Round Robins, Teasers, and Parlays…OH MY!! Sports betting is now 100% live and legal in 9 states with plenty more on the way. As a result, books are opening and ready to take your action. Let me guide you through the options, what they mean, and some scenarios of how to stack bets to be the most profitable this season. This is How to Bet on Sports.
Where do I bet?!
Here in PA, you can bet online with a few books like FanDuel and SugarHouse via their SUPER easy to use mobile APP’s. Simply download the app, deposit funds using the method you prefer (most are even accepting PayPal…so simple!), and start wagering. If your state is listed below, you’re good to go!!
Types of Bets
Ok…so you have your deposit in and you are ready to place your first wager. Here is a quick breakdown of each type of play you can make. In these examples we will look at football odds, however most other sports are similar in principal.
Moneyline, Spread, and Total
Moneyline
A moneyline bet is a bet in which you are simply choosing who you believe will WIN the game outright. Usually when placing a moneyline bet, you will see a “+” number, and a “-” number.
Understanding how the moneyline (or ML) is calculated is easier when thinking in values of $100. If you were convinced GB was going to win the game and you bet $100, you would win your $100 PLUS $150 in winnings, for a total of $250…pretty sweet huh?
Conversely, if you think the Bears are going to win the game, you would need to RISK $170 in order to win $100 PLUS your original $170 back for a total of $270.
In both situations, you WON $100 from the sportsbook, but when betting FAVORITES (negative number) you must risk more to win less. Don’t sweat the math though…ALL of the online books do the math for you, and you can choose to enter a RISK amount or a WIN amount.
Spread
A “spread” is an amount of points set by the sportsbook that will be either ADDED or SUBTRACTED from the final score of the team you choose to win. Using the above example again, if you choose the Bears -3, you are betting that the Bears will win the game by 4 or more points. If they win by 3, the bet is a PUSH (AKA Tie) and in most cases you will be refunded your bet.
If you were to choose the Packers +3, this means even if the Packers were to actually lose the game, you can still win your bet as long as they lose by LESS THAN 3 points.
Total (AKA Over/Under)
The total is just what it sounds like; the total number of points scored in the game between the two teams. By choosing OVER 46, you are wagering that the total points scored in the game will be HIGHER than 46.
Parlay
A parlay is a package bet including 2 or more selections. In order to win a parlay, ALL selections must win. Most sportsbooks will not allow parlays of the same game (ie. GB ML and Over), however, they sometimes offer special bets to give you this option. Parlays are more difficult to win than Straight bets because you must win all picks in the parlay for a return. Higher risk, higher reward. To calculate your odds, you can try using a parlay calculator like this one.
Teaser
Teasers make it possible for you to change the spread or over/under on 2 or more games. Let’s use the image below as an example.
In football, when using two picks, you can usually tease the spread or total by 6, 6.5, or 7 points. As you affect the line more, it will cost you more money up front to win your $100.
Notice the choices here. You will see that to change the line 6 points, you will need to RISK $120 to WIN $100 (remember what we learned about moneylines). The moneyline goes higher the more you affect the spread.
Teasers are an effective play when betting on games you believe will be close to the existing spread. Just keep in mind, you need to win ALL of the picks in a teaser for any ROI, similar to a parlay.
Round Robin
Round robin bets are simple to understand now that you are familiar with their components. These bets are a combination of straight bets AND parlays. Before we continue with round robin bets, lets talk about some lingo that is commonly used by sportsbooks on these bets…
- “Straights” or “Singles” = Each Selection in the Round Robin
- “Two’s” or “Doubles” = 2 Team parlays
- “Three’s” or “Triples” = 3 Team parlays
…and so on. The minimum amount of selections for a round robin is 3. Once you make your selections, you will be asked to determine your bets for the straights, two’s and three’s. It breaks down like this;
- Straights – Three straight bets. Teams A, B, and C
- Two’s – Three TWO TEAM PARLAYS. AB, AC, BC
- Three’s – ONE three team parlay. ABC
When structured appropriately, if you win 2 out of 3 bets in a round robin set, you will be profitable!! Always structure your round robin bets with the straights holding the most weight, then the 2’s at about 50% of the straights, and the 3’s around 25%. Winning 2 out of 3 is easier than winning 3, so round robins provide a nice alternative to simply betting parlays.
Don’t Bet with your “Gut”
It almost NEVER works. This is literally Sports Betting 101! Remember, you are risking REAL money on these games. Put some time into looking at recent games, or how well Aaron Rodgers plays against the Bears (Packers record vs. Bears with Aaron Rodgers starting is 16-4). Perhaps it would be nice to know the OVER is 5-1 in the last 6 Packers/Bears games? Always do your homework…and hopefully, you’ll end up cashing more than not.
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1 Comment
I like the idea of choosing a Moneyline bet first so that I only have to worry about who I think will win the game. My friend and I are trying to get into sports betting because we love to watch all the games anyways. It would be great if we could find some professionals to work with so that we can learn from them.