Sport guides

Betting basics

Almost every point spread and game total you see is priced at -110. Here is what the number says, what it costs, and why the book collects a small fee on every bet.

Betting basics

American odds use plus and minus numbers. Once you know what each sign means, you can work out the payout on any bet. Today's picks are on the picks page at /picks.

Betting basics

Odds are written three ways around the world, but the bet underneath is the same. Here is how to read decimal and fractional odds and convert them.

Betting basics

Every price carries a percentage inside it. Learning to read that percentage helps you see what a price is asking of you.

Betting basics

Vig, juice and margin are three names for one thing: the fee a sportsbook builds into its prices. Here is how to spot it and why it matters.

Betting basics

A unit is a standard bet size. Bettors use units so results can be compared without tying them to a dollar amount.

Betting basics

A point spread gives the weaker team a head start so a game becomes a close call. Here is how the numbers work, with real scores to show it.

Betting basics

A moneyline bet is the simplest wager in sports: pick who wins the game. The margin does not matter, only the result.

Betting basics

A total is a single number for both teams combined. You bet whether the real score ends higher or lower than that number.

Betting basics

A parlay ties two or more bets, called legs, into a single ticket. The payout is bigger, and so is the risk.

Betting basics

A push is a tie between the result and the betting line. Nobody wins, nobody loses, and the stake comes back.

Betting basics

A teaser is a parlay where you buy extra points on each leg. The lines get easier, and the payout gets smaller.

Betting basics

A betting line is not fixed. It can change many times between the day it opens and the moment the game starts. Here is why that happens and what it does and does not tell you.

Betting basics

Every game has a team the market expects to win and a team it expects to lose. The price tells you how strongly, and it also tells you how often a bet must win to break even.

Betting basics

The main spread and total are only one version of a bet. Sportsbooks also post other numbers for the same game, each with its own price.

Betting basics

A same game parlay puts several bets from one game on one ticket. It looks simple and pays well, but the legs are connected, and that changes how the price is built.

Betting basics

A bankroll is money you set aside for betting that you can afford to lose. Managing it means deciding in advance how much to risk, so one bad week does not become a bigger problem.

Betting basics

A bet slip lists everything you are agreeing to before you confirm. Knowing each part helps you catch a wrong number before money is on the line.

MLB

Baseball has three main ways to bet a game, and each one asks a different question. We explain them here, and our picks for every sport are posted on one page at /picks.

MLB

A first five innings bet settles after five innings, so the bullpen mostly drops out of the picture. We explain how it works below, and today's picks are on the one page at /picks.

NFL

Football scoring comes in chunks, and that shapes how its markets are priced. We walk through the basics here, and every pick we post is on one page at /picks.

College football

College football has far more teams and far wider gaps than the NFL, and the markets show it. We cover how the numbers work, and our picks for every sport are on one page at /picks.

KBO

The KBO is Korea's top baseball league, and its games are played while many Americans sleep. We explain what is different from MLB, and today's picks for all sports are on the one page at /picks.

NBA

Before you look at any NBA card, it helps to know what the numbers mean and why they shift during the day. We explain the three main markets below, and today's picks for every sport sit on one page at /picks.

College basketball

College hoops has more games than any other sport on the board, and the quality gap between teams can be huge. We cover how the markets work and what changes from November to March, then point you to today's picks at /picks.

WNBA

The WNBA runs in the summer, when fewer other leagues are playing, and its markets are smaller than the NBA's. We explain the basics here, and our picks for every sport are on one page at /picks.

WNBA

A player prop is a bet on one athlete's stat line instead of the game result. Here we cover how the lines are set and what can go wrong, and you can see our picks for every sport at /picks.

NHL

Hockey is a low-scoring sport, so its betting numbers look different from basketball or football. We walk through the markets below, and today's picks for all sports are on one page at /picks.

Soccer

Soccer markets look different from American sports because a tie is a real result. We walk through the main bet types below, and you can see today's picks for every sport on the one picks page at /picks.

Tennis

Tennis offers a long list of markets from a single match, and the settlement details matter as much as the price. When you are ready, our picks for every sport, tennis included, sit on one page at /picks.

UFC

A fight card moves quickly, and a single punch can end a bet. Read how the main markets work below, then see today's picks for every sport on the one picks page at /picks.

Boxing

Boxing has fewer fights than most sports, so each bout gets plenty of attention. Below we explain the common markets, and you can see today's picks for every sport on the one picks page at /picks.

Golf

A golf event has a big field and four rounds, so the markets work differently from a game with two sides. We cover the main bets below, and our picks for every sport are posted at /picks.

All sports

A busy day can list dozens of games across many sports. This page covers how to read the prices, and every pick we post for every sport lives on the one picks page at /picks.