Types of Sports Bets: Straight Bet

One of the first types of wagers you will become familiar with in US sports betting is the straight bet.  A US straight bet is also known as a “side” bet, and it is one of the most straightforward types of wagers.  As the name implies, a “side” bet is one where you choose a side in advance.  There may or may not be a point spread involved.  In baseball, there is usually no spread, and you simply choose one team or the other as the prospective winner. 

In football, basketball, and many other games, there is a point spread involved.  Basically, one team is handicapped with a number of points added to its score by the online betting site.  This team is the underdog, and the betting site is trying to make it more appealing to bet on.  The other team may have negative points added to its score.  This team is the favorite, and the online betting site wants it to be less appealing to punters.  When a point spread is applied, the winning team is the one that comes out on top after the spread is applied to the final score of the game. 

In theory, an online betting site can require that you set down any sum of money as a wager in order to win a set amount, but there are some common rules here as well.  With many games, you will be required to wager £110 for a chance to win £100.  You may sometimes find a “reduced juice” or “reduced vig” bet available, especially if you are a new player on a site.  This means that you do not need to wager as much money for a chance to win the same amount.  So you might for example only have to put down £105 in order to try and win £100.

What if there is no point spread on a game?  There will be a money line instead (usually just abbreviated as “ML”) which will determine the payoff.  Let’s say for example that the money line is set at -120.  This means you would have to risk £120 for a chance to win £100.  You may also sometimes see a money line as a positive figure, like +120.  This would mean the exact opposite.  You only have to risk £100 for a chance to win £120.  As you might guess, this has to do with the favorite and the underdog again; it is yet another way that a betting site can try to entice you toward the underdog.  The +120 on the underdog makes the underdog less expensive to bet on, and more profitable if you win.  You would see the -120 ML on the favorite.  In other words, the favorite is more costly to bet on and offers less a payoff if you win.

When you are betting online, your goal is always to shop the lines for the best payoffs.  Whether an online betting site is using a money line or a points spread, you want to bet under the most favorable conditions.  Join several online betting sites and check all of them when you are getting ready to bet on a game.  You will probably save money that way and win more of your wagers!