Can someone explain sports betting in layman's term please?

There are betting sites that let you have virtual demo accounts where you can learn to bet using fake money, but the odds are real though. That is the best way to learn.

The concept is similar to a virtual stock exchange site.

 

If anyone saw me randomly scream for joy on Addai's 13th carry they would have thought I was a r****d if they didn't know I had money riding. FYI Addai finished with 13...

 

Probably because it's much easier to learn than it is to try and explain in words what has already been explained on here. see the first reply to your post (moes)

But if you're going to whine about it, let me try:

1) There is no "better bet" all the time. That's for you to figure out on every game. The lines and over/unders are calculated by oddsmakers to be very close (usually) to the actual numbers, so you have to make the BET as to the actual outcome

2) The line. If it says Hornets +7.5 or Magic -7.5 ...both of those mean the Magic SHOULD win by 7.5. If you pick the Magic -7.5, then they have to win by at least 8 for you to win against the line. IF you pick the Hornets +7.5, they have to EITHER win...or lose by 7 points or less.

3) The over/under is a point total. Total # of points between both teams. Add them together. If the # says 194.5, then the "over" means you're betting the point total between the 2 teams will be higher than 194.5. Under means lower.

4) if you ever hit any of the #'s right on (if the magic won by exactly 7.5 or if the point total was exactly 194.5), you'd push and get your original money back. Obviously not possible with these lines, but sometimes they're not half-point increments.



People have given you suggestions (centsports, etc.) and explanations. Try to do something on your own, too

 

The most important thing to understand is that you are going to lose money. You could do that in two different ways.

First, you might lose your first couple of bets and give it up - that would be the cheap course.

Second, you might experience some good luck as you get started. This will give you the (false) impression that you are smarter than Vegas or the house and suck you in to where you make more / bigger bets. This will likely result in your biggest bet being your biggest loss. Some individuals will then panic and try to win it back like they have in the past with a bigger bet.

So yeah - it's gonna end badly - the only question in my mind is how bad.

The only way to reliably make money gambling is to learn to play poker well and find some suckers.

 

Essentially, the odds-makers know what the F they are doing, and unless you can see the future, you're not going to win very much, if at all.

 

don't speak about things like that just because you're not good at them