Moneyline Bets

The most common type of bet, a money line bet simply requires you to pick who will win a given match-up. For example, in the above NBA Finals example, you could place a money line bet on the Warriors to win the series.

Point Spread Bets

Any wager in which you choose whether a team is going to win or lose by a certain margin is called a “point spread bet.” For example, let’s say that the Warriors are playing the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals with a point spread of -11. This means that you would need to pick whether the Warriors will win by more than 11 points or whether the Cavaliers will lose by less than 11 points.

If you pick the Warriors to win by more than 11 points, then you are “betting against the spread.” If you pick the Cavaliers to lose by less than 11 points, then you are “betting with the spread.”

Over/Under Bets

An over/under bet is a wager in which you pick whether the total score of a given match-up will be above or below a certain number. For example, let’s say that the Warriors are playing the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals with an over/under of 217. This means that you would need to pick whether the total score of the game will be above 217 points or below 217 points.

Proposition Bets

To put it another way, the proposition bet is a bet on anything other than the outcome of an individual matchup. For example, you could place a proposition bet on whether LeBron James will score more than 30 points in the game. You may use this type of betting in every sports betting such as the 2022 FIFA World Cup. 

Parlays

It’s possible to combine many bets into one using a parlay. For example, you could place a parlay bet on the Warriors to win the series and LeBron James to score more than 30 points in the game.

Betting odds are simply a way of expressing the probability of something happening in a sporting event. They allow you to compare the likelihood of different outcomes occurring, and they also allow bookmakers to set their lines. The most common type of betting odds is as below explained.

Decimal Odds

As the name suggests, decimal odds are the most straightforward kind of odds to comprehend. They represent the amount of money you will receive for every $100 you bet. So, if you see odds of “odds of XYZ”.

As an example, let’s take a look at the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Warriors are big favorites to win, therefore their decimal odds would look something like this:

Golden State Warriors: Decimal Odds = 0.75

Cleveland Cavaliers: Decimal Odds = 2.0

This means that for every $100 you bet on the Warriors to win, you would stand to make a profit of $75 if they were successful.

Similarly, if you bet $100 on the Cavaliers to win, you would make a profit of $200 if they were to pull off the upset.

As you can see, decimal odds allow you to easily compare the potential profits of different bets. They also make it easy to calculate how much money you stand to win or lose on a given bet.

Fractional Odds

Also known as British Odds or Traditional Odds, fractional odds are most popular in the UK and Ireland. Unlike decimal odds, which represent the amount of money you will receive for every $100 you bet, fractional odds express your potential profit as a ratio of your total stake. So, if you see odds of “odds of XYZ”.

We may use the Golden State Warriors vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Finals as an example. The Warriors are heavy favorites to win the series, so their fractional odds might look something like this:

Golden State Warriors: Fractional Odds = 0.75/1

Cleveland Cavaliers: Fractional Odds = 2/1

This means that if you bet $100 on the Warriors to win and they won, you would make a profit of $75.

Similarly, if you bet $100 on the Cavaliers to win and they pulled off the upset, you would make a profit of $200.

As you can see, fractional odds can be a bit more confusing than decimal odds. However, if you get the hang of them, they’re straightforward.

Implied Probability

Implied probability is simply the probability of something happening, as implied by the odds. It’s a way of expressing odds in terms that are easier to understand. We may use the example of the NBA Finals to illustrate this point. Warriors are big favorites to win this series, therefore decimal odds may look like this:

Golden State Warriors: Decimal Odds = 0.75

Cleveland Cavaliers: Decimal Odds = 2.0

This means that for every $100 you bet on the Warriors to win, you would stand to make a profit of $75 if they were successful.

Similarly, if you bet $100 on the Cavaliers to win, you would make a profit of $200 if they were to pull off the upset.

As you can see, decimal odds allow you to easily compare the potential profits of different bets. They also make it easy to calculate how much money you stand to win or lose on a given bet.