It is important to understand the different odds and types of bets you'll see when involved in sports betting. If you're an experienced gambler you probably already know what -110 means as well as the difference between a moneyline bet and a spread bet. If you are brand new to this world we will provide a brief explanation. Odds are set by sportsbooks based on the probability of specific events happening using algorithms based on mountains of data and risk analysis. If a specific outcome is determined to have a high probability of winning, it is considered to be low risk and would pay out less compared to an outcome seen as having a lower probability and higher risk. Our job as sports gamblers is to find the odds set by sportsbooks that have a higher probability of winning than their set numbers imply. More on that later. If TEAM A is determined to have a higher percentage of winning against TEAM B they are considered the favorite. TEAM B in this instance would be the underdog. This is usually depicted in sports gambling by a + (plus) sign for the underdog and -(minus) for the favorite. Odds on a basic moneyline bet looks like this: TEAM A -130 TEAM B +110. You are spending $1.30 to win $1.00 on the favorite, while a higher payout of $1.10 on that same $1.00 for the underdog. If one team is decided to have a large advantage over another, the sportsbooks offer spread bets to entice bets on both sides. Sportsbooks will calculate a handicap or point spread that the favorite will have to win by in order to cash a bet. At the same time the underdog will be able to lose the game by this set number and still cash the bet. A point spread bet may look like this TEAM A -3 (-110) TEAM B +3(-110). TEAM A would have to win the game by 4 points or more for the bet to cash, TEAM B could lose by less than 3 points and the bet still wins. If TEAM A wins the game by exactly 3 points this is considered a "push" and the bet is voided for all intents and purposes and the money is returned. Another common type of bet is the over/under. Sportsbooks set a total number of points that both teams will score in a given game. We as bettors will decide if the final score will be over or under the projected number set by the oddsmakers. Odds on an over/under bet may look like this : TOTAL O45.5 (-110) U45.5(-110) The final score of both teams combined would have to be over 45.5 to win the over bet. If the final the final combined score is less than 45.5 the under bet wins.

Have you ever found yourself "sweating" a bet? Are you emotional after losses where sports gambling is affecting your mood? The chances are you are wagering too much. Deciding how much to wager on a specific bet is one of the most important things we do as gamblers. MassMoneyline.com gives you an easy system to follow that will help you sustain your bankroll and not go broke during that inevitable losing period. A "unit" is the amount of money you wager on a consistent basis. Your "bankroll" is the total amount of money you have set aside for sports gambling. Under our system, a unit is always 1% of your entire bankroll. The unit size will be different for everyone. If you have a $1,000 bankroll and follow our system of one percent, your betting unit will be $10.00. This may not sound exciting and that is exactly the point. Our system will minimize the risk of losing your entire bankroll on a specific bet (or day of betting) and is also designed to take the emotional aspect out of what we do. If you lose a 1 unit bet on a $1,000 bankroll, you still have $990 to bet with. You are not sweating at the end of a game, you're not in a bad mood wondering what to do next. It's simply just another bet, nothing more. Your bankroll survives to play another day. This prevents becoming over emotional which can lead to making irrational bets and chasing losses. The most common mistake besides over betting is chasing losses. These two mistakes will compound to become the fastest way to go broke while sports gambling. We simply cannot tolerate it. Correctly sizing your wagers, remaining emotionless, never chasing lost money, and having a long term mindset is very important. This is not a get rich quick scheme. We will be reassessing our unit size every month. Some months our bankroll has increased, and this will increase our unit size for the upcoming month in hopes of maximizing our return on investment. If we are in a losing period our unit size will adjust accordingly to minimize risk until we get back on that winning streak. If you want to go above and beyond that and reassess your unit size every week, or even for every day, we fully encourage you to do so. We consider once a month to be the minimum standard. Over the long term this money management system, combined with placing wagers on positive expected value bets, gives us our best chance at winning in sports gambling.

Now that we understand how much to wager on any given bet, it's time to go shopping. We want to spread our bankroll out across as many sportsbooks as we can, legally under our local jurisdictions. Once we do that we can shop for the best available lines for today's bets. If you are utilizing only one sportsbook and todays bet is sold at -135 when another sportsbook is selling the same bet for -125 you are losing money long term. When you receive an alert that new bets are updated for you in the members area, you will find the best line for that particular bet available to you and place your wager there. This will also make available any promotional offers the sportsbook is currently running. Remember, these different sportsbooks are competing with each other for your business. Keep an eye out for any sign up promos, deposit match, profit boost etc and use them to your advantage while shopping your lines. Just remember that most of these have an expiration date. You may want to wait until you've taken full advantage of a given sign up bonus before starting a new one. Now we have a basic understanding of common types of bets, we know what our unit size will be, we have access to multiple sportsbooks to find the best value in lines while taking advantage of available promotions. We are well on our way!

Again, this is a long term game not a get rich quick scheme. You have to develop the discipline to stay with the system outlined here while keeping emotions under control. We are not betting on our favorite team. We are not betting on a game just because it's on TV. We are not even betting on who we think will win. We may not bet on the Super Bowl. We are only betting the plays the market is giving us the best value on. Period. We don't chase losses. If we have a losing day it means nothing. We will play again tomorrow. If we have a losing week we adjust our unit size and play again next week. Trying to double down and get back a loss will mean ruin in the long term. It's important to be emotionless after a loss and remain the same after a win, remembering it's only a one percent margin. We are running a marathon not a sprint.

Understanding the betting odds and the mathematics behind them is very important. These odds not only determine the cash payout for a correct bet, but also represent an "implied probability" or "break even percentage". Learning the formula and converting odds to the implied probability will greatly increase your handicapping abilities and automatically put you ahead of most recreational sports bettors. Example : TEAM A (-130) vs TEAM B (+110) To find the implied probability for TEAM A -130 we use the formula odds/(odds+100) So we have 130/(130+100) 130/230 = 0.565 Move the decimal point to get 56.5% This is basically indicating that your sportsbooks oddsmakers and risk analyzers believe that TEAM A wins this particular matchup 56.5% of the time (implied probability). To find the implied probability of TEAM B +110 we use the formula 100/(odds+100) So we have 100/(110+100) 100/210 = 0.476 Move the decimal to get 47.6% This is basically indicating that your sportsbooks oddsmakers and risk analyzers believe that TEAM B wins this particular matchup 47.6% of the time (implied probability). Here's a quick list of conversions that are helpful to remember: -120 = 54.55% -150 = 60% -200 = 66.7% +120 = 45.4% +150 = 40% +200 = 33.3%