Gambling question

[Biggems]

i dont gamble on sports...well at least not with a bookie and betting line so i do not know how it works. If anyone gambles, please let me know if my line of thinking is correct. I dont plan on gambling in the future, I just want to understand the process a little better.


let me pick a game.....A&M by 4 over Okie St.

1. Take A&M straight up - means A&M has to win by 4 or more

2. Take Okie St. - means Okie St. has to win or lose by 3 or less

3. Take A&M but give Okie St. the points. - means A&M wins but doesn't cover the spread, and if they do cover, I lose

 

[YosemiteSam]

I'm no gambler, but here it goes.

To win straight up, means you won the game period. No points, nothing. Straight up means no points are calculated. The team that won is the team that won.

To take a team and the points means the team you are taking is the underdog and the favored team must not only win, but win my $X amount of points.

To take a team and give points mean you are taking the favored team and you believe they will not only win, but win my more than $X points.

 

[Rogah]

i dont gamble on sports...well at least not with a bookie and betting line so i do not know how it works. If anyone gambles, please let me know if my line of thinking is correct. I dont plan on gambling in the future, I just want to understand the process a little better.


let me pick a game.....A&M by 4 over Okie St.

1. Take A&M straight up - means A&M has to win by 4 or more

2. Take Okie St. - means Okie St. has to win or lose by 3 or less

3. Take A&M but give Okie St. the points. - means A&M wins but doesn't cover the spread, and if they do cover, I lose

There are 2 ways to bet: Straight Up and Against the Spread.

The most common method is betting against the spread. When you bet against the spread, you take the point spread and add that many points to the underdog's final score. You have to wager $11 to win $10 when you bet against the spread (unless the line is something like Texas A&M -3(-120) but I won't go into that here).

For example from tomorrow, the Patriots are a 7 point favorite over the Bills. No matter who you take, you add 7 points to Buffalo's final score.

The term "straight up" means there is no point spread, in which case you are betting something called the money line. That means if you pick the favorite you are going to have to wager more money than you stand to win, or if you bet the underdog you can win more money than you wager.

Using the Bills-Pats example, the money line is New England -335 and Buffalo +275. That means there is no point spread, but if you pick the Pats to win straight up, you have to wager $335 to win $100. However if you pick the Bills, then you wager $100 to win $275.