Betting on sports can be invigorating, while permitting you to earn or lose a lot of money. However, if you ever enter the betting arena armed with an in-depth comprehension of the correct betting strategy then you can certainly win money no matter what the fate of the match. One important move which should be implemented is concerning how to read sports betting lines as this will help you to obtain the most from a bet and also keep you from losing additional money than you should, once the other team wins.

While betting on sports is not legal practically in most states in the USA, you possibly can still bet when you use the internet. You’ll be able to practically bet on any sports such as football, basketball, baseball and even on car races and horse racing, be it college sports or simply professional sports including those hosted by pros for example the NFL, NBA, and NHL. While sports betting lines differ in accordance with the sports, most have common features that mention names of the teams including the favored and the underdog, the odds, the over, under and on points plus the spread, if any for the outcome of the match. While it seems complicated, an example will help in simplifying the matter easily. For example, a Dallas against Pittsburgh football match could display the following sports betting lines.

Dallas -11.5-130 -180
Pittsburgh +11.5-130 +220
38.5 ov-130
calculating house edge in sports betting

Firstly, the – sign next to Dallas signifies that it is the favored team to win whereas the + sign next to Pittsburgh signifies that they are the underdog. The next figure i.e. 11.5 on both lines signifies that the favored team has got to win and that too at least by the figure or points mentioned on the spread. The next number i.e. 130 that is mentioned on both lines indicates the amount that you will have to bet in an effort to win $100 on that bet.

The last numbers on both the lines indicate the money line. If you want to bet on any team winning the match outright, then you’ll need to bet on the money line. Should you bet on the underdog then the risk is higher and you win extra money at a lower stake whereas if you bet on the favored team you’ll win a lesser prize even as you’ll need to put a higher stake. Hence if you bet on Pittsburg, i.e. the underdogs then your $100 stake will give you an additional $220 if they win the match but when Dallas win and you’ve betted on them then your stake of $180 will earn you an additional $100.

The last line indicates the over-under, i.e. 38.5. Hence, no matter what which team wins, if the game finishes having a score of 12-10 and if you might have bet under, then 12+10=22, hence you win since it is lower then 38.5. The number 130 next to the ov indicates what amount you have got to bet to win $100 on this sort of bet.

You could start by gambling only on outright outcomes of each game or match before venturing on to gambling on spreads and over-under. The aforementioned sample is only an example that can help make your entry into sports betting a lot easier. Once you know on the way to read sports betting lines you’ll be able to fine-tune your strategy to win huge amounts of money.