Betting, and more specifically, sports betting, is undoubtedly a broad subject, not only because there are numerous sports you can bet on, but also due to the overwhelming number of types of bets and methods of betting you can choose among. Most of these can be used across the board with only minor differences from sport to sport, but there are still a lot of them.
Even the punters with the most experience don’t know all the bets out there. Still, it is advisable to learn how to use most of them, as you’re bound to become a better punter by knowing the wide range of choices you can make in sports betting. Naturally, understanding the types of sports you’re betting on matters too, but the right choices must be made if you want to win.
So, having all of that in mind, I wanted to help you out by adequately explaining most of the common bets punters tend to make, as well as the types of betting they tend to use. Let’s begin!
The Most Common Types of Sports Bets
In the grand scheme of things, every sport bet matters. Unfortunately, some are bound to be neglected in this article, but I’ll attempt to cover all the most popular ones you can find in a wide range of sportsbooks throughout the world. Also, you should know that many of these bets might have different names, as they can largely depend on your location. However, the way they work is always the same.
Win Bet or Moneyline
Both names are widely used, and both signify the same thing. Americans typically call this the moneyline bet, but most Europeans prefer the term “win bet”. This is one of the most common selections a punter can make in a sportsbook, and almost everyone relies on this bet heavily.
To win the bet, you need to accurately predict the winner of a game or match you’re betting on, and that’s it. It’s one of the simplest bets in sports betting, as there are usually just two selections you can make in most sports — be it choosing between two teams or two players.
Over/Under Bet or Totals
After the moneyline, this is the most common bet you’ll find on most sports gambling sites. Once again, one name —totals— is mostly used in the US, while over/under is used in the rest of the world.
The latter adequately explains the bet. The sportsbook gives the total number of goals/points for a game, and you need to bet over or under it, depending on what you believe will happen.
The total number can refer to goals, points, or any other kind of score used in a specific sport. This bet is also popular, and most beginner sports bettors like to use it, as there are only two choices you need to consider.
Handicap Bet or Point Spread
The point spread wager is the name commonly used in the US, while the handicap bet is the preferred name in Europe. But, as always, the bet itself is the same.
In essence, a sports betting site determines which team is the favourite in a match or game. Then it assigns a specific number of points they believe the team or player will win by. This is what we call a handicap, as it assigns points to the weaker team and takes them away from the favourite to even things out and make the bet outcome more unpredictable.
The bet is a bit complicated for beginners, but most people quickly learn how it works and grow to love it, as it often brings lots of excitement and potentially huge wins.
Proposition Bet or Specials
Prop bets are perfect for punters looking for something different to standard sports betting. That’s because prop bets allow you to place a bet on something very specific. It could be a bet on which player will score the first goal in a football match or how long a tennis match will last.
The possibilities here are endless, and they only depend on how many different prop bets a sportsbook will give for a specific betting market when you want to place your wager. In essence, there will always be at least a couple of these bets at any given moment.
Outright Bet or Futures
The names are interchangeable, and the idea behind them is the same. You need to predict the outcome of future sporting events, which usually means you need to guess the winner of a competition, tournament, or league.
Players typically like to use this bet for some of the world’s most popular competitions, like the NBA Finals, Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League, etc.
These bets are fun for most people, even the casual punters, but they are usually hard to win, as they are typically made well in advance, at the start of the competition.
Betting Types Players Normally Use
Now that we’ve covered the types of bets you’ll usually see in sportsbooks, we need to cover the ways in which you can bet, or in other words, the betting types punters tend to use in sports betting.
Accumulator Bets or Parlays
Accumulator bets or parlays are a fairly popular type of sports bets many seasoned punters like to make, but they can be incredibly complex. That’s because a typical parlay bet requires you to wager on multiple things in a single betting slip. In other words, you need to make several different bets in a single wager.
In most cases, players make from two to five bets, but they can make even more if they want to. Naturally, in most cases, you have to win all selections to win the total accumulator bet, which is precisely why this type of sports betting is rather difficult to win, especially if you are a newbie.
Pleaser and Teaser Bets
Pleasers and teaser are fairly similar to parlays and accumulators, as they require you to make multiple selections as well. However, the difference is that you need to move around the point spreads to make the bet easier or harder.
Namely, when it comes to teasers, the more you “tease”, the more your potential win will be reduced. On the other hand, you can also make a pleaser, which is effectively the very opposite of a teaser bet. You’re making the bet harder, but, consequently, the potential win is much larger. In other words, in teaser bets, you are at an advantage, whereas in pleaser bets, you’re at a disadvantage.
If and Reverse Bets
Just like teasers and pleasers, these two are another subtype of parlay bets. Once again, you’re making multiple selections, but the rules are different.
With if bets, you need to pick wagers that are joined by a common cause. You need to choose two or more bets, and if the initial pick is wrong, all following bets are off. This makes if bets much safer than standard parlays.
On the other hand, with reverse bets, you need to combine two if bets into one. So, if you bet on one possible outcome, you need to bet on the opposite as well.
It’s worth noting that betting this way is incredibly rare, and most players use regular types of betting.
Single, Double, and Treble Bets
A single bet is every bet that features a single selection. It also represents one of the most common types of betting in the world as you need to win only a single bet, no matter the odds or the sport in question.
