Betting Types At Online Sportsbooks

The main three betting types for online sportsbook betting are the Moneyline, Spread, and Over/Under. These bets are the most popular among the sports betting community and see the most action. But these betting types are just scratching the surface of what you’re able to wager on at most of the major online sportsbooks. So, whether you know who will win the next championship before the season even starts, or you’re prepared to stack a few bets for a larger payoff, there’s no shortage of possibilities regarding all the additional gambling options available at various online sportsbooks.

Futures

Just because a sport isn’t in-season doesn’t mean there isn’t action to be found in an online sportsbook. That’s where Future bets come into play. Many of these bets won’t have official outcomes for days, weeks, or even months, but you can still wager on them all the same. Popular future bets include wagering on the champion for the upcoming season, conference or divisional champions, or even awards like who will win the Most Valuable Player or Rookie of the Year. Future odds are a very interesting wager as the odds for each team and player change consistently due to what happens during the offseason and regular season. If a top player is acquired in a trade by a team, you should expect to see their odds increase for the future bet to “Win The Championship.” Team future odds have shifted based on trade rumors alone. A major injury can also lose a team or player their odds depending on the severity.

Parlays

If you scroll social media and follow different sports accounts, you may have already seen the term parlay before. Bettors have won large amounts of money with very small bets thanks to parlays. Simply put, a parlay is when you combine several bets into one big wager. The minimum number of wagers in a parlay also called a “leg,” is two, while the maximum is dependent on the online sportsbook but is usually around 10-12. The good news about a parlay is that the more wagers you put in, the higher your payout if you win. The bad news is that if just one of the wagers loses, the entire parlay loses. In short, a parlay is a very high-risk, high-reward wager. Many online sportsbooks now have a dedicated Same-Game Parlays (SGP) section. SGPs have become very popular recently and are simply just making a parlay bet in the same game. For example, an SGP in a Yankees game could see the Yankee’s Spread (-146), Tailon throws 6+ strikeouts (+196), and Donaldson hit a HR (+360). If all these bets were made separate and they all won, with $100 on each bet, you would win $624. A parlay bet would win you $2,194.20 if you bet $100.

Teaser

A Teaser bet is one way to bet on the line without taking the numbers provided by the sportsbook and oddsmakers. With a Teaser bet, you can buy or sell points from the sportsbook and, in return, must make a parlay of two or more picks. The benefit of doing this is making you feel more comfortable about the points involved in a spread wager by changing them up to a certain point. The trade-off is that you must choose another game to bet on, thus increasing your odds of losing the wager. For example, let’s say for Week 1 of the NFL season, the Chiefs are at (-6.5) while the Patriots are at (-3). You think the Chiefs will win, but not by that much. So you move the Chiefs line to (-.5). Next, the Patriots are playing the Raiders, and you think they will keep it close. So you take the Patriots (-3) and flip it to (+3). With this teaser, the odds are now Chiefs (-0.5) and Patriots (+3).

Live Bet

Just because a game has started doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to make any more wagers. Quite the opposite, as you can make just about as many wagers while a game is happening as opposed to before it begins. The only difference is that the odds change after every play, depending on the game. With technology and advanced algorithms, online sportsbooks can place the new odds in an extremely timely manner. There may only be a few seconds for some live wagers to be available to bet on. The most popular wagers for live betting are the typical Spread, Moneyline, and Over/Under. Depending on the online sportsbook operator, you can also wager on things like the quarter and halves props, winning margins, and odds and evens. As the odds are updated in real-time, they should be fair. Each online sportsbook operator will have slightly different odds than others, as each algorithm that sets the odds are different. Live betting is for risk takers as there is very little time to research the wager you are about to make.

Hedge

A hedge bet is essentially a compromise in the sports betting world. When hedging, you limit the chance of financial loss from a wager. This is a way of reducing the risk of a wager or guaranteeing some sort of profit from a wager. This is done by putting a second wager against the original bet when you’re unsure if the outcome of the original wager will win. Even if the person making the wager thinks they will win, they could still hedge the bet to ensure they walk away with some money. The payout won’t be as big as the original bet, so think of a hedge as an insurance policy. For example, before the season started, you placed a $100 wager on the New York Giants to win the Super Bowl with +6000 odds. Now, you place a $1,000 wager on the Kansas City Chiefs to win the Super Bowl at +200 odds when they play the Giants. If the Giants win, you win $5,000 ($6,000 from the original wager and minus $1,000 from the hedge). If the Chiefs win, you win $900 ($1000 from the hedge and minus $100 from the original wager). With no hedge and the Chiefs win, you walk away with nothing.

Go Beyond The Betting Lines

Now that you’re familiar with all the types of wagers that a typical online sportsbook offers, you’re ready to get started. Maybe start throwing some prop bets into a parlay and have some fun. Maybe you make a future bet and hedge it at some point down the line. Either way, you’re now ready to take on all the sportsbooks have to give you.