The idea of winning hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars is very enticing to everyone entering the world of sports betting.
And rightfully so, because I was once a beginner and I know the feeling of wanting to win big.
However, it is important to understand that success in sports betting is not guaranteed and can be quite difficult for beginners.
But regardless of that, winning is still possible and there are ways to increase your chances of winning.
In this guide, I will discuss the basics of online sports betting to help you get started on your journey, the right way – To avoid losing your money.
What is Online Sports Betting?
Online sports betting refers to the act of placing a bet on the outcome of a sporting event or game through a website or app, usually called a sportsbook.
Sports betting can involve betting on various aspects of a sport or game, such as the winning team, final score, or specific player achievements.
Here are some common types of sports bets you should know about:
- Favorites vs. Underdogs: The favored team (-) is the one everyone expects to win, while the underdog (+) is the one everybody expects to lose. Betting on an underdog can yield a higher payout if they win but you won’t always win betting on the underdog. I’ll share more about why later.
- Moneylines: This is a straightforward bet on which team will win the game. No point spread is involved.
- Point Spreads: This type of bet involves handicapping a favored team to create an even playing field for both teams. The spread is the number of points the favorite must win by to “cover” the bet or the number of points the underdog can lose by and still “cover” the bet.
- Totals (Over/Under): This is a bet on the total number of points or goals scored in a game, regardless of which team wins. You can bet if you think there will be more (over) or fewer (under) points than the set total, predetermined by the sportsbook.
Terminology in Sports Betting
To ensure a smooth sports betting experience, it’s important to familiarize yourself with some common betting terms that you will hear thrown around. Here are a few of them:
- Wager: A bet or money that is placed on the outcome of a sporting event.
- Bankroll: The amount of money you’ve set aside for sports betting, that you likely are ok with losing (if you lose).
- Underdog: The team that is expected to lose a match or game. Usually has a positive odds number associated with it. For example +150
- Favorites: The team that is expected to win a match or game. Usually has a negative odds number associated with it. For example -150
- Money Line: A bet where you are simply picking the team that will win a game outright.
- Over/Under (Totals): A bet on whether the total points/goals scored by the two teams will be over or under a specified number.
- Point Spread: The number of points by which the expected winner should win by.
- Against the Spread (ATS): A bet where you try to determine which team will cover the spread; not necessarily which team will win. Usually, the teams must win or lose by a certain amount of points for you to win your bet.
- Prop bets: These bets involve various aspects of a game that don’t necessarily affect the final outcome. Examples include betting on the first player to score or the number of home runs in MLB, the first player to score a basket in NBA, or the first touchdown scorer in an NFL game.
- Parlay/Accumulator: A single bet that combines multiple other bets. To win a parlay, all of your individual bets must be correct. The potential payout is higher, but the risk is also greater.
- Action: A bet or wager of any kind.
- Bookmaker/Bookie/Sportsbook: A licensed person or company who accepts bets from customers.
- Futures: Bets placed on an event that will take place in the future, like who will win the next Super Bowl.
- Handicap: A method used by bookmakers to make a one-sided event become a more attractive betting proposition to the punter. For example, if one team is heavily favored to win a match, the bookmaker might “give” the weaker team some points as a handicap.
- Push: This occurs when a game ends with no winner or loser for bettors (e.g. when the final score lands exactly on the spread).
- Sharp: A professional, sophisticated sports bettor.
- Square: A casual, recreational sports bettor.
- Juice/Vig/Vigorish: The commission that bookmakers charge on bets.
Benefits of Betting Online
Online sports betting offers several advantages compared to traditional betting methods. Some of the benefits are:
convenience
You can bet on sports online from the comfort of your home or on the go using your smartphone, tablet, or computer.
Online sportsbooks are accessible 24/7, which means you can place bets at times that best suit your schedule.
Variety of options
With online sportsbooks, you’ll have access to a broader range of sports, leagues, and betting markets than you would at a brick-and-mortar sportsbook or casino.
This gives you more chances to find valuable bets and diversify your betting portfolio.
Competitive odds and attractive promotions
Online sportsbooks often offer better odds than going to a casino to bet, as they don’t have the overhead costs associated with running and maintaining operations at a physical location.
Additionally, most online sportsbooks offer bonuses and promotions to attract and retain customers, giving you extra value for your money, before you even start betting with your own money.
Imagine that you had two casinos close to where you live and you wanted to take advantage of a $500 free money promo they were giving to new bettors.
