Traditional Sports Betting and Dynamic Sports Betting
Sports betting may be the most popular and oldest forms of gambling in the world, with it dating back to ancient Roman times when contests between gladiators, animal fights and chariot races were bet on. It can be simply defined as placing a wager on the prediction of the outcome of a sporting event in order to win money.
The Internet has considerably changed the landscape of the sports betting world. Just as the online community has evolved, so has sports betting, and how we wager on games. Gone are the days when bettors were limited to straight bets. Traditional betting has expanded to parlays, teasers, round robins, if bets, props and many other options. However, dynamic betting has taken the betting world by storm over the past two years. Let’s take a closer look at both traditional sports betting and dynamic sports betting.
Traditional Sports Betting
The three most popular bets are moneyline bets, spread bets and total bets. When one of these are bet on, it is considered a straight bet. When betting a moneyline, you are betting on one side to win the game outright. These odds are most often seen as a three-digit number with either a + or a – in front of it. The + or – represents who is the favorite (-) and who is the underdog (+).
For example, if the New England Patriots are playing the Detroit Lions. You may see the line:
New England Patriots -180 (favorite)
Detroit Lions +160 (underdog)
In this example, it would take a $180 wager on the Patriots to win $100, while a $100 bet on the Lions would pay you $160 for a Lions win.
The next bet type, and possibly the most common, is a point spread bet. The best way to describe a point spread is as a number that oddsmakers use as a median between two sides to generate betting interest on both sides. Like a moneyline, the team with a – next to the number is the favorite, with the + being the underdog. The favorite is “giving” points, while the favorite is “getting” the points. For example:
New England Patriots -7 (-110) (favorite)
Detroit Lions +7 (-110) (underdog)
In this example, if you wagered on the Patriots -7, they would have to win by more than 7 points in order for you to win the bet, or “cover the spread”, and vice versa for the Lions, where if they lost by 6 points, you would still win your bet.
The other of the popular bets is a total bet, sometimes called over/under betting. With total bets, you wager on whether the total combined points scored will be more or less than the total line posted.
Let’s stick with the Patriots vs. Lions. If the total is listed at 55, you bet whether you think they will score more or less than 55 total combined points. If the final score is 38-14 (52 total points), the under would pay.
A parlay is 2 or more straight bets combined in one bet, while a teaser is a parlay where you “buy” points moving the line one way or another.
Dynamic Betting
As stated earlier, sports betting has continued to evolve over the years, and the newest, and maybe most exciting development has been dynamic or live betting. Dynamic betting is real time betting that gives you the opportunity to bet on the current state of any event.
Not only can you bet in real time, but also the betting options given to you at any one time are mind-blowing. As I write this, a soccer match is being played. The dynamic betting board has over 20 different ways you can bet, including 3-way moneyline, 2-way moneyline, 1st and 2nd half lines, game totals, team totals, odd/even goals scored. You get my point. The possibilities are literally endless.
During the NFL season, I make sure I clear my schedule so I can get comfortable on the couch, set up my workstation in from of me, and get to work crunching the numbers while I watch the games to gain an edge. It is the most fun that can be had for a sports bettor.
As you can see, the evolution of the combination of the Internet and the sports betting industry has taken us to a place I never thought possible. Sign up with Rootsportsbook today and give our live betting interface a try, you will not be sorry!