Basics of Sports Betting

Sports Betting Basics Teaser

Control your Bankroll

Just like in Daily Fantasy Sports, proper bankroll management is key to being successful in sports betting. In DFS, you are told to not use more than 10% of your bankroll on any day. In sports betting, you should be using 3% of your bankroll on each bet you make. At the end of the day, I usually do 3 or so plays most days so I come out to the 10% rule anyway.

With the way that most odds are set up to give you a 50/50 chance of winning (not using our picks and models, which give you an edge), expanding and playing smaller amounts of money but more bets allow for us to have far less big swings. If we bet 3 bets a day, there is only a 12.5% chance, on any given day, we will lose all 3 bets. If you bet 2 bets a day, there is a 25% chance you will lose both bets. If you play more bets at lower amounts, you will stay in the game longer and hopefully profit in the long run using the strategies we have at DFS Army.

KEY POINT: Brandon, Anthony, and I recommend that you use 3-5% of your bankroll and sticking with that number. Let’s say you deposit $1000. Lock in that you will play $30 units for 3 months. After 3 months, you can look at what your new bankroll is and adjust up and down accordingly. It is important that your 3% does not change daily as that can cause wild swings.

Types of Bets: Basics

Before we get into the system and how I would combine my bets to make a ladder, let’s go over briefly the types of sports bets that are out there:

Straight bets: Bets that are designed to have a 50% chance of you winning or losing. You will see odds between -105 and -115 for these. They can be comprised of the following
1. Spreads (in basketball in football)
  1. A spread is a type of bet where a team is either given or giving a certain amount of points. If let’s say the New England Patriots are favored to win a game by 3, their Vegas Spread would be New England -3. If they are playing the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Steelers would be underdogs by 3 points and therefore would be shown as Pittsburgh +3.
1. Over/Under
  1. An Over/Under is a bet on the total number of points that are scored within a game, half, or quarter. This does not care who wins the game, just how many points or runs are put up. For instance, if I think the Patriots and Steelers will combine for less than 45 points, I would take the under at 45 points.
Money Line: Bets, mainly done on underdogs and slight favorites, where you bet on the team to win regardless of the spread in the game.
1. For instance, let’s say that New England is favored to beat Pittsburgh by 3, but I think it will be closer than that. I could take New England at the Money Line to bet them to win and not worry by how much.
Parlays: A combination of bets that only payout if all of the bets within the parlay win. Parlays pay out better odds than normal bets because they are conditional on the other bets winning.
1. Let’s say I think the only way the Patriots beat the Steelers is that they shut them out. I could combine my Money Line wager I talked above (or the spread bet) and combine it in a parlay with the Under 45 bet also seen above. If you put 10 dollars on this, you would be paid out 26 (36 total) if you won vs getting 18 (28 total) if you bet the two separately.

Conclusion:

Thank you for reading the first post of the DFS Army Sports Book team on the basics of sports betting. Remember, being good at sports betting starts with good discipline in your bankroll. Sticking to the 3% rule will be crucial as you grow into becoming an avid sports bettor. Learn the proper bets and stick with it to create a balance between cash games (straight bets) and GPPs (money lines and parlays).