How to Bet on Sports Online

Online Sports Betting 101: Straight Up Bets for New Punters

Sports betting is a popular pastime enjoyed by millions of people all over the world. Each year, billions of dollars (euros, francs, pounds, etc.) are wagered on all types of sporting events. It is, by far, one of the most lucrative gambling industries on the planet.

There are two primary reasons why people bet on sports. And no, ‘to make a profit‘ isn’t among them. First of all, sports are extremely popular. Whether it’s football or tennis, baseball or cricket, boxing or curling; almost everyone has at least one sport they follow, or at least enjoy watching. Wagering on these games adds an element of excitement to traditional viewership. Watching your favorite NHL team beat their nemesis is great. Putting a little action on it? All the better!

Secondly, sports betting is among the easiest methods of gambling to understand. A single-event bet is very straight forward. You don’t need an excessive amount of knowledge to place a wager. All you need is a means of wagering and some cash to bet with. And in today’s modern age of technology, utilizing an online sportsbook is the easiest way to do it.

What is Online Sports Betting?

In the physical world, there are several ways to place a bet. You can visit a casino that hosts a sportsbook, or place a wager with your local bookie. Note that local bookies are generally illegal, thus not recommended. Unfortunately, if you live in Canada like myself, legal sports bets are limited to parlays (one bet on multiple picks), which drives far too many punters into underground betting shops.

In the online realm, however, sports betting is not only more convenient, it offers Canadians a legal way to place any type of bet they wish; including those newbie-preferred straight up bets. You can login to any reputable online sportsbook, anytime, from your desktop or mobile device, and place wagers on virtually any sporting event in the world, in just a few moments.

Straight Up Bets

A sports bet is a wager that one athlete or team of athletes will outperform another. Straight up bets are wagers that the athlete/team will win the contest outright. There are many other types of bets that can be placed, but as a new punter, straight up bets are the easiest way to get started.

Wagering on games with the best odds of winning is the key to success. But before you can get that far, you need to understand how it works, and why straight up bets are the best option for new punters.

Straight up betting will let you wager on the Toronto Maple Leafs to beat the Edmonton Oilers, or Manchester United to defeat Barcelona. They are extremely easy, and come with no extenuating conditions. Pick right and you win. Pick wrong and you lose. It’s that simple.

The key to making a profit is knowing the athletes or teams you’re betting on, and getting the best odds. Which brings us to our next segment, where you’ll learn more about understanding all types of betting odds; US, UK and EU. For this, please continue on to part two of our sports betting tutorial: Understanding Sports Betting Odds