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Normally, when betting against a point spread, you bet $110 to win $100. This is shown as - 110. The extra $10 is known as the “vig” or the “juice”. There are sports books out there that offer specials, such as “reduced juice” (- 105, for example). – 105 would mean that you’d be betting only $105 to win $100.

College basketball betting involves a betting line, also known as a point spread. For example, let’s say Duke is playing against Utah. Duke is listed as – 7, which means Duke is the favorite. Utah would then be listed as + 7, which makes them the underdog. If you place a bet on Duke at – 7, then Duke must win the game by more than seven points in order for you to win your bet. If you place a bet on Utah at + 7, then Utah must either win the game or lose by less than seven points in order for you to win your bet. If Duke wins by exactly seven points, then the game is a “push” or “no action” and everyone who wagered on one of the teams gets back their original wager amount.

You can certainly see where there would be much more opportunity to win by betting on Utah, since they don’t even have to win the game in order for you to win your wager. If you bet on Duke, on the other hand, they could win the game and you could still lose your wager if they do not win by more than seven. This is why many NCAA basketball betting experts wager on nothing but underdogs.

You may also see a Total listed for the game. For this example, let’s say there is a Total listed at 143. The total is the number of combined points scored by both teams in the game. If you think the two teams will combine to score more than the posted total of 143, then you would wager “Over the Total”. If you think the two teams will combine to score less than the posted total of 143, then you would wager “Under the Total”. If the total score ends up being exactly 143, then the total is a “push” or “no action” and everyone who wagered on the total gets back their original wager amount.

For this example, let’s say Duke won the game, 77 – 67. If you placed a bet on Duke at – 7, you’d subtract seven points from Duke’s score, making it Duke 70, Utah 67. If you placed a bet on Utah at + 7, you’d add seven points to Utah’s score, making it Duke 77, Utah 74. Either way, anyone who wagered on Duke won and anyone who wagered on Utah lost.

The actual final score of the game was Duke 77, Utah 67. That’s a total of 144 points. The posted total line was 143. So, bettors who wagered on “Over the Total” won their bets since 144 is over, or higher than, 143. Bettors who wagered “Under the Total” lost their wagers.

Betting information for beginners can also be found on the sports listed below. Just click on the appropriate link for:

College Football Betting

MLB Baseball Betting

NBA Basketball Betting

NFL Football Betting