When I first started with sports betting, I honestly had no clue about the terms. I thought it was just about picking who wins, and that’s it.
Then I saw people talking about spreads, juice, parlays, and I was like, “what?”
For example:
Moneyline .. this one I understood easily, just betting who wins.
Point Spread .. this confused me at first. I lost a few bets because my team won the game, but didn’t “cover the spread.” That’s when I realized it’s not just about winning, but by how much.
Over/Under .. also called totals, where you bet on the combined score. Took me a while before I got comfortable with this.
Parlay ... I tried this early on thinking it was an easy jackpot, but the risk is crazy. All your bets have to hit, or you get nothing.
Juice/Vig ... didn’t even know this existed when I started. Basically, the house edge that makes sure the book earns no matter what.
Now it makes more sense, but I wish I knew these sooner.
How about you guys? What betting terms confused you at the start? Any tips for newbies on which ones they should master first before placing serious bets?
Then I saw people talking about spreads, juice, parlays, and I was like, “what?”
For example:
Moneyline .. this one I understood easily, just betting who wins.
Point Spread .. this confused me at first. I lost a few bets because my team won the game, but didn’t “cover the spread.” That’s when I realized it’s not just about winning, but by how much.
Over/Under .. also called totals, where you bet on the combined score. Took me a while before I got comfortable with this.
Parlay ... I tried this early on thinking it was an easy jackpot, but the risk is crazy. All your bets have to hit, or you get nothing.
Juice/Vig ... didn’t even know this existed when I started. Basically, the house edge that makes sure the book earns no matter what.
Now it makes more sense, but I wish I knew these sooner.
How about you guys? What betting terms confused you at the start? Any tips for newbies on which ones they should master first before placing serious bets?
So what does this knowledge gives you? Have you started guessing the exact score, handicaps and totals?
It's clear that more markets mean more choice, and different people prefer different markets. But you're so regretful about not knowing this earlier, as if this new knowledge has somehow changed your betting experience. I'd be interested to know what it is.
The only thing I want to draw your attention to is that traditional markets have a lower bookmaker margin, the more exotic the market, the higher the bookmaker's margin.