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Site Admin Joined: 10 Apr 2008 Posts: 43

There is little doubt that sports betting is taking over as the new number 1 in the betting product marketplace. Old favorites such as horse racing, are starting to rapidly lose their market share and a lot of racing industry pundits cannot figure out the reason why? The answer however is quite simple and here it is.

A horse race may consist of up-to 24 runners, with a stunning amount of different variables in place, making it actually quite hard in choosing a correct winning outcome and even after finding your best winning chance or a series of winning chances, there is still a lot which can go wrong. The most notable event, that can either go into your favor or against your favor, is simply the pace of the race itself. Pace/speed is an event which is extremely hard to predict for a horse race and the pace at which a race is run may involve fragments of time as small as 1000th of a second and these fragments can allow either a favorite to win or even that rank outsider, with no race form at all to win. A lot of people do not realize that every horse in a race has an equal chance, as soon as they are in the starting stalls. It does not matter if the horse is a 100 to 1-on favorite or the 500-1 rank outsider, every runner still has an equal chance. However once the race has started momentum, this is when time comes into play, deciding with every stride the actual possible outcome of the race, which makes racing in itself, the ultimate time game of chance.

In sports however, chance is only a very limited element. Statistics defined over a set period can be used through skill, to make a far more predictable correct event outcome, than could ever be achieved in a horse race or similar type event. Hence the reason sports betting is becoming the new wave of betting choice, for both amateur and professional bettors alike. Which would you rather a 24 horse race field or a sports game involving just 2 teams, the choice is really obvious in itself.

So how do you gain good value when betting on sports?

The win bet/match-line bet on sporting events, will at most-times provide an obvious betting choice for most and this type of betting choice requires no real skill at all. However because their is only 2 teams involved, the odds/price can be very low for both teams and/or extremely low for the most favored team.

The point-spread bet, spread or line bet as it is called in different countries, provides a handicap towards a favored team in a game, providing much a better payout value for choosing the correct betting outcome. This type of betting is one however, which does involve real skill, that is if you want to correctly choose a high percentage of winning outcomes, over multiple games, over an extended period of time.

Skill in point-spread betting involves a high degree of experience in many different areas, mathematics being just being one of these key areas. It is a simple fact that sportsbooks, bookmakers etc, are in business to make money and do you think that they would be in a position to take bets on a sporting event, if the odds/price were always in the public's betting favor, absolutely not! Professional handicappers/sports bettors etc, have become an essential first port-of-call for many casual/amateur bettors, because they can provide a highly skilled sports betting choice, which should always put you in a winning point-spread betting situation, over an extended period of time.

In my next article I will be explaining the first key area in becoming an expert in the field of point-spread betting. Entitled: Mathematics in sports betting.

About this articles author: Mike Keenan is the owner of the 4th biggest racing & sports website in Australia and it is with great pride that he now welcomes professional US sports bettor, sports handicapper and sports tipster, Bennett 'B.C.' Stratton to its expert sports tipping ranks at: http://www.horseracinginaustralia.com

You can also download this article in PDF format directly from the following link located on the website: http://www.horseracinginaustralia.com/How_To_Win_When_Betting_On_Sports.pdf

This Article Entitled: 'How To Win When Betting On Sports' Is Copyright 2009 - Mike Keenan.

You are more than welcome to reprint & distribute this article: But you must however use: the About This Articles Author information provided below and you must leave active the link which is provided, pointing directly towards the Horse Racing In Australia website. If these 2 basic conditions are not met by you in the use of this article, than this is a complete violation of this articles copyright (2009).

Joined: 29 Aug 2009 Posts: 15

You can play either way. Straight up or with the points but with points pays more. The best way is to make strong decisions.

Joined: 12 Oct 2009 Posts: 3

When you have pointspread betting, the payouts are a little more close to even. Sometimes it is even. But mostly, you are risking $11 to win $10. Or whatever is relative.