Information

A Sportsbook is the organization that is taking sport bets.

No, sports betting is only allowed in states which has legalized it. Also, even in states where sports betting is legal, some sportsbooks may not be allowed to take bets in that state.  

Sportsbooks set their pricing with an edge to the house. This edge is called the margin. If an event has a 50% chance of occuring, then you will likely see the line set at -110 (meaning that you have to bet 110 to win 100). In this example the margin sportsbook is expected to make money on the event and as people make the opposite bet that allows them to arbitrage the bets.

A push is a tie bet. This could happen in several ways, like a tie game when you selected a moneyline bet, or a spread bet that hits the exact spread. When a push happens you will not win, but you will receive your initial bet back.

A Moneyline Bet is a bet that a certain team will win. Sportsbooks usually offer these bets on each team. If a team is likely to win they will have a payout that will require a larger wager than the payout, if they are not likely to win then the payout will be larger than the wager. A tie will result in the wager being pushed unless you are betting on a 3-way event, like soccer. 

A Spead Bet is a bet that a team will finish within a certain number of points of the other team's score. A negative spread, like -5.5, means that the team will need to win by at least that many points, in the example winning by 6 or more points. A positive spread means that the team can lose by no more than that many points. Frequently spreads have half a point on the end to prevent ties, but spreads on an whole number will result in a pushed bet if that exact difference in score occurs.

Sportsbooks frequently offer the ability to bet on the total points scored in a game. You will be allowed to bet Over or Under a certain total. These bets are usually offered with a half a point added in to ensure there are no ties. If you have an over under that is a whole number and that exact amount is scored, then the bet will push.

Arbitrage, in sports betting, is a term used to indicate there is an opportunity to make a positive return by betting on both sides of a certain sporting event. Click on the "Arb" tab to learn more.

Expected Value is a mathematical term. It represents the value that is expected to result from a sporting event based on a particular probability model. Click on the "PEV" tab to learn more.

We use a method to estimate the probabilities used by many sportsbooks and other experts, which we then average. This method does not generally result in large expected returns, but it does help identify good opportunities with a high degree of confidence.

A Parlay is multiple strings of bets together that all must occur for the bet to be paid. While you can get a much larger payout if you happen to get all of the bets correct, it is less likely that you will win. Parlay bets also have larger margin built into them than single bets.

Sportsbooks love parlays since they have additional margin built into them. In general parlays are across multiple events where each event is independent. As such many now offer Same Game Parlays where you can bet on multiple situations inside of the same event. These events may not be independent, and sportsbooks generally add additional margin because of this uncertainty.