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The online sportsbooks have taken off more than ever in recent years, business is booming, and sports bettors are clamoring to get in on the action. Now that sports gambling is 100% legal from the comfort of your own home, many are asking, and simply wondering, “how to bet”. Many bettors know how to bet, and many do not, some need a simple refresher. Take a look at how straight bets work and the wide verity of options the gambler has available to them when placing a straight bet.
What is a Straight Bet?
• A Straight bet is a single bet on one bet slip
When the bettor places a straight bet, he is betting that the team, player, or event—will win that single event. In a straight bet, there will never be any other bet attached to the bet, or any other bet attached to the bet slip. It is one bet, nothing more, nothing less.
Check out the Types of Sports Betting Odds
Types of Lines and How they Pay
For the bettor, it’s extremely important that one knows how betting lines work, and to have a basic understanding of how the lines pay. For every straight bet that a bettor makes, there is either a money line, a point spread, or a total attached to the wager.
These wagers are most commonly used when betting NFL, NBA, NCAAF, and NCAAB. The point spread is set by the Line Movers of offshore, and Las Vegas oddsmakers. In a point spread wager, there will be a certain amount of points that a team must win by, this team is known as the “favorite”, the opponent is known as the “underdog”, the underdog can lose by the equal amount of points the favorite must win by.
Example:
Los Angeles Lakers vs. New York Knicks
Lakers -3.5-110
Knicks +3.5-110
In this example, the Lakers are the favorite and the Knicks are the underdog. If a bettor bets on the Lakers, then the Lakers must win the game by 4 points in order to win the bet and collect. Should the bettor decide to choose the Knicks, the Knicks can lose by 3 points and still be the winner of the bet. The -110 is the standard juice set and widely recognized by both the online sportsbooks as well as Las Vegas.
These wagers work a bit differently than the point spread. The money line is very straight forward and easy to understand for one reason; what you see is what you get. A good way to think of a money line wager is by thinking as if you were making a bet with a friend, over a handshake. The offshore oddsmakers, as well as Las Vegas, they set the daily money line for each event/game, being offered for the day.
With a money line wager, the bettor does not need to cover any kind of point spread, the requirement to win this bet is that the team chosen to bet on that team must win, either by 1 point or however many points they end up winning by, they simply must win.
Example:
Los Angeles Lakers vs. New York Knicks
Lakers -140
Knicks +120
What this money line bet is saying is this… If the bettor chooses to bet on the Lakers, then the bettor will win $100 for every $140 that he bets or, for every $1.40 that he bets, he will win $1.00. Should the bettor choose the Knicks, then he will win $130 for every $100 that he plays or, $1.30 for every $1.00 that he plays.
These the easiest and most simple lines of them all. Betting a total on a straight bet you are simply betting on the final score to go over or under the set-combined total of both teams, for that game.
Example:
Patriots vs. Chiefs
Over 58.5-110
Under 58.5-110
The bettor may bet over 58.5, and the game must score a combined total of 59 points or more, or the bettor may bet under 58.5 and the game cannot sore more than 58 points in order to win.
*Important:
– Money Lines and Point Spreads are set and changed according to the strength and weakness of the teams playing the match with other many variables.
– Point Spreads and Totals usually come with a -110 “juice” which is the percentage (10%) that every sportsbook takes to place a wager; although keep in mind that the juice can change from book to book.
Betting at Online Sportsbooks
The online sportsbooks have cornered the sports betting market through one simple avenue, they offer it all. Literally, they offer every wager one can think of such as betting any of your favorite sports, props, futures, make parlays, teasers, If Bets, Reverse Bets, live betting. There is simply no shortage of wagering options.
How much the bettor chooses to bet is up to them individually, such as $110 to win $100 or, $22 to win $20 on a point spread or total bet. Should the bettor choose to bet the money line, they may choose to spend $100 on the Knicks to win $120, or spend $50 to win $60, or vice versa on the favorite at -140. The online sportsbooks often move the numbers and the bettor will see odds work in their favor, or work against them. The key is knowing how to bet a straight bet and understanding who has the better chance to win the game.
