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Sports Betting FAQ’s

We have put together a list of the most commonly asked questions about Sportsbooks & Sportsbook Betting.

What is a Bet in Sports Betting?

In its narrowest sense, a bet is a pledge of money that a certain outcome will occur. On a broader level, placing a bet on a sports event is taking some of the risk that the quarterback, the point guard or the pitcher takes himself – it’s one of the ultimate cases of putting your money where your mouth is.

To place a bet, go to the Sportsbooks Betting page. Choose an event from any of the sports betting menu options there, and be taken to a page showing you the sports odds (prices) on any particular event occurring. The greater the likelihood of the event occurring, the lesser the price. The less likely the event is to occur the greater the price, and therefore, the greater the potential return.

What Do Those Odds and Numbers Mean?

The sports odds, or price, on a given event can be rendered by an online sportsbook in one of three ways.

American

A price listed as +800 means that the bettor will return $800 profit on every $100 wagered, plus the original stake. +500 will return $500 profit every $100 wagered, plus the original stake. A price listed as -200 means that $200 must be wagered to make a profit of $100. The payout is then $300, the $100 won and the $200 stake.

Fractional

A price listed at 8/1 means that the event will return $800 for every $100 wagered, plus the original stake. 5/1 means that the event will return $500 for every $100 wagered, plus the original stake.

Decimal

A price listed at 8.00 means that the bet will return $800 for every $100 wagered. A price listed at 5.00 means that the bet will return $500 for every $100 wagered.

Where can I bet legally on Sports?

Leaving aside various forms of horse racing, there are at least four ways to bet on sports in the US, and of these two are legal, one is illegal, and one is ambiguous.

You can bet legally at licensed Nevada Sports Books, and illegally with bookies in virtually every town. Most of the following describes the ins and outs of gambling at sports books. There are two points worth noting here. First, Nevada Sports Books can set up phone accounts, but will not accept wagers across state lines. Second, odds with illegal bookies are often worse than those one can get in Nevada.

Betting with offshore (international) sports books seems to be on the rise, and promises to spread from phone services to internet based online services. From the point of view of bets and odds offered, these books are similar to licensed Nevada Sports Books. The legality of these services is, at best, ambiguous. There are claims and opinions on all sides of the argument, but few legal precedents. In addition, some offshore books are run by old trustworthy firms, some are fly-by-night scams, and many are somewhere in between. Cavaet Bettor.

The last way (and other than in state Nevada betting the only other clearly legal way) to bet on sports in the US is the Oregon Lottery. This was described as follows in a rec.gambling post:

The Oregon lottery is alive and well as far as football betting. The game is called sports action. The line is set by Jim Feist. It is set and printed on Wednesday and does not change. This can work to the bettor’s advantage due to changes in team lineups due to injuries and such. The minimum wager is $2.00 and the minimum number of games bet is 3. The payoffs for a three game win is $5.00 per dollar wagered. Four games gets $10.00 per dollar wagered. All other wagers are paid on a paramutual fashion. For example, a seven game winner usually pays around $160 to $350. The maximum number of games that can be bet have a winner. A week or two ago $14,000 carried over in the 14 pool. There are also some games that are called special play games with over/under total score. The line seems to be fairly consistent with the Vegas line on the Wednesday that it is set.

What sports can I bet on?

You can bet on any sport the Sports Book you are wagering with covers. At most books, this includes professional and college football and basketball, professional baseball, professional hockey, and horse and dog racing. Every now and then Sports Books will offer proposition bets (see below) on events like professional golf tournaments and the Indy 500 and the like, but not on a regular basis for other events in those sports.

Do I have to pay taxes on my winnings?

Paying taxes on your winnings depends upon the jurisdiction in which you reside. Most Online Sportsbooks will not provide details of individual’s net proceeds or losses. This is up to the individual to declare to the proper authorities. All customer information is kept highly confidential and is not disclosed to any third parties or public agencies.

How old do I have to be to play in the sportsbook?

No one under the age of 18 years will be allowed to play for real money.

What is “the spread”?

The spread is a point advantage given to a weaker team that is expected to lose by X number of points. This is the odds makers way of making even bets possible for a Sports Book. Usually if you bet against the spread you make an 11-10 bet. This means that you win $10 if you bet $11 for a total of $21 if your team covers the spread.

A team covers the spread if it wins the game with the score modified by the spread. If Dallas and Washington are playing and the spread is (Dallas -7), then Dallas has to win by at least 8 points to cover. Half-point spreads are also possible.

Why do I have to bet $11 to win $10?