In order for you to get both of those $500 you would have to physically visit the casinos, but when you’re betting online it’s easier to sign up to 6 sportsbooks and get $3000 in free bonus bets.
That’s free money you can start betting with, without using any of the money you’ve added to your account.
Legal Aspects of Betting Online
In the United States, legal sports betting is growing rapidly between the states since the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018.
Even though states have the autonomy to regulate sports betting, it’s not legalized in all of the states yet. Sports betting is legal in all of these states:
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
See a full list of all the states here on DraftKings Sportsbooks
To ensure you’re betting legally, familiarize yourself with the laws and regulations regarding sports betting where you live.
Most importantly, always use reputable, licensed online sportsbooks when you bet on sports online.
Licensed sportsbooks follow strict regulatory standards that ensure they are providing a secure and fair betting environment to their customers.
Reading and Understanding Odds
Sports betting odds are numerical representations of the probability (or possibility) of a particular outcome to happen in a sports event.
They also determine how much money you could win when you place a bet, and they can be expressed in decimal, fractional, or American format.
Types of Odds
There are multiple ways odds can be represented in sports betting. Some common formats include American odds, decimal odds, and fractional odds.
The most common one used by most people is the American odds. Here is a little bit of information about what they mean:
- American odds are shown with a plus (+) or minus (-) sign preceding a number. For example, a team with -110 odds is the favorite, and a team with +110 odds is the underdog. A positive number indicates how much profit you would make on a $100 bet, while a negative number shows how much you need to bet to make $100. These odds are primarily used in the United States.
- Decimal odds express the total payout as a single number, such as 1.91 or 2.50. You simply multiply your bet amount by this number to calculate the potential winnings. For example, if the odds are 2.0, for every $1 bet, you will receive $2 in return if you win (this includes your original stake). Commonly used in Europe, Australia, and Canada
- Fractional odds indicate the profit relative to your stake using fractions like 1/5 or 5/1. For example, odds of 5/1 mean that for every $1 bet, you could win $5. Popular in the UK and Ireland
How to Read American Odds
Now that you’re familiar with the different types of odds, let’s learn how to interpret them for your bets.
The favorite team will have a minus (-) sign, while the underdog team will show a plus (+) sign.
When placing a bet on a team with American odds, the negative (-) number indicates how much you need to wager to win $100.
For positive odds (+) the number indicates how much you would win if you bet $100.
For example, betting on a moneyline underdog at +200 means you’ll win $200 if you bet $100.
If you’re betting on a team with -110 odds you would have to bet $110 to win $100.
Also when you win a bet you will receive your original bet amount plus your winnings.
To determine the implied probability, divide the bet amount by the total payout for underdogs and divide the negative odds by that number plus 100 for favorites.
So with odds of -110, your implied probability would be:
(-110) / (-110 + 100) = 52.38%
This means that the team has a 52.38% chance of winning according to the bookmakers. So your bet on a -110 odds has a value of 52.38% of winning.
But honestly, you don’t need to know this if you use sports betting tools to help you find the best bets to make.
In general, a friendly approach and some practice will help you become comfortable with reading and understanding odds, which will allow you to make confident decisions when it comes to sports betting.
Types of Sports Bets
As a beginner in online sports betting, understanding the different types of bets you can place is very important otherwise you’ll probably lose more of your bets and none of us wants that to happen.
In this section, I’ll cover five common bet types: Moneyline bets, Point spread bets, Over/Under bets, Prop bets, and Parlay bets.
Moneyline Bets
Moneyline bets are the simplest form of betting, as you’re just picking the team or athlete that you think will win a particular event.
For example, if you believe Team A will win a match against Team B, you would place a moneyline bet on Team A.
The odds for moneyline bets are usually expressed with positive or negative numbers, indicating how much you need to wager to win a certain amount or how much you can win from a specified wager.
It’s the easiest type of bet to understand.
Point Spread Bets
Point spread bets involve predicting not only which team will win a game but also by how many points.
The bookmakers will set a point spread (also called the “line”) that reflects the expected point difference between the two teams.
You can either bet on the favorite team to win by more than the point spread or the underdog team to lose by less than the point spread or even win outright.
This type of bet makes the betting more exciting and even, as it gives both teams a more equal chance of covering the spread.
Over/Under Bets
Over/Under bets, also known as total bets, involve predicting the total combined score of both teams in a game.
The bookmakers will set a number (the “total”), and you simply bet on whether the final combined score will be over or under that number.
This bet type is especially popular in high-scoring sports like basketball and football, where the numbers can vary greatly from game to game.
