Money line odds - These are by far the most common form of odds in North America for sports betting. They are expressed as numbers greater than 100, and they can be either a positive or negative number. Each one is a little bit different. Parlay Cards: These offer the potential for huge return while betting as little as $2. Sports books offer a number of different cards, each one having different rules. Rules for parlay cards are placed on the back of each card. Read them carefully before wagering. The cards are simple to fill out.

How to Read Sports Odds and Betting Lines

I’ve titled this Sports Betting For Dummies. It’s a tutorial for those who want to start betting on sports or those who want to gain a better understanding of some of the terminology and theory behind it. We’ve all been in the position of learning something new, so please don’t be embarrassed if you don’t grasp these concepts. Instead, contact me via the form at the bottom of this page, and I’ll help you in any way I can.

You want to put a few coins on this weekend’s games, or perhaps you just want to be able to decode all of that jibberish you see in the sports section every week. How do you read those sports odds, and what does over/under, minus/plus, giving points, taking points mean?

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

I will painlessly explain all of the mysteries of sports betting 101 aka “Sports Betting for Dummies.” First of all, you have nothing to be ashamed of, you have taken the first and most important step of all – learning! Why waste money on a game that you don’t fully understand? You shouldn’t! That is why you are here now, to learn how it works and how to win!

Topic #1 The Point Spread and Totals

Okay, you look at the games for Sunday and you see the betting lines displayed something similar to;

San Francisco -5 vs. St. Louis 41

You may look at that and be intimidated and feel helpless, but I’m going to decode this little bugger for you. This is the betting line – not the odds. The odds are what you are to be paid (covered later).

Whenever you see a team with a (-) negative number next to them, (-5 in this case), it means that team is favored to win by that number of points.

The number after the matchup (41) is the projected total points to be scored by both teams added together. There are two options here. A player can choose to bet on the matchup, either San Fran -5 points or St. Louis +5 points.

For the player who wagers on San Francisco -5, San Fran must win by more than 5 points for this to be a winning bet. For the player who wagers on St. Louis +5, they must either win the game or lose by less than 5 points for this to be a winning bet. If the outcome falls on the number, the bet is declared a “Push” and your original stake amount gets refunded.

See, that wasn’t too difficult, was it?

Sometimes you will see the points displayed as half numbers like San Fran -5.5. If you bet on San Fran, and they win by 6, you win the bet. If they win by 5 or less, you lose. Clear? If not, submit your question in the form at the bottom of the page and ask me. I’m here to help.

Okay, so the other betting option available to you is the total or ‘Over/Under.’ You can choose to bet that the total points between the two teams will either be greater (OVER) or less than (UNDER) the projected total. Again, if you bet either way and the game ends up being 20-21, for a total of 41 points, then you will receive a refund of your wager amount.

Topic # 2 The Moneyline or Straight-Up wager

This is where you simply wager on which team will win the game outright, no point spreads, no BS…just the straight up winner. Although this may appear to be easier, you will pay for it as the odds (payout) will reflect the lack of a point spread. If you wager on a favorite, then you will win less than with a point spread, but if you wager on the underdog…and win…you will receive and even greater win amount based on the higher risk taken.

Topic # 3 How to Read Sports Betting Odds

Okay, so you have made your selection, now what? How much do I bet, and how much will I win? Standard questions, and great questions for new sports bettors to ask! There are three ways that you will typically see odds displayed, as a fraction 2/1 (or 2 to 1), as a decimal 2.00, or “American Style Betting Odds” +100.

For reading the fraction odds, I strongly recommend converting them to a decimal. This will make figuring out your potential win much much easier! To do this, just like in 2nd grade, you take the first number and divide it by the second. So if your odds read 7/4, you simply divide (7) by (4), which equals 1.75. That is the decimal form odds, now you simply multiply (1.75) by whatever your wager amount is to figure out your potential profit. In this case, if you were to risk $100, then your potential win would be $175 profit if you are correct! Also, you will receive your initial bet amount of $100 as well, for a total of $275 in your hand.

Now for American Style Sports Odds. Typically, when you are betting on the point spread, as in topic #1 above, the odds are displayed or implied to be (-110), which is known as American Style odds. The American Style odds format is based on $100. When the number, is displayed as a negative number (-110), it indicates how much money you must risk to realize a profit of $100. In our scenario, you must wager $110 to win $100 profit. If you do, you will receive $210 when you cash in…the winning amount PLUS your initial wager amount.

When you see the number displayed as a positive number such as (+150), it indicates how much money you will profit if you RISK $100. So, if you wager $100 on a team that pays (+150), and you win, you will receive $250. That is the $150 that you won, plus your $100 original stake returned.

Topic #4 Now What?

Now that you have the basics down, there is only one thing left to discuss – where to bet that is safe. I strongly recommend that you start by wagering on only one pick per day. You don’t want to spread yourself too thin and have your hand in every match available. If you bet that way, you will surely get nickel and dimed out of your bankroll. Spend time studying the teams and choose your best selection available. Decide on a budget of how much you are willing to risk. Now you need a reputable online sportsbook (online sports betting site) to do business.

