The Complete Guide to Sports Betting for the Beginner

Do you like sport in particular? Very good! Being knowledgeable in one sports league can make you win some money. How? Through sports betting! Let us assume you are a football fan, someone who checks live football results online and are well informed. You can use all that knowledge to predict the winner of a match. It can be as simple as this: You predict who the winner of a football match will be. If your prediction is correct, you win some money.

Honestly, you cannot make much money through sports betting. Not in the long run at least. But if you possess the necessary knowledge and intuition, you can win money consistently. Hence, if you are interested in this exciting activity, this guide will introduce you to all the basics.

Different Types of Sports Betting

Sports betting is a multi-billion dollar business. Therefore, there are different betting modalities.

• Spread betting. In this modality, you are informed which the favorite team is, and which the underdog is. Here, the number of points a team wins by determines whether you win;
• Money lines betting. This modality is much simpler. You do not have to worry about the points a team wins by. You win if you predict correctly which team will win. The favorite team is associated with a minus number. This number indicates the amount (in dollars) you have to bet to win 100. Underdog teams are associated with a positive number. This number indicates the amount you can win if you risk 100;
• Over/under betting. Here, you have to predict the number of combined points of the final score. The sportsbook sets a number for that combination of points. You have to predict whether the final score will be over or under the set value. The simplicity of this modality makes it ideal for beginners. However, it may not be so simple to win!

These are three of the most popular ways of betting. In all of them, predicting the final score of the match is the key to winning. This is why many efforts are made to develop computer programs that can assist with the predictions. One promising way is the use of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. However, the AI solutions currently available still require some human expert input to make accurate predictions.

Now You Are Ready to Place Your Bet

You can place your bet on a brick-and-mortar sportsbook, although online sportsbooks are popular too. The good thing about online books is their availability. You can access them from anywhere. You just need an Internet connection.

At a brick-and-mortar sportsbook, you tell the clerk the team you are betting on and the amount. The same is done in an online book. Generally, you have to mark the box associated with the team you want to bet on. Then, you have to enter the amount you want to risk. We wish you good luck!