Betting can be a thrilling experience. Whether you are betting on horse racing, football games, or the election, it is always exciting to see if your prediction will come true. One of the most popular types of bets is sports betting. There are many types of sports to bet on and odds for each game that you should consider before placing your first bet. To help get you up to speed with betting types and sports, we have created this guide for new bettors!

How do you start sports betting online?

If you want to start betting online, the first thing you need to do is determining which types of bets and sports will be best for your goals.

A great way to start is by choosing popular sports that are offered on betting websites like football, soccer, basketball, tennis, and hockey. They’re the types of bets with high chances to win (for example in soccer – each team has one chance out of five). You can also choose types of sports bets where your choice doesn’t have a big influence on the total number: special types of events or competitions which occur rarely but offer a lot if won.

What types of sports should you choose?

Not all types of sports are good for first bets. Try to choose something fast and dynamic, so you won’t get bored. The most common types of betting on the internet are football, basketball, tennis, or hockey. These types will get you used to how each sport operates so you can then move on to other sports like boxing or golf.

On sports betting sites you can also bet like horse races, greyhound races, dog racing, speedway and motorcycles and events like NFL, La Liga, Bundesliga, FIFA World Cups, UEFA Champions League, Rugby League or Union Championships, ICC World Cups, IPL, WTA tours, Wimbledon, Australian Open, US Open, Davis Cup, etc.

As a beginner it’s safer to start with small money stakes, but even though keep in mind that this should be just your first step into the world of betting! Don’t bet more than what you can afford to lose! If you lose sometimes don’t give up immediately because every next time will take fewer efforts to win back lost money than before.

What are the most common bets?

The types are related to the amount of risk you have to take. If you want more safety on your money then you shouldn’t bet with all winnings but only part of them. You can also leave some money in the first place or play safe by betting on minor sports where there is less chance that one team will lose the game (like tennis).

Some common types of bets on sports are:

• Straight bets are the most common types of bets. You can place a straight bet on any sport or game, but its recommended sports betting types to use for beginners are roulette and horse racing.
• In-play bets you can place on a game or sport as it is going.
• Bets with a higher probability of winning are referred to as Moneyline bets, while win bets are those in which the team you bet on must win or lose by a certain amount. Sports like football (soccer) and tennis usually don’t offer Moneyline bets because there isn’t much difference between their odds, however, other sports such as rugby and American football offer better odds and should be taken into consideration for your first sports bets.
• Totals bets are all types of bets that have to do with the total number of points scored by both teams.
• Point Spread bets are types that you bet on the difference between the number of points scored by two teams.
• Prop bets focus on one specific aspect or detail of the game.
• Full cover bets will return a profit in case of a win but will lose the whole bet if you fail to predict all games. Partial cover bets are used when you want to increase your chances and don’t care about losing it all in one fell swoop. In this type half or quarter of the bet is returned depending on which team wins more matches.
• If and Reverse bets allow bettors to take advantage of betting odds and place a wager when the chances for an outcome are lower than usual.
• Place and Take bets types can be used by beginners because they’re pretty straightforward: you win only if your chosen team wins, but in case it doesn’t – you lose too much money. If you think there’s at least one chance out of three, then this type would suit you perfect!
• Exacta/Perfecta types of bets require you to pick out two players in order for your bet to be paid. If there is more than one player with the same points – it doesn’t count! You must get the main ones so-called “perfect pair”.
• Parlays and Teasers (increased and decreased payouts) are types of bets that are very popular among sports betting. A parlay is a bet on multiple teams in the same game, which you can win if just one team wins or more than one team wins. These types require experienced gamblers who have knowledge about sports teams abilities/performance levels in different fields during certain seasons. Otherwise, these types may become very expensive for you.
• Other types are Future bets, which is based on the result at a later point in time; parlays, which are composed of more than two teams and having odds greater than 100% (and they usually have to win all games for you to win your parlay); teasers, where instead of changing Point Spreads you change winning margins; round-robin betting pools with multiple players who share profits/losses equally; futures bets placed before an event starts.

Teasers and Futures are bet types to avoid for beginners because these types of bets have higher payouts, but also lower chances to win.

You can also find such classification of types of bets:

• singles – you bet on one game or sportsman. It’s the easiest type of bets and usually returns lower profits than other types;
• doubles – two games are to be won, if it happens then your luck will double otherwise nothing happens;
• accumulators – you need to choose more than one team in a match for this type of betting which makes the return bigger but also smaller chance that all teams have chosen to win their matches at the same time. There can’t be any draw between them. This needs some knowledge about the sport because just random guessing without knowing anything about sportsmen may lead to losses instead of profit;
• system bets – many different systems with specific rules, they are used often by people who don’t know much about sports;
• moneyline betting types – there is no point in wasting time on these types of bets for beginners. They include choosing “home” or “away” teams that will win, but this type may lead to loss only because the sport itself doesn’t have any chance of draw results.

