How to read sports betting lines and start winning
Betting on sports can be invigorating, while allowing you to earn or lose a lot of money. However, if you enter the betting arena armed with an in-depth knowledge of the right betting strategy then you can certainly win money irrespective of the fate of the match. One important move that needs to be implemented is on how to read sports betting lines since this can help you to get the most out of your bet and also prevent you from losing more money than you should, in case the other team wins.
While betting on sports is not legal in most states in the USA, you can still bet if you go online. You can practically bet on any sports such as football, basketball, baseball and even on car races and horse racing, be it college sports or even professional sports including those hosted by pros such as the NFL, NBA, and NHL. While sports betting lines differ according to the sports, most have common features that mention the names of the teams including the favored and the underdog, the odds, the over, under and on points and the spread, if any on the outcome of the match. While it seems complicated, an example can help in simplifying the matter easily. For example, a Dallas against Pittsburgh football match could display the following sports betting lines.
Dallas -11.5-130 -180
Pittsburgh +11.5-130 +220
38.5 ov-130
Firstly, the ‘-‘ sign next to Dallas indicates that it is the favored team to win whereas the ‘+’ sign next to Pittsburgh indicates that they are the underdog. The next figure i.e. 11.5 on both lines indicates that the favored team has to win and that too at least by the figure or points mentioned on the spread. The next number i.e. 130 that is mentioned on both lines indicates the amount that you will have to bet in order to win $100 on that bet.
The last numbers on both the lines indicate the money line. If you want to bet on any team winning the match outright, then you need to bet on the money line. If you bet on the underdog then the risk is higher and you win more money at a lower stake whereas when you bet on the favored team then you will win a smaller prize even as you will have to put in a higher stake. Hence if you bet on Pittsburg, i.e. the underdogs then your $100 stake will give you an additional $220 if they win the match but if Dallas win and you have betted on them then your stake of $180 will earn you an additional $100.
The last line indicates the over-under, i.e. 38.5. Hence, irrespective of which team wins, if the game finishes with a score of 12-10 and if you have bet under, then 12+10=22, hence you win since it is lower then 38.5. The number 130 next to the ov indicates how much you will need to bet to win $100 on such a bet.
You can start by gambling only on outright results of each game or match before venturing on to gambling on spreads and over-under. The above sample is just an example that could make your entry into sports betting a lot easier. Once you learn on how to read sports betting lines then you can fine-tune your strategy to win huge amounts of money.