Betting Terms

If you’re new to sports betting, you’ll find there are a lot of terms that get tossed around that you might be unfamiliar with. The more you can learn about lingo and jargon, the more understanding will come about how these things work.

Sports Betting Glossary

Betting Basics

If you’re new to sports betting, it’s good to know the basics of how it all works, especially if you’re ready to delve into online sports betting apps. Learn about the types of bets you can place and how to read odds. We’ll even discuss good bankroll management and some common mistakes that new bettors can avoid to keep them from getting into hot water or experiencing some heartbreak.

Types of Bets

Understanding Odds

Sports betting odds come in three forms: American odds, decimal odds, and fractional odds. American odds are preferred for US bettors, while the Brits favor fractional odds, and Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand largely embrace decimal odds. Most online sports books will allow you to select your odds format—you don’t have to bet using the widely preferred odds in your country. It’s all up to your personal preferences.

We’ll delve into these odds formats, equipping you with the knowledge of how odds work in sports betting, how to read them, and, most importantly, how to calculate your payout. This understanding will empower you to make informed betting decisions!

American Odds

In a sports game, match, or event, you’ll have two teams or competitors: the favorite to win and the underdog expected to lose. The favorite is signified by a negative sign (-), while the underdog is signified by a positive sign (+). An example of some odds on a sports bet might look like this:

Steelers

-500

Ravens

+700

In this case, the Steelers are the favorite to win. With favorites, you must wager $500 to win a payout of $100 for a total payout of $600. Because the Steelers are expected to win, the payout isn’t as significant because there isn’t too much risk. For a bet on the Ravens in this example, you must wager $100 to win $700 for a total payout of $800. If the Ravens can pull off an upset win over the Steelers, anyone betting $100 can win $700, a much larger payout because the bet carries much more risk than betting on the favorite.

Remember that the negative number is the favorite, and the positive number is the underdog. Betting on the favorite means you’re likely to win, but the payouts aren’t all that great. Taking a risk on the underdog can be nerve-wracking. However, high risk comes with a high reward: a heftier payout.

Fractional Odds

In the favored odds format in the United Kingdom (Britain and Ireland), fractional odds are written with backslashes (/) or hyphens (-). An example would be 5/1, called “five-to-one odds.” You will win $5 for every $1 you wager. You also get your original bet back too!

Steelers

1/3

Ravens

5/1

Let’s take that same game with the Steelers and the Ravens. If the Ravens have 5/1 odds of winning, a bet of $20 would result in a total payout of $120 if you’re correct. You take twenty and multiply it by five to get the profit and multiply it by one to determine the original stake amount. You would gain $100 in profit if your bet is considered a win, and you’d get your original bet of $20 back, so a total payout of $120.

Decimal Odds

These are also known as European odds because they see a lot of use in European countries and many other Western nations like Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. Other names include digital odds or continental odds.

Let’s take another look at the Steelers and Ravens game:

Steelers

1.4

Ravens

3.0

If you bet on the Steelers winning and were correct, a bet of $100 would result in a total payout of $140. You’d get a net profit of $40 and your initial wager of $100 back ($100 x 1.4). Those betting on the Ravens to win the game would wager $100, get a total payout of $300 with a net profit of $200, and get their original wager back ($100 x 3.00).

Calculating Your Payout

Figuring out how much you’ll get paid out on your sports bet depends on which odds format you’re using. You can use any of the three odds formats at our favorite online sportsbooks. Once you learn how these bets payout, you can refine and hone your overall betting strategy and increase your bankroll significantly.

American Odds

Let’s look at American odds first:

  • Steelers -500
  • Ravens +700

The favorite is signified by the negative sign (-), and you’ll have to bet the amount listed in the odds ($500) to win $100 for a grand payout of $600. The underdog is the positive number (=), which represents the amount you could win for a bet of $100!

Fractional Odds

Let’s turn our attention to fractional odds:

  • 1/3 odds on the Steelers
  • 5/1 odds on the Ravens

For every dollar you wager on the Baltimore Ravens, you can earn $5. You could wager $20 and potentially win $100, bringing your overall payout total to $120 because you get your original wager back in addition to the amount you win on the bet.

Decimal Odds

Now, using decimal odds:

  • Steelers: 1.4
  • Ravens: 3.0

Bet on the favorite to win (the Steelers) with a wager of $100, and you’ll profit $40 ($100 x 1.4 odds). You also get your bet back, so your total payout will be $140. Betting on the underdog Ravens would require a $100 bet to win $300, so you’re making an overall profit of $200 once you get your $100 initial wager back.

Bankroll Management

One of the keys to being successful in sports betting is having your finances under control. Consider your money your lifeblood in the sports betting game. You cannot make money or grow your bankroll well if you’re not tracking everything properly or going at it without a first betting strategy or disciplines in place.