This is one of the many ways the Sports book makes its money. In an ideal situation, the same amount of money will be bet on both sides of the line and the Sports Book will take its 10% from the losing side. If $55000 ($50000 and an addition $5000 to make the bets) was bet on Washington and $55000 bet on Dallas, no matter who wins the game the SB will make $5000. In case of a tie, all money is refunded. This is a rather simplified version as the spread moves when one side becomes more heavily bet on.

What are all of the different types of bets?

Proposition bet

A prop bet is a bet the SB offers at odds and conditions of its choosing. Prop bets can be exotic bets like which team will score the most touchdowns, which team will shoot the most three pointers, which running back will rush for the most yards, etc. Most prop bets are offered at 11-10 odds, but some of the exotics will be offered at better or worse odds, depending on the bet.

Money Line Bets

A money line bet is a bet on the straight up total of an event or the odds for a straight up prop bet. There are two totals given for either side on a money line bet. A negative and a plus side.

Dallas -170
Washington +150

What this means is that for every $17 you bet on Dallas, you win $10 if they win. For every $10 you bet on Washington, you win $15 if they win. This is the way SB’s make money off games by not giving points.

Spread Bets

These are the standard bets to make. Basically a proposition bet at 11-10 odds where the conditions are you give or take points on the team you are betting on hoping that the modified total of your teams score beats the other teams straight score. Bets on the spread are often know as straight bets because they pay even money (minus the 10% vig).

Tampa Bay +19 1/2
Miami -19 1/2

This means that if you bet on Miami, Miami needs to score at least 20 more points than Tampa to cover. If you bet on Tampa, the score must be at least within 19 for you to win. The bottom team is almost always the home team.

Over/Under Bets

These are also 11-10 bets on what the total of the game will be. If the total posted on a game is 39 1/2 points, then you can wager that the total score of both teams added together will be either over or under the posted total. Betting the over is known as “betting on the ball”, betting under is known as “betting on the clock”.

Chicago -5 1/2 -180 1:00 pm
Atlanta +5 1/2 +150 42 1/2

This gives the money line, the point spread, and the total for the game. It also tells you that Atlanta is the home team, and the game starts at 1:00 pm. As far as I know, this is the standard posting at mosts Books.

Parlays

A parlay bet is betting on the outcome of two or more events, and getting higher odds than betting on the outcome of both events. The drawback is that the odds aren’t right and that you must win all of the events to win the parlay.
# of plays Standard Odds True Odds

2 plays 13-5 3-1
3 plays 6-1 7-1
4 plays 10-1 15-1
5 plays 20-1 31-1
6 plays 40-1 63-1
7 plays 80-1 127-1

The more events parlayed the worse the odds shift in the casinos advantage. The advantage for the player for parlays lies in the fact that he can bet more on the same game (spread and over/under) and he can bet more on two teams who are playing at the same time.

In order to be competitive, some casinos offer ties-win parlay cards. This greatly helps the player. The Las Vegas Hilton SB is one of these.

Teasers

A teaser bet is a bet where you can move the spread by a set amount, but have to pay to do it. You must bet at least two teams like a parlay and win both. You can move the spread by on all the games by the set amount.

Football Teasers
# of teams 6 pts 6 1/2 pts 7 pts

———- —– ——— —–
2 teams 11-10 5-6 5-7
3 teams 8-5 3-2 6-5
4 teams 5-2 2-1 9-5
5 teams 4-1 7-2 3-1
6 teams 6-1 5-1 4-1

Basketball Teasers

# of teams 4 pts 4 1/2 pts 5 pts
———- —– ——— —–
2 teams 11-10 5-6 5-7
3 teams 8-5 3-2 6-5
4 teams 5-2 2-1 9-5
5 teams 4-1 7-2 3-1
6 teams 6-1 5-1 9-2

Buying a half point

You can shift the spread a half point in your favor by laying 6-5 odds instead of the standard 11-10. This is called buying a half point. You usually want to stay away from this bet except on three point spreads on football games. This is also know as “buying the hook”.

Can I make a million dollars with one bet?

Sure. Bet $1,100,000 straight up.

Who makes the odds?

Las Vegas Sports Consultants Inc., establishes the odds for about 75% of the licensed Sports Books in Nevada, as well as for the Oregon State Lottery. It is run by Michael ‘Roxy’ Roxborough. He also operates as a consultant on gaming strategies, management, marketing, and personnel. Most illegal books in and out of Nevada draw their odds from what is posted at the various casinos. Transmitting gambling information across state lines for the purpose of placing or taking bets is illegal. News items about point spreads and the like can be reported for informational and entertainment purposes only.

