Betting Guide

Few things to consider before we get into the Sports Betting Overview 

1. You will NOT become a millionaire or professional gambler/DFS player. The main goal here is to have fun watching the sports we love while obviously profiting. 

2. PROFIT!!!! That is the only goal. Not to double our $$$ or to get rich. We want to profit. Even the best handicappers and pro gamblers win at a 65% rate at best. Don’t expect to win every bet.

3. With our primary goal in mind remember that not losing is just as important. Coming out of a week, game or event even money means we are still in a great spot to profit going forward. The biggest problem gamblers have is thinking they need to bet more to win back their losses or bet more because they’ve won and wanna win even more. There’s a reason football teams become conservative and run the ball to secure a win and take their starters out in a blowout. Don’t take unnecessary risks. 

4. Identify what type of gambler you are. Are you a casual bettor betting on a specific game or event? Super Bowl, March Madness, World Series because you’ll be watching. Are you in it for the long term? Betting each week of the NFL season or several MLB picks a week. Or are you a full blown degenerate betting every sport, prop and future possible?(2 thumbs pointed at this guy)

5. Similar to above, identify your risk. This will determine if you are willing to bet underdogs, props or specific outcomes or safer spreads or lines.(We’ll get into what those all mean)

Lastly you are betting your $$$. Don’t take anybody’s word as gospel. “Expert” or not they are not responsible for your money. Further more put less weight into your decision if said expert is not in fact putting their own money on the line for their advice. Do your own research make your own conclusions and by all means use experts advice to help make your decisions. At the end of the day you should feel comfortable and agree with a point made in favor of making a bet not just blindly submit one because someone said to. The more people, podcasts or shows you listen the more you’ll know what actually matters and what’s just noise.

Definitions 

Many of our strategies and guidelines will apply to both sports betting and DFS. The 1st and most important is bankroll management. NOBODY is right all the time. For long term profitability you have to not only have a set amount of money you want to gamble but the ability to not blow it all immediately.

Bankroll– essentially the amount of money you have to gamble. The amount you are willing to lose in a specified amount of time. 

Unit– a measurement of bet usually equal to 1% of the player’s total bankroll. Units can be used to track bet totals and winnings universally regardless of a bettor’s bankroll. If your bankroll was $1,000 one unit would be $10.

Juice: also known as the “vig” this is the amount collected by the house (casino, bookie or site) when placing a bet. Often times when making any bet the Juice would be -110. (see below)

Money Line: A money line is a type of betting line which lays out the amount a player must wager in order to win a set amount, or the amount the player wins on a wager of that set amount. Example would be if a team’s odds are -140 then they are considered the “favorite” and you would have to bet $1.40 to win a dollar. Or $140 to win $100. If the odds were +140 the team would be considered the “underdog” and you would WIN $1.40 for every dollar you bet.

Spread: The amount a team/side must win by to cover a bet. Example if an NFL team is -3 then they would have to win by 4 points or more to win the bet. If they win by 3 then it would be considered a “Push” (a tie) and you would be refunded your original bet amount. If the spread was -3.5 then there would be no possibility of a push. A win of 4 or more would be the only possible outcome to win. This half a point in the spread is often referred to as the “Hook.” 

If the spread is +3 then your team would be “getting” the points and would have to lose by more than 3 points to lose the bet and obviously losing by 3 would be a push.

Over/Under: A bet that the outcome will be more(over) or less(under) than a specified number or total score. An exact outcome on the number will be a push.

Parlay: A parlay is a bet in which multiple bets are linked together to create a greater payout. Basically betting multiple spreads/money lines and or outcomes on the same bet which would increase the payout odds.  The more bets you put on a parlay the higher the payouts. On a parlay all bets must win to payout and there is no option of a push.

Teaser: an against the spread bet where you are given additional points in your favor for reduced payout odds. Also there must be at least 2 separate spread wagers together on a teaser. Similar to a parlay multiple wagers can be added to a teaser to increase the payout.

Future: a wager on a future outcome of an event, tournament or season generally at “plus” Money or odds.