Proposition bet
A proposition bet is a bet the sports book offers at odds and conditions of its choosing. Prop bets can be exotic bets like which team will score the most touchdowns, which team will shoot the most three pointers, which running back will rush for the most yards, etc. Most prop bets are offered at 11-10 odds, but some of the exotics will be offered at better or worse odds, depending on the bet.
Money Line Bets
A money line bet is a bet on the straight up total of an event or the odds for a straight up prop bet. There are two totals given for either side on a money line bet. A negative and a plus side.
Dallas -170
Washington +150
This means that for every $17 you bet on Dallas, you win $10 if they win. For every $10 you bet on Washington, you win $15 if they win. This is the way SB's make money off games by not giving points.
Spread Bets
These are the standard bets to make. Basically a proposition bet at 11-10 odds where the conditions are you give or take points on the team you are betting on hoping that the modified total of your teams score beats the other teams straight score. Bets on the spread are often know as straight bets because they pay even money (minus the 10% vig).
The spread is a point advantage given to a weaker team that is expected to lose by X number of points. This is the odds makers way of making even bets possible for a Sports Book. Usually if you bet against the spread you make an 11-10 bet. This means that you win $10 if you bet $11 for a total of $21 if your team covers the spread.
A team covers the spread if it wins the game with the score modified by the spread. If Dallas and Washington are playing and the spread is (Dallas -7), then Dallas has to win by at least 8 points to cover. Half-point spreads are also possible. In an ideal situation, the same amount of money will be bet on both sides of the line and the Sports Book will take its 10% from the losing side.
If $55000 ($50000 and an addition $5000 to make the bets) was bet on Washington and $55000 bet on Dallas, no matter who wins the game the sportsbook will make $5000. In case of a tie, all money is refunded. This is a rather simplified version as the spread moves when one side becomes more heavily bet on.
Tampa Bay +19 1/2
Miami -19 1/2
This means that if you bet on Miami, Miami needs to score at least 20 more points than Tampa to cover. If you bet on Tampa, the score must be at least within 19 for you to win. The bottom team is almost always the home team.
Over/Under Bets
These are also 11-10 bets on what the total of the game will be. If the total posted on a game is 39 1/2 points, then you can wager that the total score of both teams added together will be either over or under the posted total. Betting the over is known as "betting on the ball", betting under is known as "betting on the clock".
Chicago -5 1/2 -180 1:00 pm
Atlanta +5 1/2 +150 42 1/2
This gives the money line, the point spread, and the total for the game. It also tells you that Atlanta is the home team, and the game starts at 1:00 pm. As far as I know, this is the standard posting at mosts Books.
Parlays
A parlay bet is betting on the outcome of two or more events, and getting higher odds than betting on the outcome of both events. The drawback is that the odds aren't right and that you must win all of the events to win the parlay.
# of plays Standard Odds True Odds
---------- ------------- ---------
2 plays 13-5 3-1
3 plays 6-1 7-1
4 plays 10-1 15-1
5 plays 20-1 31-1
6 plays 40-1 63-1
7 plays 80-1 127-1
The more events parlayed the worse the odds shift in the casinos advantage. The advantage for the player for parlays lies in the fact that he can bet more on the same game (spread and over/under) and he can bet more on two teams who are playing at the same time.
In order to be competitive, some casinos offer ties-win parlay cards. This greatly helps the player. The Las Vegas Hilton SB is one of these.
Teasers
A teaser bet is a bet where you can move the spread by a set amount, but have to pay to do it. You must bet at least two teams like a parlay and win both. You can move the spread by on all the games by the set amount.
Football Teasers
# of teams 6 pts 6 1/2 pts 7 pts
---------- ----- --------- -----
2 teams 11-10 5-6 5-7
3 teams 8-5 3-2 6-5
4 teams 5-2 2-1 9-5
5 teams 4-1 7-2 3-1
6 teams 6-1 5-1 4-1
Basketball Teasers
# of teams 4 pts 4 1/2 pts 5 pts
---------- ----- --------- -----
2 teams 11-10 5-6 5-7
3 teams 8-5 3-2 6-5
4 teams 5-2 2-1 9-5
5 teams 4-1 7-2 3-1
6 teams 6-1 5-1 9-2
Buying a half point
You can shift the spread a half point in your favor by laying 6-5 odds instead of the standard 11-10. This is called buying a half point. This is also known as "buying the hook".