Do I have to be over 21 to bet on sports?

Yes.

What is the minimum bet that must be reported to the IRS?

Well all gambling wins and losses are supposed to be reported to the IRS at the end of the year, but if you bet more than $10,000 at once, you must fill out some IRS paperwork at the ticket counter. All money won must be reported to the IRS.

What is line movement and are there any patterns to it?

The point spreads and money lines change throughout the week in football and daily in baseball and basketball. Sportsbooks want to balance the amounts of money bet on each side so to promote betting on a side they change the number in that sides favor.

The general rule to line movement is “bet the favorite early and the ‘dog late.” This means that if you want to bet on a favorite bet it early in the week because as the public starts to bet the line moves against favorites. You will get a better number at the beginning of the week. Bet the underdog late in the week because the line will get better as the public bets against the underdogs. In over and unders the rule is to bet the over early in the week and the under late. The same reasoning applies to this as well.

Regular sports bettors usually lose. How do professionals take advantage of that fact?

Regular sports bettors don’t do the necessary things to become successful and they do things that make them unsuccessful. Regular sports bettors are referred to as the “public.”

The public likes to bet on the NFL, the Super Bowl, the NCAA Basketball tournament and the World Series. Professionals view these games are regular games that carry the same weight as any other game on the schedule. >The public likes to bet on “public” teams. It used to be America’s team, the Dallas Cowboys or the 49ers and the Green Bay Packers. These are teams that the public likes because they are successful and bettors think that they cannot lose. Today the public teams are probably the Rams and the Colts. Professionals realize this and find some advantages to betting against public teams because the line has been inflated towards those teams.

The public also likes the bet the favorites and the overs. They think that the good teams will win but don’t realize the strength of the point spreads. With this being the case, professionals are mostly underdog bettors because there is more value in the underdog.

Lastly, the public does not “shop for lines.” They usually bet any number they can get and sometimes what ever the newspaper publishes. Professionals go from one sportsbook to another lookingWha for the best line and they can usually find a 1/2 pt here and sometimes a full point. Over the couse of the season, they will win more games. A good tool to finding better lines is found right here at Offshore Odds. The lines section takes you directly to over 40 sportsbooks lines.

Why don’t sportsbooks just not allow bets from wiseguys?

Some don’t! There are some sportsbooks that are notorious for kicking out successful sports bettors. NASA Sports is the most notable example. Most syndicates bet at Don Best or Bettorsworld approved books. They are generally the larger books that have been around a long time. All of the recommended sportsbooks on the homepage are Bettorsworld approved. There are debates regularly on message boards about taking or not taking syndicate action between successful bettors and bookmakers.

What is a wiseguy?

As mentioned earlier, this definition is highly debatable. Some claim that a wiseguy is just a professional sports bettor. Others have a more precise definition. A wiseguy is a sports bettor that makes a bet and then minutes later the screen changes the lines dramatically. They are seen as the originator of the play.

What are “steam chasers?”

Steam chasers are those bettors who watch the Don Best screen and wait for “steam.” Once steam has been recognized they bet the side that was moved against because they realize that it was a syndicate bet. A “steam chaser” will lose in the long run if they are always getting slighly worse lines than the syndicates get. This is because the syndicates are highly successful and they choose their plays selectively. Their play may not have been a play if they could only get the slighly worse lines.

What are syndicates and how do they cause “steam?”

Syndicates are organizations that bet large amounts of money on games. The amount is large enough to cause the sportsbooks to adjust their lines in order to promote betting on the other side. A sportsbook’s objective is to have the same amount of money on each side of a game so they can pay the winners with the losers money and keep the rest. When syndicates bet there becomes a drastically uneven proposition.

My knowlegde of syndicates is limited but I do know they exist. Some common names you might hear in the message boards are the Kosher Brothers and the Poker Players. There’s more out there including a big Asian one but I don’t know who they are. When syndicates bet, the lines change drastically. This is called “steam.” On the Don Best screen you will see the colors change across the board. Steam opens up opportunities for scalpers and middlers because the lines have changed a great degree.

How do wise guys make money sports betting?

There are several ways that “wiseguys” beat the point spread. First of all there are people who will debate you on the term “wiseguy” being the same thing as “professional.” More about this below. And although I’ve described several of the “approaches” they use (below) they are by no means fully described. This is how they earn a living and do not want to give away all trade secrets. Below are descriptions of approaches used by professionals. As you will see, they are much different than ordinary handicapping.

What is scalping?

