Online Sports Betting Types
What is a Sports Betting Market?
Sports betting can often entail confusing terms, complicated mathematics and other aspects that can be off-putting for beginners. By the end of this article you will see that sports betting markets are nothing to be afraid of, as well as gain significant knowledge for how to use these markets.
Essentially, a sport betting market is just a technical term for a type of bet that is available for a specific sport. So while the sports bet types can initially seem intimidating, you will be successfully navigating them in no time at all.
There is a whole range of sports betting types out there, but you should feel comfort in the knowledge that there are certain fundamentals that remain consistent across many sports. This already reduces the amount of information that you need to comprehend.
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Common Online Sports Betting Markets
When it comes to sports betting, there are 4 basic markets that are seen with the vast majority of sports. These sports betting markets are simple to understand, and all of them are explained below.
- 1x2
Whenever there is a sport that has 3 potential outcomes, you will see this market. For example, if the New England Patriots were playing the Baltimore Ravens you will see this market. This is one of the most common sports bet types of all, and it is usually associated with team events. If you pick '1' in this example you are betting on the New England Patriots. If you choose 'x' you are betting on a draw. And if you pick '2' you are backing the Baltimore Ravens.
- Spread
This is another extremely popular choice out of all the sports betting types. By placing a 'spread' bet you are betting that a team wins by more than a certain margin. For example, you may bet on a -4.5 spread for the Golden State Warriors to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers at home. This means that Golden State must win by more than 4.5 points for you to win your bet. A spread can also be a positive number, such as +4.5 for the Cavaliers. This means that if Cleveland are within 4.5 points, then your bet will win.
- Over / Under
By placing an over / under bet you are also betting on a specific number of outcomes in a game. Over / under bets expand to a great range of sports and sports betting markets, but we will give a couple of examples. In tennis, you could bet that a game goes beyond 38.5 games played, or you could be that it goes under 38.5 games. In baseball, you could bet on more than 3.5 home runs to be hit in a game, or you could bet on fewer than 3.5 home runs.
- Outright winner
Aside from the 3 bets mentioned above, there will typically always be a chance to bet on the outright winner of an event. This is another hugely common option when it comes to sports betting types. An outright winner bet is always placed before an event starts, since the odds will change once an event actually begins. For example, you could bet on Manchester United to win the Champions League before it beings - this would be an outright bet.
Special Betting Types
In addition to the basic sports bet types, there are several extras that can be placed at online sportsbooks:
- Parlay markets
These can be pre-determined by a bookmaker, or you can create them yourself. A parlay bet (sometimes called an accumulator bet) is placed when you combine several single bets into one. This multiplies the odds together, and gives you a much higher potential return. However, if one of your selected bets loses you will lose the entire bet.
- Double chance markets
This is slightly different to other sports betting types, but it isn't overly complicated. We will use a quick example to explain this type of bet. If Liverpool is playing Newcastle in a soccer match, you could choose to place a double chance bet. There will be a range of markets for this specific type, but you can only choose one. You could place a bet on draw or Newcastle, which means if the game ends in a draw or Newcastle win; you will win your bet.
- Over / under - individual player
Of course this is specific for team events, and it is commonly seen across a wide range of sports. Let's use basketball as an example. You could place a bet on Steph Curry to score more than 40.5 points in a single game. The over / under markets for individual players is relatively large for some of the more prestigious leagues.
There are further sports betting markets available too, but the 3 listed above are incredibly common despite the fact that they aren't ranked as being the most popular bets.
Where to Find Online Sports Betting Markets
All of the sports bet types mentioned throughout this article can be found at any reputable online bookmaker. To access the various sports betting markets, you must simply click on your desired sport. This should pull up the list of available markets.
More specifically, you can click on a particular game within a sport to see the current markets that are available. For instance, if you wanted to bet on a hockey game you would first click on the sport - hockey. Then you would choose a particular game within the hockey category to see the available markets.
Online Sports Betting Markets Hints and Tips
There are a couple of easy shortcuts you can use to access your markets even faster.
- Look for the number next to the event
Most bookmakers show the number of markets available right next to the sporting event. This will save you time and allow you to pick the right events.
- Popular events have more markets
If you ever find yourself frustrated with a lack of available markets, simply choose a more popular event.
- There are more markets for team sports
More things can happen during team sports, which naturally creates more available markets compared to individual events.