Prop Bets
Prop bets, short for “proposition bets,” are wagers on specific aspects of a game or event that do not necessarily correlate to the final outcome.
Examples of prop bets include predicting which team will score first, how many strikeouts a pitcher will have in a baseball game, or which player will score the most points in a basketball game.
These bets can add an extra layer of excitement and strategy to your sports betting experience, but if you bet without the right strategies it can cause you to lose more money than you intend to.
Parlay Bets
Parlay bets involve combining multiple single bets, usually at least two, into a single wager. In order for your parlay bet to win, all individual bets within the parlay must win.
If even one bet within the parlay loses, the entire parlay bet is lost.
However, the potential payout for parlay bets is much higher than for individual bets, as the odds are multiplied.
You can think of it as high-risk, high-reward!
This type of bet is a higher-risk option but can pay off handsomely if you’re confident in your predictions.
Placing Your First Bet
Betting on sports for the first time is a bitter-sweet feeling. I say bitter-sweet because even though you’re excited about the possibility of winning some money, you still know that you can lose and worry about that as well.
At least that was the case for me when I started sports betting for the first time. To get over this feeling start betting for fun, not because you want to win millions, and don’t bet too much money.
Bet only 1-5% of the money you have set aside to bet on sports.
For example, if you have only $100 set aside and you bet 1-5% of it on a single bet you would only bet spending $1-$5 on each of your bets.
That said here are some things to know before placing your first bet:
Choosing Your Sportsbook and Creating an Account
Selecting a trustworthy sportsbook is an essential step when betting on sports online.
Do your research and find a sportsbook that fits your needs and has a solid reputation.
Once you’ve chosen your preferred sportsbook, it’s time to create an account. Sign up with your personal information and follow the on-screen prompts to secure your account.
Some great, reputable, and legal sportsbooks in the United States that you can use are:
- DraftKings
- FanDuel
- BetMGM
- Caesars
- BetRivers
- Bet365
- PointsBet
- Unibet
Understanding Sportsbooks Welcome Bonuses
When you’re new to online sports betting, one thing you’ll notice is the abundance of welcome bonuses offered by different platforms.
These bonuses are incentives that sportsbooks provide to attract new customers.
Typically, a welcome bonus includes a match on your first deposit, where the sportsbook will match a percentage of your initial deposit, up to a certain limit.
For example, let’s say a site offers a 100% match on your first deposit of up to $1000.
- If you deposit $100, you’ll receive an additional $100 in bonus funds for a total of $200 to bet with.
- A $300 deposit would give you a $300 bonus for a total of $600.
- A $500 deposit would give you a $500 bonus for a total of $1000, and so on.
Keep in mind that there might be some restrictions and betting requirements attached to these bonuses, so be sure to read the terms and conditions before taking advantage of them.
Depositing Funds into Your Account
After creating your account, you’ll need to deposit funds to start placing bets.
Most sportsbooks offer a variety of payment options you can use to do this such as credit/debit cards, e-wallets, or bank transfers.
Choose the method that works best for you and follow the instructions provided by the sportsbook. Once the funds are deposited, they will be available for use immediately.
Choosing a Game to Bet On
Now that you have an account with a sportsbook, it’s time to select a game to bet on.
To decide what bets to make, research the teams, players, and games you’re interested in. Consider factors such as a team’s past performance, player injuries, and other relevant factors before making any bets.
Doing so will help you identify the favorites and underdogs in each game, as well as any value opportunities that may arise.
These days I use OddsJam to help me with my research and decision process before making any of my bets.
But for you, in the beginning, to not become overwhelmed it might be best to start betting on sports you enjoy watching and know about so that you can have some fun watching the games while betting.
Later on, when you are ready to start betting more seriously and strategically, you can start using sports betting tools like OddsJam to help you understand what the best bets to make are.
Deciding Your Stake
Determining how much money to bet, also known as your stake, is an important aspect of online sports betting.
One of the best practices is to follow a staking plan, which will help you manage your bankroll responsibly.
A common approach is betting a fixed percentage of your bankroll on each bet, typically ranging from 1% to 5%.
This method ensures you’re placing bets within your financial limits, helping you avoid potential losses that could harm your overall betting experience.
For example, if my bankroll was $500, and I followed a 2% staking plan, the amount of money that I would put on each of my bets would be $10.
Tips for Beginner Bettors
Betting on sports successfully takes some work and skill. It’s not just about placing bets on your favorite teams or players; it involves research, strategy, and discipline.
Here are some tips to help you get started as a beginner bettor:
Start Small
As mentioned before, when starting with sports betting, it’s best to start small.
