Gambling 101

Straight Wagers

A straight bet is a wager on one team to win, or, a wager on a total to go over or under, whose outcome for wagering purposes is determined by a point spread and/or money line odds.

Straight bets are used in all sports.

There are two types of straight bets. Money Lines, and Point Spread.

Money Lines are fairly simple to understand. The team you wager on simply must win the game for the bet to be a winner. Lets start with an example.

	Denver Broncos -140
	Chicago Bears +120

The favorite in the above example is the Denver Broncos. The Money Line is -140. This means that in order to wager on this game the player must lay $140.00 for every $100.00 he/she wishes to win, or $70.00 to win $50.00 etc. Sounds expensive right? Well, here's the thing, there is no point spread. That means that the Denver Broncos just have to beat the Chicago Bears and that wager is a winner.

The underdog in the above example is the Chicago Bears. The Money Line is +120. This means that in order to wager on this game the player will lay $100.00 to win $120.00, or $50.00 to win $60.00 etc. Good deal huh? Not necessarily. You are getting more money than you put up because the Bears aren't favored to win the game outright. However if they do we will pay you $120.00 for ever $100.00 wagered. So, just like the favorites, the underdog simply must win the game outright in order for a the wager to be a winner.

Basketball is the same as Football where Money Lines are Concerned. Here is an example.

	Los Angeles Lakers -160
	Sacramento Kings +140

The player must lay $160.00 for every $100.00 the player wishes to win, or $80.00 for every $50 etc. The Lakers simply must win the game for the wager to be a winner.

The player will get paid $140.00 for every $100.00 wagered, or $70.00 for every $50.00 etc. The Kings simply must win the game for the wager to be a winner.

Other sports that use Money Lines are Boxing, Tennis, Golf, Nascar, Formula 1, Baseball, and many more.

Point spreads are fairly simple to understand also. However, unlike the Money Line where the team simply has to win the event, with the Point Spread the team must "Cover the Spread" in order for the wager to be a winner. Also unlike Money Lines, all straight bets are at odds of 10/11 unless otherwise noted. That means that for every $100.00 you wish to win you must put up $110.00, or $55.00 to win $50.00. Before we can get into what "Cover the Spread" means we must first explain what the "Spread" is.

The Point Spread is the amount of points or goals that the favorite team gives the underdog for betting purposes.

Here is an example.

	The Denver Broncos -2 1/2
	The Chicago Bears +2 1/2

The Favorite in the above example is the Denver Broncos. They are giving up 2 1/2 points to the other team. This means that if you bet on the Broncos you must take 2 1/2 points away from their total score after the game is complete. If the score of the Denver Broncos is still higher than the score of the Chicago Bears then the wager is a winner (this is also called "Covering the Spread). If the total score of the Denver Broncos is lower than the Chicago Bears final score then the wager is a loser. Remember, all wagers (unless otherwise noted) are at 10/11 odds.

The Underdog in the above example is the Chicago Bears. They are getting 2 1/2 points added to their final score. This means that if you bet on the Chicago Bears you get to add 2 1/2 points to their total score after the game is completed. If the score of the Chicago Bears is higher than the Broncos then the wager is a winner (this is also called "Covering the Spread). If after you add the 2 1/2 points to their final score and their score is still lower than the Broncos then the wager is a loser. Remember, all wagers (unless otherwise noted) are at 10/11 odds.

Like with Money Lines, Basketball is the same as Football when it comes to Point Spreads.

Here is an example.

	Los Angeles Lakers -6
	Sacramento Kings +6

The player must take 6 points away from the final total score of the Lakers. If the new final score is more than the total score of the Kings, then the wager is a winner (this is also called "Covering the Spread). If the new final score is less than the Kings final score then the wager is a loser. Remember, all wagers (unless otherwise noted) are at 10/11 odds.

The player gets to add 6 points to the final score of the Kings. If the new final score is more than the final score of the Lakers then the wager is a winner (this is also called "Covering the Spread). If the new final score is less than the final score of the Lakers then the wager is a loser. Remember, all wagers (unless otherwise noted) are at 10/11 odds.

In case of a push (where the teams tie after adding or subtracting the spread) all monies wagered go back into the players account. When there is neither a win, or a loss it is called a Push.

Most sporting events have a wager option where you can bet on the total points or goals to go over or under the given spread in a game. Here is an example.

The spread on the Denver Broncos / Chicago Bears game is 35. That means you can either bet that the total points scored by both teams combined will go over or under 35. Remember, all wagers (unless otherwise noted) are at 10/11 odds.

In case there is a push (where the total points scored by both teams combined equal the Total Points Spread) all monies wagered will go back into the player's account. When there is neither a win, or a loss it is called a Push. Notice that both Baseball and Hockey are not listed in this section. That is because they have a different type of spread.

Click here to view Baseball Rules

Click here for HockeyRules.


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