Part 2 of Series on European Style of Sports Betting
With spread betting, you can make better use of your sports betting knowledge than with fixed betting odds. With fixed odds betting you have a simple ‘win or lose’ scenario and you know exactly how much you will win or lose as soon as you strike a bet. With spread betting, how much you win or lose is determined by how accurate you are. There are a lot more than just two scenarios with spread betting and the more right you are, the more you win. The more a result goes against you, the more you can lose. The posted odds are a prediction and is always in the form of two prices, a Buy price and a Sell price.
You buy the favorite at the high price and sell the underdog at the low price. The range between the two prices is known as the spread.
A standard bet market is called a Supremacy Index. This basic wager is a prediction of two teams playing each other and the totals. It is very similar to a fixed odds prediction when a sportsbook or online operator posts a game point spread and the over/under total. Real spread betting is a mix of favorites, underdogs, totals and other Index Markets to decipher.
- Fixed odds —- Seattle @ Kansas City with KC at -3 and 42 total points
- Spread bet —- Seattle @ Kansas City with KC at -4(buy) and Seattle at +2(sell)
- the Totals number is 41(sell to go under) to 44(buy to go over)
If you like Seattle as the dog, you would sell at +2 points. To bet KC, you would have to lay the -4 points (buy). The payout or loss is not just about covering the spread for even money laying the -110, but your win or loss is determined by the final score point differential. If Seattle wins by say 4 points (24 to 20), you add your +2 to the 4 point difference to receive 6 times your bet amount. If KC wins by 4 points you push on KC and lose 2 times your bet amount on Seattle. If KC wins by 14 points, you deduct the spread of – 4 from 14 point margin to receive 10 times your money bet. If you bet Seattle on the same 14 point victory by KC you would lose 12 times your money bet (get +2 off of 14).
A $50 bet that wins 10 times your wager is a $500 profit(minus $50 bet). A $50 bet that loses 12 times your wager is a $600 loss. Your account has to have a balance to cover up to 20 times a possible loss.
Your total bet is determined by the final score minus the spread bet of buy or sell. The total spread number of 41 to 44 is the standard 3 point spread for all totals. If you sell (go under) the 41 points, you win by how many points the game could go under 41 points. A final score of 20 to 10 equals 30 points total and 11 points below your 41 point bet. You win 11 times your money bet —- a $50 bet returns $550. If you want to go over (buy) you would lay the 44 points. If the final score is 27 to 24 you win 7 times your money bet —-51 total points minus 44 equals 7. Your $50 bet would win $350.
Your handicapping knowledge of the totals can return big profits when you realize the upside of two teams scoring has more potential than the downside or selling the under.
Even buying a 47(sell) to 50(buy) spread point total where you lay the 50 points, the upside of 50 plus points is more lucrative than the under 47 points depending on the matchups. When two potent offenses face each other, a final score of 35 to 31 gives you 15 times your bet win (66 minus 50 = 15). They could play a 24 to 21 final and you lose 5 times your bet(50 minus 45) but the small risk is worth the reward of winning 15 times your bet or higher —– the upside potential can reach bigger profits than the downside which has a limited range.
Watch for the third part series article on European Spread Betting with the most interesting Fight Index match between Floyd Mayweather and Coner McGregor.
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