There are millions of sites out there, but only a handful that will treat you right. I deal with a few main sites in my personal online sports betting,Bovada, BetOnline, and MyBookie.

Check these sites out and see which one fits you best. Maybe you will take advantage of the bonuses at those sites and then decide which one you want to continue to use. I prefer to use multiple sites, so I have a selection of lines to choose from to get the best available payout! Whether you want to bet $1 or $500, any of these sites will work just fine for you and pay you quickly when you win. If you want more details and options, just go to the sportsbook reviews and ratings page.

I hope that I have answered some of the nagging questions about sports betting and how it works. Feel free to use the form below to contact me directly with any question you may have. I’m here to help you understand and win! Good luck!

Also, be sure to check out my free sports picks!

Almost every casino player, and especially the more experienced ones, uses a certain kind of betting system, no matter if the system is mostly consistent of making guesses what follows next. In addition, betting systems are used by a lot of players to make their game more exciting, while trying to beat the casino house edge.

There are different kinds of betting systems, but the most popular ones are the positive and the negative progression system. There are a lot of debates which of the systems is better, but in fact, there is no clear-cut answer. The truth is that skilled players will be able to gain a small edge over the casino by using a certain betting system, but everyone knows what is best for their gameplay.

As a matter of fact, most players, and especially the less experienced ones, prefer to stick to the positive progression betting system, which is not considered as risky as the negative progression system. The latter is regarded as more dangerous for players due to the fact that users are normally risking larger amounts of money after they have already lost a bet.

Negative Progression Betting Systems

First, in order to understand any kind of progression betting system, players need to be aware of the fact what the term “progression” means. In this case, the word is used in order to show that players increase their bets consecutively.

The negative progression system is all about increasing the player's bet after they have generated a loss, based on the hope of getting back to even after making a winning. As mentioned above, the negative systems are normally considered extremely dangerous, because of the fact that it is possible for them to lead to the player losing their entire bankroll after a long series of losses.

There are different negative progression betting systems used, but probably the most popular one is the Martingale betting system, which involves doubling the player's bet after every loss. Of course, the Martingale system is not the only negative progression system currently used. Other systems that are very popular among players all over the world are the Labouchere system, the Fibonacci system, and the D'Alembert system.

The negative progression is basically the opposite of the positive one. Systems of this type are based on the player's strategy to increase their wagers when losing, and reducing them when winning. The main theory that lies in the very basis of the strategy is that the player should generate a win eventually, and thanks to winning at higher bets than the money lost, the player should get at least even, or make money overall.

Unfortunately, there is no guarantee when the player's losing streak will be ended. This basically means, that the player may lose their entire bankroll without generating a win. This is exactly why players are recommended to not fully trust the widely-mistaken perception that previous outcomes of events that happen at random can somehow have influence on any future outcomes. This belief is more popular under the term “the gambler's fallacy” and has actually led to numerous losses for players all over the world. This is the reason why negative progression betting systems are usually considered as too risky – the constantly increasing stakes based only on the suggestion and hope that the player is to eventually generate a win is usually a recipe for disaster.

Another common misconception about the negative progression betting systems is that they are not able to return a profit. This is definitely not true. The only problem is that players are still relying on luck only, and no one can really guess the actual sequence of events. It is true that players can end up losing large sums of money, but it is also true that the winning stakes can get really massive.

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Popular Negative Progression Betting Systems

Here is a list with the most popular negative progression betting systems known. They have managed to attract thousands of followers worldwide and they have been proved as ones that actually work:

Fibonacci System

The Fibonacci System is one of the most popular negative progression betting system. It is not considered as part of the simplest betting systems, but it is not too complicated, either. As the name of the system suggests, it is based on the Fibonacci mathematical sequence.

The sequence starts with 0 and 1. After that, each subsequent number equals the sum of the previous two numbers. The fact that the system is a negative progressive one means that it is related to the player increasing their bet every time they lose, and decreasing it when they generate a winning.

D'Alembert System

The D'Alembert System is one of the simplest negative betting systems. According to experts, it has some similar characteristics of the Martingale system. As any other negative progression betting system, it involves increasing the wager after a loss is generated, and reducing the bet after a win.

What is specific for the D'Alembert is the fact that the stakes are boosted more slowly in comparison to other systems. This is great, as it guarantees that it is less likely for the stakes to get extremely high too quickly. Still, the advantage could be seen also as a disadvantage, as losses are recovered more slowly by using this system.

Labouchere System

Sports Betting Numbers Explained

The Labouchere negative progression system is considered as part of the most complicated ones. Still, it is currently one of the most-preferred ones among players all over the world. The main idea which the Labouchere system is based on, is that the player is supposed to recover several consecutive losses with a smaller number of winnings generated.

What Does Negative Mean In Sports Betting

What is specific for the system is the fact that it is focused on recovering several losses with multiple wins.

Martingale System

The Martingale negative progression system is known as one of the oldest and most-preferred ones. The best part is that it is also one of the easiest systems to learn, as there are no complicated calculations for the players to make. The system is based on a certain theory that there is small probability of the player losing a large number of consecutive bets.

Once again, this is a negative progression system, which means that players increase their bets when losing, and decrease them when winning.