Straight Bets
by Predictem.com Staff
Straight bets are the most commonly bet when it comes to sports wagering. These are also called “sides” or “pick a team” and involve a point spread which means that it pertains to football betting or basketball betting (Baseball/Hockey use moneylines.)
The standard straight bet offers bettors the choice of selecting the favorite or the underdog in a game and risking -110 odds. If your not familiar with what that means, it basically can be defined as risking $110 to win $100, or if your a small recreational bettor it could be risking $11 to win $10. In summary, your risking $11 for every $10 you bet. It doesn’t necessarily have to be $110 to win $100 or $11 to win $10. It can be $33 to win $30 etc.
Some online sportsbooks offer reduced vig betting as well where the cost to bet is reduced by x amount, depending on what odds the sportsbook is offering. An example is Sportbet, which offers bettors the sweet discount of betting -105 if you place your football bets on Tuesday’s. This essentially means that your laying $10.50 for every $10 your trying to win which is a very nice discount, especially for whales. (Highrollers)
Here’s an example of a wagering matchup you may see:
Pittsburgh Steelers +7 -110
Indianapolis Colts -7 -110
The above would indicate that if you took the Steelers, your “getting” 7 free points as an underdog or if you took the Colts, you’d be “laying” 7 points (starting the game 7 points down is another way of putting it) and regardless of which team you took, your risking $11 for every $10 your trying to win.
Without trying to confuse you, we’ll add that at times, books weigh their odds heavier on one side due to too much action coming in on one side, so they may change the odds a bit with hopes of getting some counter action on the other side to balance their books. You may see one team -105 and the other -115. Anytime you see a minus sign (-) in front of a number, that means you have to lay that much to win $100.
Straight bets are the way to go. Their low in vigorish and allow you to be a single game. Don’t get hooked into playing teasers and parlays if you don’t have to. They may be more fun, but the straight bet is surely the way to go if you hope to win long term in the game called sports betting.