Betting both sides of a money line bet taking advantage of differences in lines. The dfferences in the lines must overcome the sportssbook’s commission. Most likely scalps are only available at sportsbooks that offer “Dime” lines but this is not always the case. One example is taking NY Mets -120 and the other side at a different sportsbook, St. Louis Cardinals at +130. Therefore, if NY wins you get back the $120 bet and the winnings  take care of what was bet on St. Louis. On the other hand, if St. Louis wins you get back the $100 bet and win $130. That’s a $30 profit with no risk!

How do I scalp?

There are several different approaches to scalping. The first approach is by simply searching for different lines from sportsbooks across the web. One tool that helps the search is found right on this website. Click on the leagues under the Offshore Odds above and each sportsbook link takes you directly to there lines. This way you can easily search for differences in lines.

The second approach is looking for lines using a line service. Basically they’re grids that show all the current lines from several sportsbooks all on one page.

The third approach is taking leads. Although taking leads can open up scalping opportunities not available to straight scalpers, it is very difficult to do and if done incorrectly can backfire on you. By taking leads the scalper bets a side in anticipation that the line will move in their direction thus being able to take the other side later in the day. Say NY Mets opens at -120 and the other side +110. Bet NY -120 in anticipation that the line will move. Later in the day the line moves in increments so that now NY is -140 and St. Louis is +130. Now you bet St. Louis at +130. Because you have taken a lead you now have the scalping opportunity described above eventhough at no one time the scalp was available.

The last approach takes all the above approaches into one. There are lots of scalpers who have joined “groups” in order to share the scalps they find. This lessens the work load involved in finding these lucrative opportunities. Usually the email each other or talk by instant messenger.

What is middling?

Middling is like scalping only with a few differences. Instead of money lines, middling is done with point spreads and like scalping one tries to find adequate differences in line. Basically, middling is taking both sides of the same game with two different point spreads hoping that the game ends with a spread that is in between the two lines bet. You bet the NY Giants -1 1/2 and at another sportsbook you bet the other side, New England Patriots at +2 1/2. The game ends with the Giants winning by 2 and you win both sides.

 

Middling isn’t like scalping, there’s no guaranteed profit like in scalping. Right?

That’s true. Scalping does guarantee a proft at least if the underdog wins. If the favorite wins there’s no loss. Basically there’s no risk. In middling however there is risk. By betting 11/10 on both sides you will lose 1 every time until you hit a “middle.” That means you must get a “middle” 5% of the time to break even. There are only a few circumstances in which you will want to middle betting NFL games. The magic numbers you want to middle are ’3′ and ’7.’ Because the highest percentage of games in the NFL land on a spread of 3 or 7. And for the over/unders the number is ’37.’ More than 5% of the time in a game that had a spread of around 3 the favorite wins by 3. Therefore, it is worth your while to try and “middle” these games. But, the sportsbooks have realized this point and are now more hesitant to move the spread off of 3. They will more than likely move the money line part of the spread and keep it at 3. In addition, sportsbooks also increase the price for buying a 1/2 pt on or off 3 which makes it not worth your while. There are middling opportunities available in all sports.

Also, middling is not for everyone. Whenever you have a situation that occurs only 5-10% of the time, over the long run there are going to be long periods of time where you don’t ever get a “middle.” Even when flipping a coin which is a 50/50 proposition you are going to have at times long streaks of just heads or just tails. The same goes with “middling” but with much worse streaks.

When should I try “middling” in other sports?

Before you try middling you should know how much each half point is worth in every sport. You need to go back into the statistics for the past couple of years and figure out how often a favorite wins by the spread of the game. Make sure that all the line information you obtain is from the same part of the week because the lines change throughout the week. Find out if it’s the opening lines or closing lines and make sure they’re not mixed. Once you find out how often a number lands you will know when profitable middling opportunities are available. Whenever you can find two lines that have a “middle” number that lands more than 5% than it will be profitable.

What about “middles” in which one side ties and the other side wins or loses?

It’s the same thing except ties don’t cover the loss of the other bet. Therefore only a half point difference in the lines is probably not worth it even around the number 3 but a 1 1/2 point difference allows the game a bigger window to land in the “middle.” Always know how much your situation is worth.

Has the 2 pt conversion changed the strength of the “key” numbers in the NFL?

I’ve had this question a lot and I don’t have the statistics to back me up but I think that the 2 pt conversion has actually strengthened the “key” numbers. (3, 7, 10, and 14 for sides, 37 for over/unders) In football games the coaches are more likely going to want to bring the game back to “key” numbers than away from them. If a team scores a touch down and they are now up by 6, the coach will more than likely just kick the extra point and bring the game to 7 than to go for the win and be up by 8. The same goes with 3.