Sports Betting Guide

Sports betting has been around for as long as competitive sports have been played. It’s a great way to put your sporting knowledge to the test and have some fun at the same time. If you know what

you’re doing then it’s possible to win some money too. In fact, there are many professional gamblers around the world that make

very good money out of betting on sports.

Our sports betting guide contains everything that a beginner needs to know and there’s plenty of information that even experienced

bettors will find useful. We have covered all the basics and provided plenty of strategy advice too, including tips for betting on

all the major sports. We offer advice on choosing which sports betting sites to use and have provided rankings of the leading

sites, in a number of different categories, to help with this. Additionally, we provide relevant, up to date news as well as

betting picks and previews for upcoming sporting events.

Best Sports Betting Sites

● If you’re looking to get started right now then you may want to check out our recommended betting site. On the following page we have ranked and listed the very best site around. In addition we have made recommendations for the top site in a number of different categories, such as the best mobile sports betting sites and the best US sites. We’ve also explained how we go about compiling these rankings. Check out Our Blog , Where you can also check out the site and reviews and all that juicy stuff!

An Introduction to Sports Betting

On the face of it, the basic principle of sports betting is pretty simple. Essentially it’s all about predicting the outcome of sporting events and wagering your money according to what you think is going to happen. If you predict correctly then you win, if you don’t then you lose. There is, of course, a bit more to it than that though.

If you’re completely new to sports betting then it helps to understand exactly how it all works. For this reason we have put together a useful introduction to the subject. In this we cover the role of bookmakers, looking at how they operate and how they make money. We describe the different types of wagers you can place and explain how odds work. We’ve also provided a few articles containing some basic advice on how to improve your chances of being a winner.

Introduction to Sports Betting

Sports betting is popular almost everywhere in the world and has been around for thousands of years. It’s difficult to chart its precise history but, while there is no definitive evidence of exactly when it started, in all likelihood people have been gambling on the outcome of sporting events ever since such events started taking place. It has been suggested that sports betting took place as long ago as during ancient Greek times, and some believe it was common even before then.

Regardless of when it started, it is certainly big business today. It’s a pastime enjoyed by millions of people and, for the most part, no longer suffers from some of the negative connotations it has had in the past. Throughout history, various forms of gambling have been outlawed by many nations and this often led to “underground” betting that was unregulated and illegal. Today there is still some underground betting that goes on for sure, but in many parts of the world sports betting is completely legal and regulated, and considered a socially acceptable activity.

In this part of our guide to sports betting we provide lots of information and advice. Some of it’s geared towards beginners, but most of it will be useful whether you are a complete novice or an experienced bettor. We have explained everything that we cover below, and we do recommend that you take some time to read through what we have to offer.

The Basics of Sports Betting

Our first article in this introduction is written primarily with the complete beginner in mind. In it, we explain exactly what sports betting is all about and look at the role of bookmakers. We cover how they take bets from their customers and how they make their money.

● Most people with even the vaguest of interest in sports betting probably understand the fundamental aspect of what it’s all about. The idea is to predict the outcome of a sporting event and wager your money accordingly, based on what you think is likely to happen. You win money when your predictions are correct and you lose money when they are not. It is, in essence, as simple as that.

● However, it’s useful to understand a bit more about the mechanics of sports betting if you have any intention of getting involved. Whether you plan on betting simply for a bit of fun or taking it more seriously, you really should have a handle on how it all works. We provide the necessary information on this page. We cover the role of bookmakers, how they take bets, and how they make money.

The Role of Bookmakers

In the very early days of sports betting, the most common way for someone to wager on the outcome of an event was to bet with another person who had the opposite view. The two parties would then settle up between themselves according to the results. This worked fine in many ways, and individuals still make sports wagers with other individuals to this day. It was, however, also somewhat limited.

Over time sports betting became more organized and it wasn’t long before the concept of bookmakers was introduced. The term bookmaker was not used until the 19th century, but the role had existed for hundreds of years before that. The idea of the role was essentially that an individual, group or organization would accept wagers from anyone wanting to bet on a sporting event.

