The Ultimate Guide to Sports Betting
Sports betting is a subtle blend of knowledge, foresight and luck, which is why it’s loved by millions of punters across the world. Whether it’s a flutter on your favourite football team or a high stakes accumulator worth thousands, sports betting is undoubtedly the most engaging pursuit in the online gambling world.
However, to really ensure you get the most out of your online sports betting experience, you need to understand the environment you’re stepping into. Any time you’re putting your own cash on the line you need to be prepared, so in the rest of this guide we’ve endeavoured to show you the nuances of the industry.
Sports Betting Breakdown
As you’d expect, sports betting is the practice of placing a wager on a sporting contest between teams or individuals. Whether you fancy taking a punt on a game of football or want to place a bet on your favourite boxer, online bookmakers are set up to give you odds on virtually any outcome you can think of.
To give you a better idea of the wagers that await you inside the top online sportsbooks, here’s a rundown of the basics:
Win Bet: This is the simplest and most common form of sports bet you can place. Available for all fixtures, this option requires you to place money on the team or individual you think will win.
Each way Bet: Mostly found in the horse racing world, each way (e/w) bets allow you to place money on a competitor you believe will either win or finish within the top 3/4 in a race. Two points you need to remember about each way bets is that your stake amount is doubled (e.g. a £1 stake would equate to a £2 e/w bet) and the returns you receive if your pick finishes 2d, 3rd or 4th are usually a fraction of the win odds (i.e. 1⁄2, 1⁄3, 1⁄4 or 1⁄5).
Occurrence Bet: This term is used to describe any bet where you are required to predict the number of instances of a certain event. For example, in a football match, it’s possible to bet on the number of corners in the game. The sports betting provider will either offer specific ranges, or it will set a line and you’ll be asked to stake money on whether it will be more or less than the line.
Forecasts: These bets are ones that require you to state which competitors will come 1st and 2nd in a race. It’s also possible to place reverse forecasts (your two picks can finish either 1st or 2nd) and tricasts that require you to specify the first three finishers and their respective positions.
Accumulator: One of the best ways to spread your chances of success and make a huge return on your investment is accumulator bets. These bets require you to stake an amount of money and speculate on a series of results. The usual wager available with this type of bet is a simple forecast bet on the outcome of the game.
Sports betting is one of the most popular pursuits in the online gambling world because of its variety. Moreover, because it’s possible to place bets from as little as $0.01, it’s possible for everyone, regardless of their experience, to ante-up and make some serious cash.
In fact, once you add a slew of sports betting bonuses, such as free bets and cash back offers, into the mix, it becomes clear why the practice of predicting the outcome of sporting events is loved by millions of punters across the world.