Sports betting is the ultimate money game for the sports fan. Through any of a number of online sportsbooks you can bet on the outcome of baseball, basketball, football, hockey and soccer games, car races, boxing matches and other popular sporting events. If you know your favorite sport inside and out, you can overcome "the juice", beat the oddsmakers and fatten your wallet. Also, placing a sports bet makes the outcome of the game more meaningful and the game itself more enjoyable and thrilling.

The sportsbook and the oddsmaker

To place a sports bet, simply go to a sportsbook -- a place that accepts sports bets. VIP Sports and Inter Wetten are examples of online sportsbooks. Many sportsbooks also accept bets by telephone. You may sometimes hear sportsbooks referred to as bookmakers or bookies. These terms are generally reserved for disreputable or illegal operations -- the leg-breaker variety.

Note that a sportsbook is not the same as an oddsmaker. The sportsbook simply accepts sports bets. An oddsmaker is a person who sets the betting odds. Most major sportsbooks use odds set by Las Vegas oddsmakers. These oddsmakers typically work for major hotel sportsbooks.

Most online sportsbooks are located in the Caribbean and Europe.

Types of bets

You can place a number of different bets including straight bets, parlays, teasers and over/unders. Read on for details.

Straight bets and the point spread

Straight bets are the most common sports bets. When you place a straight bet, you simply pick the team that will win or lose the game. But of course you'll also need to consider the point spread or moneyline.

The oddsmaker sets a point spread for football, basketball and hockey games. The point spread is the number of points that the favored team is expected to win by. For example, say the New York Knicks are favored to beat the LA Clippers by a point spread of 7. That means that if you pick the Knicks to win, they have to win by more than 7 points for you to win your bet. If they win by fewer than 7 points or lose the game, you lose your bet. If they win by exactly 7 points (the point spread), the result is a push or tie. That means that you don't win or lose, your original bet is refunded.

The favorite is always indicated by a minus sign and the underdog by a plus sign. For betting purposes, the result of the game is determined by taking the actual score and subtracting points from the favorite's score or adding points to the underdog's score. In our example, we could say that the Knicks are -7 or that the Clippers are +7. In other words, we subtract 7 points from the Knicks final score or add 7 to the Clippers score to determine the winner.

If the teams are evenly matched and there is no spread, the sportsbook will display PK or PICK, which means the spread is zero.

Sometimes the points spread is not an even number but a half point. For example, 5 ½. By setting the spread at a half point the oddsmakers ensure there will not be a push because a team can't actually win a game by 5 ½ points.

So, a favorite can win the game but lose it for betting purposes and an underdog can lose the game but win it for betting purposes. If you wager on an underdog your selection can lose the game and you still can win if they do not lose by more than the point spread.

Straight bets pay $10 for every $11 wagered.

All selections must be played on scheduled date or there is no action on these selections. Make up games or games that have been rescheduled will have no action.

The moneyline

Baseball games and some other sports events are handled a little differently than football, basketball and hockey. Oddsmakers don't set a point spread for baseball games, instead they set a moneyline. The moneyline gives the odds that one team will beat another.

There is a different moneyline total for either side on a money line bet, a negative side (the favorite) and a positive side (the underdog): Seattle -170 LA +150 What this means is that Dallas is the favorite and for every $17 you bet on Dallas, you win $10 if they win. For every $10 you bet on Washington, the underdog, you win $15 if they win. By offering different odds for each team the sportsbook is able to balance action on both teams.

For example, the Atlanta Braves may be favored over the Chicago Cubs by 150. In this example, the customer must lay $150 in order to win $100 if Atlanta wins the game, no pointspreads are involved. If Atlanta loses, the customer loses $150. However, the customer could bet on Chicago, in which case the customer would lay $100 in order to win $150 if Chicago wins the game. If Chicago loses, the customer only loses $100, because Chicago is the underdog.

Total or over/under bets

A total wager is a bet on the number of points scored in the game by both teams combined. You can bet on whether the actual number of total points scored is over or under the line posted. The total points scored includes points scored in overtime.

You can also bet whether the combined number of points or goals scored by the two teams in the game will be over or under the total set by the oddsmaker. For example, if the total is 32 and you believe that the combined points scored by the two teams will exceed that number, you would bet over 32.

This is really another form of straight bet and the payoff is also $10 for every $11 bet. Again, if the total is exactly on the line, it is a push or tie and your original bet is refunded.

Parlays

A parlay is a combined bet on two, three, four or more games. You have to win all of your picks to win your parlay. If one of your picks loses then your whole wager is lost.