Check out some great tips below for effectively managing your bankroll on your sportsbook of choice.

  • Track Your Bets: Just as you would track the money in your bank account as you pay your bills or settle up debts, it’s important to keep track of how many bets you have going and how much is at stake. Stay within your budget and don’t bet more than you have set aside for your session.
  • Find Value: Look for the best odds instead of looking for easy winners. Many of the easy, sure thing bets don’t even payout all that much in profit. Why hold your own when you could be making some big profit? That’s why shopping around for odds on multiple sportsbooks is so important. It’s the way you’ll make money and build your bankroll over time.
  • Use a Consistent Strategy: To protect your bankroll, use a consistent betting strategy like unit betting where you bet a percentage of your roll, so long as the odds are good. No matter which strategy you end up using, make sure you apply it consistently to all bets you place.
bankroll strategy
  • Don’t Bet When You’re Upset: If you bet on sports when you’re hurt, upset, or agitated, there’s a good chance that you’ll make some decisions you’ll regret. One of the best ways to responsibly manage your bankroll is to gamble with a clear head when you’re able to think logically and make decisions not rooted in emotions.
  • Have Weekly/Monthly Limits in Place: Make a budget for yourself and stick to it. Allot a certain amount of money for each session, but stay disciplined and don’t go over! This will allow you minimize your losses and to not head in over your head.
  • Use Multiple Books: There’s no rule saying that you can only choose one sportsbook. We highly recommend that you use more than one book to get a wide variety of odds. This is a strategy that the professional gamblers and bettors use to get a hold of as much information as possible to inform their bets and overall strategy.
  • Keep Your Bets Proportionate to the Size of Your Bankroll: If your bankroll has run super low, decrease the size of your betting units. When your bankroll increases, you can begin increasing the size of your betting units. Know when to tighten up or expand your bet size in a way that works for the total you’re dealing with.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Why not learn from the sports bettors who have gone before you? There are a ton of newbie mistakes you could make when you first get into sports betting online or in-person, but you can avoid these beginner pitfalls by reading the list of tips and tricks below to get off to a great start!

Tips & Strategies

Check out some of the best strategies and betting tips for making the most of your online sports betting experience. We address the basic betting strategies but also review the importance of emotional discipline and how your mindset and attitude can play a major role in how well you perform. It’s imperative to do solid research on the teams or individual competitors you bet on so that a sound betting strategy anchors you the entire way through.

Basic Betting Strategies

Here are some basic strategies for successful betting with online sportsbooks or placing sports wagers in person at land-based betting centers. We can’t help but think that much of this is common sense, but some may not occur to someone new to the game. Follow these simple steps, and you’ll significantly increase your chances of being successful with placing sports wagers!

  • Basic Bankroll Management: Set up a budget for yourself and stick to it. Don’t use any more than the allotted total you’ve set aside for each gambling session. Don’t chase losses, and keep your bets proportional to the overall size of your bankroll.
  • Understand How Odds Work: Know that the favorite is represented by a negative number, while the dog is represented by a positive number.
  • Place Your Bet Early: By placing your bets as soon as possible, you can secure fixed odds on a given game or event before they can change. Don’t let drifting odds get the better of you—secure your bet early and lock in that value you’re looking for.
Tips and Strategies Icon
  • Hedge Your Bets: If you’re nervous about your bet losing, place a bet on the other side to offset a potential loss. It’s known as hedging your bets, and it’s a common strategy for seasoned bettors who don’t want to suffer a huge blow to their bankroll on an uncertain wager.
  • Avoid Parlay Bets: Maybe don’t avoid all parlay bets. Doing one with two or three legs might be alright. But if you’re new to sports betting, you shouldn’t be getting into extensive parlays with three or more legs because all legs must be correct for the bet to be a win. New bettors are still building their bankrolls and shouldn’t be taking this big of a risk so early on.

Researching and Analyzing Games

All of the sports betting greats do good research on the games they’re interested in betting. Many use multiple sports betting apps to get a wide range of odds. With a ton of good information, they can find an edge in the numbers that lets them find value and win extra money.

You’ll be at a better advantage betting on the sports you’re familiar with. Still, you can certainly bet on other markets if you’ve studied the competitors or teams and have a record of their recent performance and their current season record. It’s a good idea to go online and read through forums or discussion threads on future games or matchups to get a sense from the enthusiasts or diehard fans of how things could possibly play out.

Get into these good practices to keep informed on the players, teams, and the overall season to make quality sports bets that deliver on payouts:

Betting Psychology

No doubt, there’s a psychological element to sports betting. It influences bettors’ choices and can shape the outcomes of sports wagers. Keeping a level head and making rational decisions is one of the best favors you can do for yourself when betting on sports online. Keep these things in mind the next time you place a bet!.

