Compare Sports Odds
by admin - Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
Sports Betting Tip # 5
Know and Compare Sports Odds
Many people think that betting on sports is all about picking the correct team. But the odds you are receiving on your money affect both winnings and losses. The odds on your money might be different depending on the type of wager you place and the online sportsbook you use. Wagers like parlays and teasers offer different rewards and risk. Also, some books adjust the juice on certain games that will directly affect the odds on your money.
Parlays, Moneylines, Teaser, Oh My!
There are many types of wagers that you can make while placing bets on sporting events. While parlays, moneylines and teasers are only a few examples wagers that can be made, understanding the odds before you place the bets is important.
Winning a four-team parlay is always nice with odds around 12:1. But sportsbooks aren’t giving you those odds to be nice. They know that the more plays you hook together decrease the chances of winning.
Sportsbooks also don’t offer teasers to be nice. Teasers offer the illusion that they are an easier bet to win because you get to move the pointspread in your favor. The downside is that sportsbooks charge higher juice on a losing teaser.
It is important to understand the odds and return of investment on the wager type because losing can hurt your bankroll more than winning will help.
Juice and Pointspreads
One strategy that many sportsbooks use to even out their risk on any given game is to increase the amount of the juice instead of moving the line. This is something that escapes many online gamblers.
A prospective gambler might first look at this as a gift because other sportsbooks bumped the line. However, if you look at the amount that you can lose the risk/reward ratio is actually better at the sportsbook that bumped the line – a winning wager will pays the same, but a lost will cost more at one sportsbook.
Because of this practice it is necessary to have multiple sportsbook accounts. The pointspread is after all an opinion designed to even out the action on all possible outcome of a sports event. This creates a disparity from one sportsbook to another and opens a marketplace for the online sports bettor.
By having accounts at multiple sportsbooks, you will be able to shop for the best pointspread value for your wager. This is can increase the odds on a payout while protecting yourself from unnecessary risk to your bankroll.
