Many people are fascinated by the fact that some individuals earn a living betting on sports. While this is not a typical career choice for most people, it does exist, with some professional sports bettors earning millions of dollars per year and establishing large hedge funds. While no one can guarantee success in the world of sports betting, you can improve your odds by doing thorough research and following proven strategies.
Traditionally, the most common form of sports wagering is on a straight bet, which is placing money on a single outcome of a contest. For example, if you believe the Toronto Raptors will win an NBA game against the Boston Celtics, a bet on the Raptors will yield a winning payoff. Alternatively, bettors can place bets on a spread. A spread bet involves “giving away” or taking a certain number of points, goals, runs and so on that reflects the expected margin of victory.
Another type of wager is a prop bet. These bets relate to a specific aspect of a sporting event and are usually offered by online sportsbooks. For example, a bet on the total number of touchdown passes in a football game is known as an over/under bet. The totals are predicted by the sportsbook and bettors place their bets on whether the game will have an over or under number of touchdowns.
Pro sports bettors keep near-obsessive records of their bets, which help them identify the best bets. They also study their results to see which teams and players are hot or cold. This is an important factor in assessing their edges, as winning streaks and losing streaks will skew any profit-generating edge.