If a game is a tie, postponed, incomplete, cancelled, or rescheduled for another date, your parlay is reduced to the next lowest level. That means that a three team parlay with a tie becomes a two team parlay, or a two team parlay with a tie becomes a straight bet that is calculated at $10 to win $9.

At many sportsbooks, ties are often considered losing bets, not pushes.

The suface appeal of parlay bets is obvious -- a ten team parlay pays off at 400 to 1. Typical payoffs for winning parlays are shown below:

Professional sports bettors never bet parlays -- there's too much juice in it for the sportsbook.

Teasers

A teaser is like a parlay, but you can add or subtract points from the spread to make your bets stronger. This is called moving the line. When betting a teaser additional points are either added to the underdog or subtracted from the favorite. The odds change according to the number of points the spread is moved and the number of teams combined to form the teaser.

For example New York might be favored by 9 points in one game and Chicago might be favored by 12 points in a second game. A 6 point teaser would adjust the Chicago pointspread 6 points in the customers favor; i.e. Chicago would now be favored by 6 points (12-6=6). The customer might make a bet on a 6 point teaser with Chicago and New York. In this example the customer is betting that Chicago will win by 6 points and New York will win by 3 points (9-6=3). As in the parlay, all teams must win.

At many sportsbooks, ties are often considered losing bets, not pushes.

Teaser bets may sound good but the payout odds are even worse than parlays. Like parlays, teaser bets are to be avoided.

Future bets

At the start of a season, the sportsbook will give odds for each team winning the championship (World Series, Stanley Cup, etc.). For example, you might bet at the start of the season that the Detroit Red Wings will win the Stanley Cup. Although futures bets have considerable juice, occasionally a savvy sports bettor manages to win big with a longshot that turns into a Cinderella story.

The odds change as the season goes on but you get the odds that were in effect at the time you placed your bet.

Exotic bets

To keep life interesting, sportsbooks often post odds and accept wagers on a variety of other sports-related activities. For example, you may be able to place a bet on who will win the home run derby or how much money a movie will make in its box office debut. The oddsmaker sets the conditions and odds for these bets.

Many exotic bets are offered at 11 to 10 odds, but some will be offered at better or worse odds, depending on the bet.

Payoffs and odds

For football, basketball, and hockey the payoff is $100 for every $110 wagered, unless otherwise noted. Therefore, $110 will be wagered if you specify a $100 straight bet.

At odds of 10/11 only 52.4 percent of your bets have to win for you to overcome the bookmaker's profit and break even, so you only need a very small edge to become a winner. Do your homework, bet selectively and 55 percent winning bets is definitely achievable and 60-65 percent is a realistic target. At those levels you will have an extremely profitable, as well as enjoyable, hobby.

Parlay bets are another story. The actual odds of picking two winners is 3 to 1. But a typical payout is 2.6 to 1. This gives the sportsbook a 10% advantage. Too much! Worse still, the odds usually get even worse the more games you add to your parlay. In a nutshell, parlay bets are best avoided.

If-win bets An If Win wager is an excellent choice for money management. You wager a fixed amount on one team if that team wins or the game is tied, then another fixed amount -up to the original amount- shall be placed on a different team. Your first wager must win in order for you to have action on the remaining wagers. If the first wager loses, there is No Action thereafter. You cannot have duplicate teams in the same If Win wager. Reverse bets Reverse wagers revert to individual If Bets. You can include up to 8 teams in a Reverse. The payoffs vary depending on the number of teams wagered on. A 2 Team Reverse pays 4/1, a 3 Team Reverse pays 12/1 (if the wager is $100). Standard reverse bets are Double Action; therefore in the event of a tie the bet is still active.

Glossary of sportsbetting terms

Circled Game:A game where the maximum bet is restricted, often due to injuries.

Futures:Bets placed on the outcome of a future event, for example betting during the NHL season on the Stanley Cup champion.

Lines:Another word for odds.

Money Line:The amount you must bet to win $100, or the amount you win if you bet $100.

Over/Under:A bet on whether the total points/goals scored by the two teams will exceed or be less than a specified number.

Parlay:A bet on 2 or more games. All selections must be correct for the parlay to win.

Pick:A game where no team or betting option is favored, the teams are evenly matched.

Pointspread:The handicap that the favorite gives to the underdog to make the bet fair.

Push:A game that is tied when the point spread is factored in.

Single:A bet on a single game or event.

Spread:Another way to say pointspread.

Teaser:A bet on 2 or more teams where the bettor can add or subtract points from the spread to make their bets stronger. All selections must be correct for the teaser to win.

Total:The combined number of points or goals scored by the two teams.