Different types of Sports Betting Explained

Sports betting has been gaining popularity in recent years as more young players are getting into it, and there are more convenient ways to place wagers.  For someone new to it, sports betting can be somewhat overwhelming.

Those with experience with placing wagers use a lot of terms and jargon that the newbies may take some time to learn. In this article, we’ll review different sports bets that one can place.  All of these are commonly used bets and differ based on the outcome the player is trying to predict and the odds of winning.

Moneyline Bet

The moneyline bet is the most common and probably the simplest bet a player can make.  With this bet, the player simply chooses which team will win or lose. It’s also possible to predict that the game will end up in a draw, especially in sports, which is possible.

There are also some fine points to it. For some sports, this refers to who will win at the end of the regular game time; for others, it includes overtime and the result after penalties. The odds are determined based on the likelihood of your predicted event.

Point Spread Betting

This type of betting involves wagering on the margin of victory in a game. The favorite must win by more than the spread for the bet to win, while the underdog can lose by less than the spread or win outright.  It’s, therefore, what makes the wager more interesting when it’s easy to figure out who the favorite will be.

Over and Under Bets

Over and under bets can be made on every sports event that has a clear result and some sort of point system.  The players wager if the final count of points will be over or under a certain number.  It can also be made on any measurable statistic, such as the number of fouls a player will make or the number of yards they’ll run during the game.

Many players place over and under bets as a side bet to the main one – which is usually the moneyline bet.  It increases the potential winnings, but it comes with more risk.

Parlay Bets

Parlay bets aren’t a unique wager on their own.  Instead, it refers to combining multiple bets into a single wager.  In order to win, the player who has made the wager needs to correctly predict the outcomes of all the wagers they’ve made.  The odds for each wager stack up; therefore, those are the bets with big payouts.

The best way to create a parlay bet is to balance the odds of different sports events.  Most sports betting sites allow players to place wagers on different sports, leagues, and events on the same ticket.

Future Bets

Future bets are also simple as a concept but rather difficult to get right.  Simply put – the users place wagers on the future outcome of an event before it starts.  For instance, it’s possible to wager who will win a tournament before any games are played.

The odds for winning such a wager are usually pretty high, even when betting on the favorites.  Future bets can also come in the form of over and under wagers – for instance, and it’s possible to make such a bet on how many medals a team will win at the Olympics before they even start.

Proposition Bets

Proposition bets or prop bets are wagers made on an individual event that may happen within the game.  The most common of these is whether a particular player will score.  It can also be anything else, such as a penalty kick or even if the game will be interrupted by rain.

These bets can be a part of a parlay bet, meaning that the player needs to predict both the outcome and the prop bet, but they can also be side bets, meaning they aren’t connected to any other wager or outcome.

Handicap Bets

Handicap bets are offered by the betting site when a certain team or a player has a huge advantage or is almost certain to win.  In those cases, betting on a favorite doesn’t provide almost any profit.  One team is given a virtual advantage or disadvantage to level the playing field.  That way, the bet is won only if a team wins by a certain margin.

Handicap bets can be played alongside others in parlay bets or be a wager on their own.  They can also be a form of a future bet, such as when you bet that a team will win a tournament without losing a single game, for instance.

Live (in-play) Bets

Live bets are exactly what they sound like.  These wagers are placed while the game is still taking place.  The odds for such a wager change in real-time based on the events in the match.  It also comes with a cashback bonus, which means the player can cut their losses or withdraw a part of their winnings while they are ahead.

Many modern betting platforms, including anonymous sports betting sites, offer live (in-play) betting options with real-time updates, allowing players to stay fully engaged without compromising their privacy.

Live bets can include any of the other forms of wagers except the future bet.  With the advances in technology, the odds for live bets are ever more accurate and adapt to the changes in the field as soon as they happen.

Each-Way Bets

Each-way bets are usually made on horse racing events but can also be made on other races.  Each-way betting allows you to place two bets: one on the winner and one on the competitor finishing in a high position (usually top 3 or 4).

Since each-way bets are essentially two bets made into one, it lowers the risks involved and allows the players to win, even if one of the bets hasn’t gone their way.

It’s important for someone new to sports betting to learn about all their options before placing any wagers.