Author:
David Genge
Last Updated:
May 16, 2022
Topic:
Betting Guide
Experiences:
Sports Betting Guru
Topic:
Betting Guide
Experiences:
Sports Betting Guru
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How Bet on Sports for Beginners 2022
Table of Content
- Sports Betting for Beginners
- Betting for beginners – in a nutshell
- Beginners guide to sports betting
- How to bet on sports for beginners – betting lines
- Our Favourite Operators
- Betting for beginners – understanding odds
- Sports betting for beginners – your questions answered
- Sports betting for beginners – how to place a bet
- Current Best Bonuses
- Sports betting for beginners – the conclusion
- Sports betting for beginners FAQ
Sports Betting for Beginners
If you’re looking for a guide on how to start online sports betting, then you’ve come to the right place. Here, you’ll find our comprehensive expert tips on betting for beginners.
From the basics of betting markets and how to place a bet, to understanding betting odds and how they work – we’ve got it all covered for you below. So join us as we help you start off your sports betting journey in style.
Betting for beginners – in a nutshell
- Understanding sportsbooks and how they work
- Get to know the most basic types of wager and betting market
- Learn how to read and understand betting odds
- Start small and manage your bankroll
- Stick to betting on sports you already know well
Beginners guide to sports betting
Sports betting is becoming more mainstream both in the US and across the world. With popularity comes tighter regulations and a plethora of sports betting options for you to enjoy as a consumers.
If you’re completely new to sports betting though, we need to let you in on a little secret – placing a sports bet is easy. Winning, on the other hand is not. That’s why it’s important to use an online betting guide such as ours to help you get to grips with the concept of sports betting. Additionally, we’ll also take you through the most important aspects of sports betting for beginners including bankroll management, understanding odds and betting markets.
How sports betting works
The basic concept of sports betting is fairly simple to understand. Essentially sports betting involves two parties – the bettor (that’s you) and the sportsbook. As the bettor, you give the sportsbook some money to back a certain outcome of a sporting event. If that outcome then happens, the sportsbook is obliged to return your stake to you along with a certain amount of winnings.
The chances of said outcome coming to pass and the amount of profit you stand to win on your bet can both be found in the sports betting odds, which are contained within the betting lines. This is therefore the logical starting point for our beginners guide to sports wagering.
How to bet on sports for beginners – betting lines
Betting lines display the fixture that you are focussing on as well as the two possible outcomes. The probability of each outcome and your potential winnings are displayed in the form of the odds – which we’ll get to a little further down. With a typical betting line, the two outcomes are divided, with one being categorized as the favorite, and the other as the underdog.
To give you an example of a betting line, let’s use an NFL fixture:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-150) vs New Orleans Saints (+200)
In the above betting line example, the Buccs are the favorites as their odds are negative and therefore shorter. The Saints are the underdogs, which can be told because they have positive number odds.
If you were to therefore back the Buccs, the chance of your sports wager being paid out would be higher, but your stake-to-profit ratio would be poor. On the other hand, were you to back the Saints, the probability of your bet being paid out would be lower, but your stake-to-profit ratio would be much better.
How can we tell this, you ask? By reading the betting odds – which we’ve kindly explained how to do for you below.
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Betting for beginners – understanding odds
Key to understanding betting lines and therefor how much you should bet and stand to win is learning to read odds. If you’re completely new to sports betting, then you might wonder how we are able to decipher the favorite and the underdog from the above example, as well as how much you would stand to win by backing each outcome.
Once you know how, you’ll actually find its pretty simple.
Sports betting for beginners – your questions answered
We understand that some of the above may be a little confusing for first timers, which is why we’ve answered some of the most common questions regarding betting for beginners below.
Sports betting for beginners – how to place a bet
Now that we’ve explained the basics of how sports betting works and how to read odds, the next logical step for us is to explain how you can place your first bet step by step. The example we’ve used below is for fixed odds betting sites, which are the most commonly used sportsbooks and are easiest when it comes to betting for beginners. You can also check out how do betting exchanges work with us here should you wish.
Check sports wagering is legal in your jurisdiction
First things first, check that sorts wagering is legal in your jurisdiction. This is particularly important if you’re in the US as online and mobile sports betting is not yet legal in all states across the country.
Choose your sportsbook
Once you know that sports wagering is legal where you are, pick a licensed and reputable sportsbook with which to do your betting. You can find a list of the best sites for sports betting for beginners right here at Betting.net.
Fund your account
Once you’ve signed up to a sportsbook and your account has been fully verified, you’ll then be able to fund your account. Before deciding how much to initially deposit, we recommend taking a look at our bankroll management guide here at Betting.net. The best sportsbooks should have a range of deposit options including credit/debit cards, PayPal and echecks.
Browse the sportsbook
While first browsing the sportsbook and getting used to the site, you can refer back to our guide to betting for beginners while looking at the betting lines. You may encounter some different types of betting markets than the straight bets found above, but we have more guides to help you out. See our answer to questions such as what does 1×2 mean in betting?
Place your first bet
Once you’ve had a look at the various betting lines, you can pick your first bet by clicking the line and adding it to your betting slip. Here, you should be able to input your desired stake and the betting slip should show you how much you stand to win. Once you’re happy, you can click to confirm and your bet will be placed. We always recommend placing bets on sports that you already follow and are a fan of.
What other guides are available at Betting.net?
Naturally, our betting guide for beginners is only the start of what we’ve got available for you here at Betting.net. You can now go on to use our more advanced guides including betting market explanations and how to manage your bank roll. If you want to see things from the other side, you can find out how do sportsbooks make money right here.
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Sports betting for beginners – the conclusion
So there you have the beginners essentials to sports betting and how everything works. Before you go on ahead and place bets on your own, just remember a few key pieces of advice. First, always set yourself a budget and stick to it. Secondly, keep your first few wagers simple and always stick to sports you know and understand. It’ll be smooth sailing in no time at all.
Sports betting for beginners FAQ
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