Don’t go all-in with large amounts of money on your first bets.
Start with small stakes and gradually increase them as you gain more experience and feel more confident in your betting.
Value and Line Shopping
As a new bettor, it’s essential to understand the importance of value and line shopping.
This means looking for the best odds and lines across multiple sportsbooks to maximize your potential profits.
Keep in mind that even slight differences in odds can significantly impact your long-term results.
Make a habit of comparing odds and lines for each of your bets, and don’t be afraid to shop around for the best value.
I use OddsJam to do this for me and I think it’s one of the best odds comparison tools available to bettors today.
Here is a video about how it works:
Bankroll Management
One of the most crucial aspects of sports betting is bankroll management. Start by setting aside a specific sum of money that you’re comfortable risking for betting purposes. This is your bankroll.
Develop a strategy to manage your bankroll, such as betting a consistent percentage on each bet, which minimizes the risk of losing your entire bankroll too quickly.
I mentioned this before and I will say it here again. Only bet 1-5% of your bankroll on each of your bets.
Consistency and discipline in bankroll management will help you prevent impulsive wagers and keep you in the game for the long run.
The main idea is to start slowly and build your bankroll as you gain experience and confidence.
Avoiding Common Mistakes
New bettors often fall prey to several common mistakes. Don’t make these mistakes. To improve your chances of success and a fun experience, be mindful of these pitfalls:
- Betting too often or without proper research: Take the time to analyze each game and make informed decisions based on available data and your knowledge of the sport.
- Falling for the “Vig” or “Juice”: Remember that vig and juice impact your winnings. Always consider the odds and lines, including the vig, before placing a bet.
- Letting emotions interfere with your decisions: Stay objective and avoid just betting on your favorite teams or allowing emotions to dictate your betting strategy.
- Chasing losses: If you experience a losing streak, don’t panic and start placing large bets to make up for your losses. Stick to your bankroll management strategy and remember that patience is vital in sports betting. Plus doing this will stop you from losing too much money.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I choose the best online sportsbook for me?
When choosing an online sportsbook, consider factors like their reputation, available sports and betting options, bonuses and promotions, and ease of use.
Look for reviews from other bettors to learn about their experiences and make sure the sportsbook is licensed and operates legally in your area.
Also, check if they offer user-friendly interfaces for your computer or mobile device.
Some of the best legal sportsbooks are;
- DraftKings
- FanDuel
- BetMGM
- Caesars
- BetRivers
- Bet365
- PointsBet
- Unibet
What are the essential sports betting terms I should know?
Some essential sports betting terms you should know are:
- Underdogs and Favorites: The team expected to lose is the underdog, while the team favored to win is the favorite.
- Point Spread: The number of points by which the favorite is expected to win.
- Moneyline: A bet on the straight-up winner of a game, without considering the point spread.
- Over/Under: A bet on the combined score of both teams in a game, specifically, if it will be over or under a predetermined number.
- Prop Bets: Bets on specific events or occurrences within a game that don’t necessarily impact the final outcome.
How can I ensure I’m betting legally on sports online?
To ensure you are betting legally on sports online, only use licensed and regulated sportsbooks in your jurisdiction.
Familiarize yourself with your local gambling laws and follow the appropriate age requirements.
Additionally, double-check the sportsbook’s terms and conditions to make sure you meet all eligibility criteria.
Many of the sportsbooks I shared above should be available where you live.
What are some beginner-friendly bets to start with?
Some beginner-friendly bets you can start with can include point spreads, moneylines, and over/under bets.
These bets have straightforward concepts and are perfect for newcomers to sports betting.
As you gain experience, you may want to explore more complex options like parlays, teasers, and prop bets.
How much money should a beginner start with in sports betting?
The amount of money you should start betting with as a beginner will depend on your financial situation, disposable income (extra money), and comfort level with risk.
Create a budget and stick to it, only betting a small percentage (e.g., 1-5%) of your bankroll on each bet.
This approach protects your overall bankroll and allows you to gain experience without jeopardizing a significant amount of your money.
The key to enjoying sports betting is to approach it responsibly and with the right understanding of the basics.
With a good sportsbook, well-chosen games, and smart betting strategies, you’re setting yourself up for an exciting and fun adventure in the world of online sports betting.
As you begin your sports betting journey, remember to enjoy the experience and bet responsibly.
Online sports betting offers countless opportunities to have fun, test your skills, and potentially win money, so long as you keep your wits about yourself and stay within the boundaries of the law and your budget.