In betting types explained above we have examples from American sports including football/basketball/baseball etc., however, there are also types of bets available for European sports such as soccer or hockey where point spread may not be possible but the “Moneyline” option still exists allowing punters wager on who they think will win a match with negative (-) and positive (+) signs.

So now that you know what types of bets exist, how they work, and which types of sports offer them as well as whether betting odds can help beginners improve their chances at successful online betting.

What kinds of odds are? Explain betting odds

It is important for sports betting beginners to know what types of odds exist and how they work so you can make a more informed decision before placing a bet. Odds show how much profit will be paid out by the bookmaker if the event occurs as expected.

Sports betting odds are determined from various factors including:

• players’ performance statistics,
• injuries,
• field advantage
• and weather conditions among others.

Odds types for betting include decimal, fractional and American odds:

1. Decimal odds are also known as ‘Moneyline odds’ where one team’s chance of winning or drawing is expressed as a ratio with another team. The “against” part represents how much money should be paid out when betting on the opposite result occurs.
2. American odds are also known as ‘US Ladder’ usually show either favourite/long-shot odds on the left- or right-hand side of a fraction.
3. Fractional odds show the real probability of a wager winning, and are common in Europe.

However, there’s another way known as Kong Odds which works like this: Kong (x) – x is the number of outcomes that must occur for you to win. For example, Kong 23 would mean that there are four possible numbers in your bet, and three need to come up for you to make a profit. While against Kong 26 means, six numbers can be drawn from which five will give you back money if they appear on the game outcome.

On the whole, odds represent your chances of winning, which means if you place a $100 on Team A at +150 Odds, then it means you will win $150 back from your initial investment if team A wins or ties as opposed to losing 100 dollars in case they lose or tie.

When you place a bet, it’s always better to go with an underdog team because doing so will increase the odds of winning and give you bigger returns than betting on teams that are already expected to win by bookies or experts in those types of sports.

It’s also very important not to make any emotional decisions which means don’t base your choices on personal feelings like “I hate this team” or “this player sucks”. These types of things can be avoided by doing research beforehand and learning about sports, teams, players, etc.

Mobile applications for sports betting

Not all people have their own computer or desktop but everyone carries a smartphone. Therefore, after launching the sports betting apps for Android many more people add to the online betting platform. The application version is beneficial for both the users and the developer as the users can place their bets where they can’t carry a PC but a mobile device. It is crucial to know about various sports betting platforms that allow their users to access lucrative sports betting games through mobiles:

• Betiton. Betiton sports betting app was launched in 2020 and it’s regulated and handled by the Malts-based company Sharp Connection Ltd. Using the Betiton app is fruitful if one has an Android smartphone as it gives the opportunity to players to place their bets on various games via their mobile device. Considering this application is one of the best choices for those who love sports betting games. There are some amazing betting games on that gambles are allowed to place bets including:
  • Cricket
  • Ice Hockey
  • Football
  • Kabaddi
  • Basketball
  • Baseball
  • Formula 1 racing
  • Horse racing
• Betfred. Betfred sportsbook gets a high rank among the betting brands because of its top-notch betting games and great features. In addition, gamblers who want to win big in the world Cup must consider using the Betfred Android application. One of the best things about its mobile application is that it provides better winning odds to gamblers in order to encourage them to place more bets. Here you will not only find sports betting games but also can access online casino games including:
  • Online slots
  • Table tennis
  • Poker
  • Blackjack
  • Roulette.
• Betfair. Betfair supports Android devices and users can place a stake with their smartphone on betting games via the Betfair application. Betfair was launched in August 1999 and holds a license from a local legal authority. In addition, the size of Betfair is 113.3 MB and it takes a little space in the Android mobile. Downloading process of Betfair is simple and one can download and install the application within 5 minutes. If you are new to this platform and don’t know how to download the app, here is a step-by-step guide. Go through it once in order to understand the complete process of downloading:
  • Go to the official website of Betfair to start the process.
  • On the right side, you will see the option of downloading, click on it.
  • Now, players will get the APK version of the Betfair app.
  • It takes a few seconds to install the application.
  • Now, the platform will ask you to submit some required info like email, contact number, name, and financial details.
  • After that, gamblers will get a verification code on their email sent by the Betfair application.
  • After entering the code, gamblers are able to use the mobile application. After making the first deposit, gamblers will get eye-catching bonuses that will help them in the games.
• Unibet. Unibet was founded in 1997 and daily around 30 million gamblers place their bets on its mobile application. The size of the Unibet app is only 34.6 MB that’s why players don’t need to have an Android phone with a larger space. Individuals can place their bets with a normal Android smartphone. In addition, if you are a new gambler so considering this application is a good decision. The reason is that Unibet offers gamblers to access free games. However, they will not earn a massive amount but can learn how they can place their bets. Another thing is that on the application of Unibet, one will get attractive bonuses that enhance the winning odds of a player and also make the game more interesting.