Welcome to the Betting Guide. If you're a beginner and are feeling a little intimidated by all the columns, graphs and numbers that appeared when you went to the sports wagering section, or if you've never quite grasped how a teaser works, you've come to the right place. In this guide, we'll explain the simple ground rules of sports betting. An understanding of the basics will quickly make easy what had once seemed complex and difficult. An educated bettor is a good bettor!

Sports Betting Fundamentals Basic Sports Betting Sports bets are most commonly placed on the outcome of a single event or game. And in virtually all contests, there is a favorite and an underdog. In order to make wagering more even, the oddsmaker draws up an odds line, or the odds, such that you can bet on the probability of a competitor's win. For example, former-world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson steps into the boxing ring to square off against Janet Reno. Tyson is obviously the favorite and Reno the underdog. The oddsmaker would then post the odds that probably would look something like this: Tyson 1 to 500 Reno 300 to 1 To win $1 on Tyson, you must wager $500. If he wins, you get $501 back, the $500 you bet plus the $1 you won. On the other hand, to win $300 on Reno, you need only wager $1. If Reno wins, you get $301 back, the $1 you bet plus the $300 you won. Pointspreads The pointspread - also called "the line" - is used as a margin to handicap the favorite team. The oddsmaker - also called the handicapper - "gives" points (or goals) to the underdog - for betting purposes only. The bettor must take either the favorite or the underdog. The favorite is always indicated by a minus sign (e.g. -8.5) and the underdog by a plus sign (e.g.+8.5). For betting purposes, the outcome of the game is determined by taking the actual game score and finding the difference between the scores of the two teams playing (called the pointspread or just the "spread"). For example - The Green Bay Packers are 8 point favorites over the Miami Dolphins (an 8 point spread shown as -8 beside Green Bay on our "lines" page). If the final score is Green Bay 20 Miami 13, then the actual game score "spread" is 7 points (20 minus 13). In our example if you took Miami (called the "dog"), you would win the bet since Green Bay had to win by 9 points or more to "cover the spread." Green Bay needed 2 more points to "cover" since if the game landed right on the "spread" of 8 points it would be called a "push" (similar in concept to a tie in Moneyline wagering, which is also called a push) and it would be "no action" (no bet and money held by eBanx in your eBanx account to cover the wager is released back into your available balance). If the "spread" is put in at a half point (eg. -8.5 for the favorite Green Bay) by the Sportsbook handicappers then there can be no "push." In this case, there is "action" at any final game score pointspread. In a pointspread, you must wager $11 to win $10 ($21 is returned to the winner). 10/11 is the standard for pointspread bets on most sports. Buy Points Buy Points means that you can move the pointspread so that you give away less points with the favorite or get more points with the underdog, for both football and basketball. To do this you must pay an extra 10% for each ½ point you buy in your favor. For the NFL and NCAA football, you will pay an additional 15% to buy on or off of 3 points - also know as Key Points. And if you buy through 3 points, you will pay an additional 20%. NOTE: There are NO Key Points for basketball. You pay a flat 10% for each 1/2 point you buy. An example of how to buy off of 3 points: the Kansas City Chiefs (-3) are 3 point favorites. To buy 1/2 point and make them a 2.5 point favorite, you would need to lay $125 to win $100. Buy Point Table (Football Key Points) Buy 1/2 point to 3 100/125 Buy 1/2 point off 3 100/125 Buy 1 point to 3 100/135 Buy 1 point off 3 100/135 Buy 1/2 point any other 100/120 Buy 1 point any other 100/130 Moneyline A moneyline is offered when no handicap is given, such as a pointspread or runline, and the odds are not therefore fixed. Payouts are then based on true odds rather than fixed odds. The favorite and underdog are given odds to win a game or fight. The minus sign (e.g.-130) always indicates the favorite and the amount you must bet to win $100. The plus sign (e.g.+110) always indicates the underdog and the amount you win for every $100 bet. Therefore based on the above moneyline, you bet $130 to win $100 on the favorite. For the underdog, you win $110 for every $100 bet. Game Total The game total or just the "Total" is, quite simply, the combined scores of both teams competing in the game being wagered on. You can bet whether the game will go over or under this figure. For example, the Buffalo Bills are playing the New York Giants and the "Total" posted by the Sportsbook on the game is 38. If the final score is New York 20 Buffalo 19, the total game score would be 39. Therefore in this scenario if you bet over, you would win; if you bet under, you lose. Puckline Hockey combines both a handicap/spread and odds. This is called the Puckline. Sample line: Boston +1 (-110) Detroit -1.5 (-110) The favorites are the Detroit Red Wings, who are giving the Boston Bruins 1.5 goals. To win the bet, Detroit would have to win the game by 2 goals. When placing this bet you are getting even money, which means that for every $110 you wager, you will win $100. If you are betting on Boston, you will receive a 1.0 goal handicap, meaning that if Detroit wins by 1 goal the game is a push. If the game ends in a tie or Boston wins, then you win the bet. The odds again are at -110. Pick Occasionally, there will be no favorite on a game. In this instance the game is said to be a pick and you can bet 10/11 (bet $110 to win $100) on either team. Push If the result of a game lands exactly on the pointspread or is a tie in the case of betting a moneyline, or if the exact score of the game matches exactly the Sportsbook's posted game total (Total), then the game is a "Push" or "No Action" and all wagers are released back to the Available Balance of the eBanx Account.