Getting Ready to Rumble… December 26, 2002

With the NFL playoffs only a little more than a week away and the College Bowl season in full swing, this is the time of year when people who normally may not wager might be tempted to lay a few bucks down on the games.  Some people write articles like this usually at the beginning of the seasons, I think these articles are more beneficial coming into this time of year.  Well let’s see if we can’t give you some new wrinkles to play.

1. Against the Spread

In every game, there is a favorite and an underdog. In order to make the game even for betting purposes, oddsmakers come up with a point spread, or line. The spread is a handicap, the amount of points you have to part with if you bet on the favorite and the amount you will receive as an underdog. For example, if the Raiders are favored by 15 over the Chiefs, (Raiders -15 vs. Chiefs), and Oakland wins 31 - 20, then those who bet on Kansas City win, and those who backed Oakland lose. Essentially, the game is looked at as a 35-31 Kansas City win because of the spread. If Oakland had won 31 - 16, the game would be a push, and both parties would get their money back.

Every game that has a point spread is considered an even proposition, a 50/50 bet. In fact, that is the purpose of the spread, to make the teams even, so that there is no obvious advantage to picking one side or the other. In order to make money on wagers against the spread, sports books charge a commission, or what is often called the juice, typically 10%, that you pay on losing bets, i.e., you have to risk $110 to win $100. In order to overcome the juice, you have to win roughly 52.5% of the time. To illustrate this, imagine if you made 100 $1 bets and won 53 of them. You would win $53 and lose $47. So you're up $6. But on top of the $47, you lose another $4.70 (the 10% juice) and net $1.30.  SportingBetUSA currently has a pretty good deal where they only charging 5% juice on any NFL or NCAA bets made on Fridays, which swings the percentage of wins to loses more in your favor.

2. Over/Under

Also called the total, this is a bet on the sum of points scored by both teams in a given game. For example, the over/under line for the Raiders-Chiefs’ game might be 40. If the Raiders win 30 - 13, the total is 43, and the over wins. If the Chiefs, win 20 -13, the total is 33 and the under wins. It doesn't matter which team scores what, (unless you bet that specifically).  The over/under is also a 50/50 bet, and as such, there is typically a 10% juice attached, unless of course you take advantage of SportingBetUSA  5% juice Fridays just as with games against the spread.

3. Money Line

The money line is an odds bet. Instead of parting with points or receiving points to make the game even, you part with or receive extra money. For example, if the oddsmakers believe that it's twice as likely that Miami will beat New England than the other way around, then the odds will look something like this: Miami (-220) vs. New England (+180). Miami -220 means that if you want to bet on Miami, you have to risk $220 in order to win $100. New England +180 means that if you bet on New England, you risk $100 to win $180.  The reason why you lose $220 if you bet Miami and win just $180 if you bet New England, is that this disparity takes the place of the juice, i.e., the juice is built into the odds here.

Now we come into the tricky stuff.  This is where some bettors get scared off.  The payouts increase on these bets because there is more risk involved in picking multiple scenarios.

4. Parlays

Parlays are essentially the combining of two or more teams against the spread bets for a better payout. For example, if you feel strongly about Tennessee -15 against Dallas and Philadelphia -10 against Arizona, then you may want to parlay the two games. In that case, if you lose either you lose your entire bet. If both win, SportingBetUSA  pays 13-5. Keep in mind that different sports books may have different odds.  In other words, if you parlay $50 on those two games, you'll win $130 if and both teams cover.  Aside from the two team parlay you can parlay up to 10 teams.  Odds and payouts for these can be found at LasVegasSportsLine.

 

5. Teases

There are two basic kinds of teases: a two and a three team tease. With the two team variety, you can take six points and do what you want with it on two different games. For example, if you like Tennessee-15 against Dallas and Philadelphia -10 against Arizona, then you can tease both spreads down by six points, to Tennessee-9 and Philly -4. Assuming you bet $50, if the Titans win 30-20 and the Eagles win 16-10, you will win $50. If either team fails to cover the teased spread, you lose $50. Note, if you tie on either leg of the tease, you lose the entire bet.  Sports books usually don’t take juice here because of the increased odds to win both games.

You can also tease over/under bets. For example, you may tease the Titans down to Titans-9, and if the over/under is 40, you may tease that down to 34 and bet the over. So you have the Titans-9 and over 34. In order for you to win, the Titans must win by 10 (ties lose) and the teams have to score 35 points or more combined. A 33 - 10 Titans win puts you in the money.  Of course, you can take the Cowboys +21 and over 46 if you like as well. You can do whatever you want with six points per game, but you must win both.

Three team teases are the same thing but you get 10 points to play with, but you must win all three games. Again the payouts and odds for these can be found at LasVegasSportsLine.

Teasers and Parlays can be a lot of fun during the NFL playoffs when there are only a few games.  They are generally tougher to pick, but they do have a greater payout.

Good Luck in the New Year.