Straight Bets are one the most common and simplistic forms of sports bet available to punters and as a result, is one of the most effective ways to win big within sports betting.

Whilst, betting on a single outcome of an event seems like an obvious and self-explanatory exercise, if done intelligently, it can be a very lucrative strategy.

Straight Bets are most commonly comprised within the following markets:-

• Point Spread
The point spread is generally used to level the playing field between two teams/opponents in a particular sporting event. The favoured team is normally handicapped by subtracting goals or points (indicated by a minus sign) whilst the underdog is given additional points (indicated by a plus sign) and these odds are governed by each bookmaker. For example betting on a team to win by more than 9 points will be indicated by -9 meaning they essentially start with a 9 point handicap.

• Money Lines
Money lines present an opportunity for all levels of bettor to wager within their budget and on very simple win/lose basis. Money lines are centred round how much a punter needs to stake to maximise their profits and do not have a spread market to cover. Punters will risk more to win less when betting on the favourite and risk less to win more when betting on the underdog. A positive money line indicates how much a better can win by betting $100 whilst a negative money line shows how much a better needs to stake in order to win $100 – making the whole process relatively simple.

• Over/Under Betting
Total score or over/under betting presents the punter with the opportunity to bet on the amount of points/goals scored in a particular game without having to necessarily bet on the outcome of a sporting event. For example punters can bet on over or under 2.5 goals to be scored in a soccer game – regardless of which team scores them or goes on to win the match.

Here is our guide on how to place Straight Bets intelligently:-

• Embrace The Restrictions
Straight Bets are designed to make the betting experience simpler for the customer. For example betting on New England Patriots to win at -110 is betting on the exact outcome of a game and whilst the odds don’t lend themselves necessarily to winning big money, straight bets avoid confusion in the market and can help recreational punters massively.

• Understand The System
The simple purpose of Straight Betting is to offer punters a chance to bet on one of two outcomes from a particular sporting event and the markets are tailored accordingly.

• Sporting Knowledge
Straight betting is essentially a two-horse race and backing the favourite most of the time will bring about a certain degree of reward for punters. Bookmakers develop their odds based on form and past performances and seldom get their odds dramatically wrong. The beauty of straight betting is it offers bettors the chance to work with a hunch on any particular game and not have to complicate matters – it is a straight win or lose bet.