Sports-Specific Betting

Check out some excellent betting guides for the top sports markets offered at our favorite sports betting apps. Learn some tips and strategies for betting on the NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS, and NHL. Find out which bets are the most popular among online bettors!

Football Betting Guide

The most bet on sports in the United States, the NFL is an exciting sport with fantastic betting action—there are several great ways to place your wagers and exciting strategies for making the most of your totals, point spreads, and moneylines.

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Tips/Strategies

  • Check the injury reports to see which players might be sitting out of the game and are in good health.
  • Pay attention to the location of the game. Is it being played on either team’s home turf?
  • Keep up to date on the individual player matchups.
  • Don’t bet with the public. Do your own research—find value as you shop multiple odds and discover discrepancies in the oddsmakers’ numbers.
  • Limit parlay and teaser betting to 5 events or less if you’re betting on the NFL. They can be hard to predict and result in significant losses if incorrectly predicted.
  • Place a wide variety of bets, including moneylines, spreads, totals, props, and futures. If you can keep your wagers diversified, you stand a good chance of having some steady money coming into your account.

Best Football Bets

  • Moneylines: Bet on the winner of a game or event. Payouts on the favorite winning are smaller because that’s the expected outcome. If there is an upset and the underdog takes it all, the payouts can be far more lucrative.
  • Over/Under Totals: Correctly predict the game’s combined score and if the final score comes over or under the oddsmakers’ prediction.
  • Point Spreads: Bet on the margin of victory for the favorite or the underdog. Bets on the favorite are considered wins only if they win by a certain amount of points. Bets on dogs are wins if the underdog team or competitor wins outright or loses by a certain amount of points.
  • Football Future Bets: Wager on NFL events that haven’t happened yet. An example would be betting on the winner of the Super Bowl the fall before.

Basketball Betting Guide

Are you interested in betting on exciting NBA action this year? Review some dynamic tips and strategies for choosing the best bets and odds possible. Discover the best bets to place on basketball games to ensure more slam dunks and fewer bricks.

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Tips/Strategies

  • Keep an eye on the “grudge matches” or “revenge games” where players go against their former team. Some competitors get aggressive during these games, and upsets have been known to happen, leading to some excellent payout opportunities.
  • The NBA schedule can be so hectic that it can wear on players’ performance on the court. An over-traveled team may not perform as well due to time zone changes.
  • Consider where the game is being played—home-court advantage is a very real thing!
  • Check out the injury reports to see who’s laid up and still competes in good health.
  • Take advantage of momentum swings during live betting sessions to bet on the favorite at a much lower price.
  • Bet against the favorite with point spreads. The underdog can win two ways: winning outright or losing by so many points. The favorite can only win if they take the game or match by so many points.

Best Basketball Bets

  • Moneylines: Wager on the winner of an NBA game or tournament. A successful bet on the favorite usually delivers a modest $100 profit, while a bet on an upset has resulted in a few hundred dollars for an initial wager of $100.
  • Over/Under Totals: The oddsmakers will put out their prediction for the combined score of both teams. Bettors then must correctly predict if the game’s combined score will come in under or over this number.
  • Point Spreads: Bet which team best covers the points spread (the margin of victory). A +3 underdog must only lose by less than three points or win the game outright for the bet to be a win, while a -3 favorite must win by over three points for bets placed on them to win.
  • Basketball Future Bets: As the name implies, these are bets on NFL games or events that haven’t happened yet. Bettors could wager on the Final Four finalists at the beginning of the season. These bets can be complicated to predict but lead to significant payouts if the predictions are right on the money!

Baseball Betting Guide

Get ready for a robust live betting experience with the MLB—they offer much betting action during the playoffs and the World Series! Don’t strike out as a new MLB bettor. Learn the best tips and strategies for making the best baseball bets on your favorite online sportsbook!

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Tips/Strategies

  • Avoid betting on favorites or choosing top MLB picks. These bets don’t come with great payouts.
  • Keep your eye on the weather. This can affect a game’s outcome, be it humidity, temperature, wind, or rain.
  • Take the umpires into consideration. They’ll make crucial calls during the game that could affect its outcome. Some umps favor certain pitchers or are partial to specific home or road teams.
  • Bet on the MLB using point spreads. The underdog upsets result in bigger payouts in general, and bettors will lose around the same amount of money betting on the favorite or the dog.

Best Baseball Bets

  • We’ll change things up and recommend live betting for the MLB. An impressive number of in-game betting options are available during the playoffs and World Series compared to the regular season. You can increase your bets on your favorite baseball games during live events as oddsmakers are busy putting out new lines during each inning.

Hockey Betting Guide

For the best NHL betting experience, take our advice and follow our top tips and strategies for selecting the best odds and placing hockey bets where you can find a hidden edge.