Once you understand the single bet, double and treble bets become self-explanatory. A double bet is effectively a single bet on two outcomes in different sporting events, and you need to win both to win the bet. As for a treble, it’s a single bet on three outcomes from different sporting events, and you must win all of them to win the bet.
Naturally, you can move forward to bets with more selections, so there are also fourfolds, fivefolds, sixfolds, sevenfolds, and more.
Trixie Bet
A trixie bet consists of 3 selections and 4 bets. In other words, it has three doubles and a treble, and you need to win at least two selections if you want to win the bet. There are no single bets here.
In terms of money, if you were to bet a single euro per each bet, the cost of a trixie bet would be four euros.
Trixie bets represent a great way for punters to hedge their bets because they allow them to still win the overall bet even though some of the selections may turn out to be wrong.
Here’s an example of what would constitute a winning trixie bet if you were to bet on events 1, 2, and 3:
- Double bet on outcomes 1 and 2 coming true
- Double bet on outcomes 1 and 3 coming true
- Double bet on outcomes 2 and 3 coming true
- Treble bet on outcomes 1, 2, and 3 coming true
You can use this pattern to understand all the following bets, as they all use specific combinations of single, double, and treble bets.
Patent Bet
In a patent bet, you need to place seven bets on three different selections. Among these seven bets, you will always find:
- Three singles
- Three doubles
- One treble
In other words, a patent bet is a trixie bet with three additional singles.
Yankee Bet
This bet has four selections and a total of 11 bets. These 11 are always:
- Six doubles
- Four trebles
- One fourfold, i.e. a bet with four outcomes
If you want to win the entire yankee bet, you need to win a minimum of four selections.
Canadian
The Canadian bet is effectively a super yankee. It has five selections with a total of 26 bets. You need to use:
- Ten doubles
- Ten trebles
- Five fourfolds
- One fivefold parlay bet
Lucky 15
Like the yankee bet, a lucky 15 bet also consists of four selections, but it has 15 bets instead of 11. In other words, you should make:
- Four singles
- Six doubles
- Four trebles
- One fourfold
In other words, you need a yankee bet and four singles.
Lucky 15 is a very popular betting type in the sports betting world, but it’s not easy to win.
Lucky 31
Since Lucky 31 has a similar name to Lucky 15, you might think that it’s a similar type of bet, but it actually consists of a total of 31 bets, and you need to make five selections. In essence, these bets should be:
- Five singles
- Ten doubles
- Ten trebles
- Five fourfolds
- One fivefold
Thankfully, you only need to win a single selection to get something in return, but the more you win, the bigger the return will be.
Lucky 63
With this large bet, you will have to make six selections and, just as the name suggests, 63 bets. You need to make:
- Six singles
- Fifteen doubles
- Twenty trebles
- Fifteen fourfolds
- Six fivefolds
- One sixfold bet
Heinz and Super Heinz
The Heinz bet was named after the “57 varieties” slogan from Heinz. As you can probably guess, it has 57 bets, as well as six selections. This bet uses:
- Fifteen doubles
- Twenty trebles
- Fifteen fourfolds
- Six fivefolds
- One sixfold parlay bet
A Super Heinz is even bigger, as it has 120 bets, which is often considered the biggest bet a punter can make. There are a total of seven selections here, and you need to make:
- Twenty-one doubles
- Thirty-five trebles
- Thirty-five fourfolds
- Twenty-one fivefolds
- Seven sixfold
- One sevenfold parlay bet
You must win at least two selections to get any return from this massive bet.
Each-Way Bet
An each-way bet is a bet of two parts. With one half of your stake, you are betting on the selection to win, and, with the other half, you are betting on the selection to place.
The Bottom Line
So, there you have it — all the popular bets and types of betting used by punters all over the world. It’s crucial to learn as much as possible about these bets and test as much of this knowledge as you can. By mastering all of them, you are likely to become a much better punter and increase your winnings over time.
However, always make sure to gamble responsibly and have fun!
FAQs
What is the best type of bet?
There is no best type of bet. However, you should make a selection based on the sports you know best, as you are more likely to predict their outcomes correctly. The more knowledgeable you are about sports betting, the more types of bets you can use.
What are the 3 types of sports?
In most categorisations, there are 3 types of sports based on the number of players — individual sports, dual or partner sports, and team sports.
What are the 10 most popular sports in the world?
It’s not easy to make this selection, but most would agree that the most popular sports in the world are football, American football, field hockey, volleyball, basketball, tennis, cricket, table tennis, baseball, and golf.
What are the best sports to bet on?
This is definitely a polarising subject, but many believe that the best sports for betting are football, American football, horse racing, cricket, basketball, boxing, golf, and tennis.
How many types of bets are there?
It’s practically impossible to answer this question, as there are so many bets out there, and they tend to differ from region to region. All of this makes it harder to give even a rough estimation. However, the bets described in this piece are certainly the majority of the ones you need to know.
How are betting odds calculated?
All sportsbook use a variety of factors to calculate the odds. First, they need to collect all the relevant data. Afterwards, they have to add their cash flow projections. Finally, they need to calculate the margins. Naturally, most of these stages are automated nowadays. Still, the whole process is quite complex.
What kind of odds are there?
There are three primary types of odds in the world — decimal or European odds, fractional or British odds, and moneyline or American odds. All of them represent the same things in a different manner, so the difference is only visual.