The sports betting industry is huge, and there are lots of bookmaking operations around the world. These range from the individuals who take wagers from a select number of private clients right up to large organizations that service hundreds of thousands of customers on a global scale. Bookmakers are also often referred to as bookies, and the term sportsbook is also frequently used in the US and some other countries.

How Bookies & Sportsbooks Take Bets

Bookies and sportsbooks operate in a number of different ways. In some countries there are bookmaking shops; retail premises where you can go and place your bets over the counter in cash. You get a betting slip with the details of your wager and, if it wins, you can go back in and claim your winnings. You will also find similar setups in many casinos.

Many bookmakers and sportsbooks offer a telephone betting service. To use this, you just have to make a phone call and tell them what wagers you wish to place. Typically you have to pay for your stakes using a debit or credit card, with any winnings credited back to that card. Other payment methods are usually available too, and some operations offer credit accounts.

Bookies can also be found at most horse racing tracks in the world, operating in basically the same way as a bookmaking shop. You place your wager in cash and get a slip which you can cash in if it wins. Typically, these operations take bets only for races being run at the racecourse where they are situated. Depending on the relevant local laws though, racetrack bookies may be able to accept wagers on races taking place at other locations too.

These days the most popular way to bet on sports is without question over the internet. The introduction of online sports betting sites has had a huge impact on the industry, not least because it’s now much easier to place wagers on sporting events. Betting online is simple, convenient, and offers many advantages over the traditional methods.

How Bookies Make Money

All bookmakers and sportsbooks, whether online or otherwise, obviously aim to make a profit out of the bets that they take. In theory this is quite simple – they just have to take more money in losing wagers than they pay out in winning wagers. Of course, as the outcomes of sporting events are outside of their control, it’s possible that that they could lose money if more people bet on the winning results than on the losing results.

Bookies are not really in the business to take chances though, so they run their books in a way that they are guaranteed (theoretically at least) to make a profit whatever the outcome of an individual event. They do this by setting the odds in such a way that they effectively take a commission on all the wagers placed, and creating a “balanced book” where they stand to pay out approximately the same amount regardless of actual results.

This doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to make money out of sports betting though. While the bookmakers do make profits from all their customers collectively, it’s possible for any individual to be a winner in the long run. Anyone that’s prepared to spend some time learning about sports betting and what it takes to be successful definitely has the opportunity to win money consistently.

Types of Bets & Wagers

Most people are familiar with the win bet, which is the most simple and commonly placed wager on sporting events. Also known as a straight bet, this is where you pick which team or an individual will win an event. For example, in tennis you could place your money on which player you think would win a specific match. If your player wins, your bet wins. If the other player wins, it loses. What a lot of beginners don’t know, though, is just how many other wagers can be placed, on all kinds of outcomes in all kinds of sports.

For example, in team games (such as football, soccer and basketball) you can bet on things like which team will score first, which player will score first, how many points or goals will be scored in total, and what the winning margin will be. There is really almost an endless list of possible sports wagers, and this makes it much easier to try and find a winning bet.

Understanding Odds

Odds are a very important part of betting, and something that you really need to understand. They are used to determine how much a bet returns if it wins. In very simple terms, high odds mean a high return and low odds mean a low return. That is, in essence, what it is to understand how the odds work.

There is, however, a little more to the subject. For one thing, odds come in different formats such as fractional and decimal. You will want to understand these different formats and what they mean. It will also help if you understand how the bookmakers essentially use odds to make money – and how you can use odds to make money yourself.

Making Money from Sports Betting

There is an old saying that you never see a poor bookmaker. This is because in the long run the bookie will always make money, providing they run their book correctly. The net total of all the money they take in wagers and all the money they pay out should favor them. However, this does not mean that it’s impossible to make a profit from sports betting though.

The reasons bookies make money are essentially that they run balanced books and use odds to their advantage. This does not prevent you from making money too though, as there is no reason why you cannot personally pick more winning bets than you do losing bets. If you have a solid sporting knowledge, an eye for betting value and good discipline then you can beat the bookies.

To help you improve your chances of making money we have compiled a list of our top tips for successful sports betting. None of these are particularly complicated and they are well worth a read – particularly if you are a relatively inexperienced bettor.

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Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver...

-Ayn RandCredit to article from here

Cheers to Success!