Sports betting can be a fun way to spice up your favorite sports viewing experience. However, before you start, you should learn about the different types of wagers you can make. The most common are money lines, spreads, and parlays.
A money line is a bet in which the bettor predicts whether the game will end with a winner or a loser. If the outcome is the win, the bettor receives the value of the bet from the bookmaker. But if the outcome is a loss, the bettor loses.
Point spreads are a type of bet that are based on the difference in expected scores between two teams. They are assigned by the oddsmakers and reflect the likely score of each team.
Over/Under totals are another popular form of betting. An over or under is based on the predicted total amount of points, runs, or goals a team will score. For example, a 50 point total requires 51 points to win.
If the game is a close one, there is a chance that the total may fall short of the number of points set by the bookmaker. This can result in a push, a tie, or a push with a zero-point margin of victory.
Prop bets are a form of wager that allow gamblers to bet on specific players, outcomes, or even the first team to score. The difference between these types of bets and the standard money or point spreads is that the value of the wager varies by the number of bets made.