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Tips/Strategies

Advanced Betting Techniques

Check out a few of the betting strategies high-level sports bettors use to ensure they find profitable lines with tons of value. If you’re new to sports betting, continue using the beginner methods—you have to crawl before you learn to walk. However, if you feel you’re ready to take things to the next level, try some of these advanced betting concepts and watch your betting prowess increase in ways you didn’t think were possible!

Advanced Betting Concepts

  • Same-Time Arbitrage Betting*: This is when two sportsbooks offer opposing prices on a game or event. It’s done in the event that two teams or competitors are so evenly matched that there’s doubt as to which side is sharp and which side is weak. It’s to ensure that you get a payout when the game wraps up, no matter the outcome!
  • Price Movement Arbitrage Betting: After you bet on a line, the line could move in your favor. You’ll want to place another wager where you mitigate a possible loss by betting in the middle. It’s a reactionary move that bettors use because they didn’t anticipate the line movement, but it secures the certainty of a winning outcome at the cost of some of your expected value.
  • Hedging Your Bets: Advanced bettors use this trick often to protect themselves against possible losses. If they feel they might lose on a bet they placed, they’ll place a bet on the other side to offset. In some cases, bettors will break even if they place bets for the exact amounts on both sides, but there are ways to do it to guarantee profit no matter the outcome.
  • Value Betting: This is where bettors believe that the odds of a game or event going a certain way are greater than the odds they’re finding at the online sportsbooks. Good sports bettors check various odds from multiple bookmakers and compare them to shop around for value. As long as you know the sport and are familiar with the teams or players, you can spot this kind of value easily, place bets informed by your inside knowledge, and recognize when teams or competitors are undervalued.

*Note: Rarely is the true price in the middle of the two lines provided, so you must research the situation to find out which side the sportsbooks generally favor to determine a favorite.

Using Betting Models

You’ll experience the greatest success in sports betting when you take a systematic and objective approach. The difference between good and bad sports bettors is that one group analyzes large volumes of data and considers different variables. In contrast, the other group goes off hunches or flimsy intuition.

Using betting models allows punters to pinpoint undervalued bets or mispriced odds to discover an edge in the numbers. Good bettors will capitalize on these discrepancies to place quality wagers that could lead to steady, hefty payouts. Bettors who use models to inform their wagers aren’t just holding their own out there. They are thriving because they can find value in their bets based on mistakes from the bookmakers.

Advanced Bankroll Strategies

As you become more familiar with sports betting, you’ll eventually want to know more about dynamic, competitive ways to manage your bankroll. Three strategies, in particular, are worth noting if your goal is to become more savvy in this arena. Check out the best ways to up your bankroll management game!

  • Unit Betting: A bankroll strategy where bettors choose a unit size to bet based on the size of their bankroll, unit betting is where you wager a fixed amount of money on each sports game, match, or event. As your bankroll grows, consider increasing the size of your units. If your bankroll is shrinking, keeping your units smaller and proportionate to your grand total is advisable.
  • Fixed Percentage: Instead of betting with units, bettors may prefer to stake a certain percentage of their bankroll on a single bet, like 1% or 2%. Like unit betting, each bet’s fixed percentage should proportionately grow or shrink with the changes in a bettor’s bankroll.
  • Kelly Criterion: This bankroll strategy requires far more research and careful calculation than the previous two methods. With Kelly Criterion, bettors can change how much they’re willing to be based on the expected value of each bet. For instance, if a bet has a lot of value and will work in your favor, you can safely increase the total of your wager. Bets where you have a lot working against you would warrant a much lower wager.

There is no right or wrong way to manage your bankroll when it comes to the advanced strategies outlined above. Bettors have successfully used different methods, so it all comes down to personal preference and what you’re comfortable doing. They’re all viable methods for responsibly managing and growing your gambling funds.

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Tools & Resources

If you’re interested in using other helpful resources to supplement your sports betting endeavors, there are plenty of extra tools for ensuring success beyond using a solid online sportsbook app.

1- Betting Calculators

One of the most useful tools for calculating your potential winnings and converting odds from one version to the next is a betting calculator! You can discover how much money you need to wager to win with each bet and gauge the implied probability for any odds the bookmakers put out. Betting calculators are also well-known for translating odds into different formats.

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2- Expert Picks and Predictions

Another helpful tool is occasionally checking in with the sports betting experts to get well-informed picks and predictions. These seasoned bettors and analysts won’t share all their deepest betting secrets or insights, but they’ll give newer bettors some direction in choosing the best bets and finding value in the odds.

3- Recommended Reading and Resources

For a deep dive into sports betting, check out our favorite reading and other educational resources like websites and forums.

Best Books

Forums