Longshots may be most associated with horse racing, but bookmakers and bettors are getting more exposed with the term at any sport to tag two respective teams or players in a certain game. Conservative bettors are likely to stake their money on the favorites despite a smaller profit (depending on how big you are betting) that carries low risks. But bettors who calculate their risks or take a bold hunch defy logic and pick on the underdogs.

Bookmakers provide bettors with betting odds to serve as a guide or a basis on picking the bed., But deciding your bet solely based on betting odds may not be advisable, as bookmakers apply a certain margin to betting odds to ensure guaranteed profits on their end.. Bettors who place their money on longshots should gauge their decision based not only on odds, but on several aspects before weighing their options and making that call.

HOW LONGSHOTS ARE CLASSIFIED FROM THE FAVORITES

A longshot is simply defined in sports betting as the underdog, the side with the odds stacked against them, the one team or individual who is not expected to win in a match. A favorite is self-explanatory; the wise bet to win it all if it was the last game of the World Series in Major League Baseball, the no-tomorrow Super Bowl in the National Football League, or in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.Bookmakers do not just tag favorites and longshots by their whim, sentiments or biases. Even if the two teams are almost evenly matched based on lineups, winning records and statistics/past performances, there should be a favorite and the longshot. In such cases, the odds between each team can be close, prompting bookmakers to add margins to the odds very closely depending on how many bettors favor one team as the game approaches.Like rabid fans (or number geeky fans for that matter), picking the favorite from the longshot can be based on statistics, recent win-loss records of the teams, the, addition or subtraction of key players close to the match and momentum swings favoring one team or player against the other in some instances.

GETTING PAST THE FAVORITE-LONGSHOT BIAS

After poring over data ranging from team and individual statistics, win-loss records, player availability and checking out the intangibles from both teams and weighing it with the odds and margins offered by most bookmakers, bettors then get to decide where to place their money. But long-time bettors noticed the so-called favorite-longshot bias among many bookmakers. So how does this work? Or not?For the uninitiated, shortening the odds by bookmakers relative to expectations associated with each outcome of a match is the way to determine the favorite-longshot bias. For example, the odds of Roger Federer winning are listed as “a” while the odds for Novak Djokovic to win are “b,” the margin will be determined by : [(1/a) + (1/b)] x 100%.A strong favorite-longshot bias was spotted at the 1992 UK flat racing season, where only seven percent of losses was experienced by bettors among runners priced shorter than even money (2.00) from among a sample of 4,689 runners in 481 races. Bettors who placed their money on longshots at over 40/1 odds lost over 40%.Stronger biases are determined once bookmakers place larger margins,with the underdogs getting the extra margin. An example would be the 2018-2019 NBA season, when the Toronto Raptors took on the Golden State Warriors in the finals. One of the bookmakers priced the two teams at 1.07 and 14.00, respectively, while another bookmaker – with a much higher margin- priced them at 1.06 and 9.00. This showed that the major difference between the two bookmakers was determined on the longshot.

LONGSHOTS PROVIDE THE BIGGEST PAYDAYS

Like it or not, betting on a team whose odds range from 200/1 to even 500/1 and somehow defies logic to topple the highly-favored team in any sport spells nothing less than a fairy-tale moment in sporting history, much more at sports betting websites as a select few laughing their way to the bank after collecting their winnings.Betting on longshots may not just be confined to smart bettors who see something even bookmakers do not. Fan loyalty may also play a factor here, but it comes as a great risk. Imagine supporters of Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers placing all their money on their favorite player and team despite taking on Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2000-2001 NBA Finals, ignoring the major odds stacked against them,and winning it all.From team or player loyalty to gut feel to a hunch and the intangibles into play as well as going against the majority, the glitter of betting on longshots and winning big will always be at the back of every seasoned (and even a newcomer) bettor.. But better money management skills and a deep bankroll should come in handy for those going the longshots route to stay afloat in sports betting.

LONGSHOT BETS GONE WRONG

As previously mentioned, betting on longshot comes with very high risks, and the stakes could be even more dangerous if a large amount of money is placed on the underdogs. But making calculated risks gone wrong should be an eye-opener for bettors to approach each match depending on each sport.Team sports can be a safe haven for new bettors, as they only have to choose between two sides. But how about in horse racing where there are multiple entries in each race? Bettors should study carefully the odds and each horse and jockey lined up at the starting gate before making that call to bet. The success probability of longshots is difficult to be estimated by bettors in horse racing, as several factors may come into play, like a slow start, the horse suddenly fading at the homestretch.or the jockey making the wrong turn in the last 400 meters. Some bettors only bet on longshots as they “need” a big win to recover their previous losses. That is a dangerous option, as the chance for a big payday may not come at all long after all the races for the day are over.Sentiment or superstition is not advisable in horse sports betting, as these likely result in losses. For example, a bettor placed his money on a longshot like Flash Jockey just because he was impressed with the horse’s name. Such a decision is a recipe for disaster.

STRIKING A BALANCE

After bookmakers announce “all bets are off,” it is important for bettors to stick to their choice and live with the results, particularly when losing. Just in any competition, players should learn from losing, no matter how painful it may be. In sports betting, bettors should learn to accept losing huge amounts of money if they stick to picking the longshots often over the favorites.
For sports featuring multiple entries in every match, it helps that bettors are well-versed with each entry, their past records and compare the odds among different bookmakers. Take calculated risks like starting with a small amount of money before making big bets on longshots.Sure, getting your money tripled or quadrupled from your original betting amount is too tempting to pass up. But make longshot bets on sports bettors should fully understand, Best of luck and happy hunting (for that big payout).

There are always two sides to a story. This also holds true with spread betting, which has gone a long way that it expanded at a giant universe, or say, a multiverse, through several sports betting websites that are accessible anywhere from a local bar to even a remote town that barely has enough Internet access for bettors to stake their money on the games they love.

As the availability of point spread betting has grown virtually, so are the many options bettors can use to raise their chances of winning in so many ways. The odds of winning in spread betting vary not only with the sport and leagues you are betting but also how you know the sport, the teams and trends surrounding the competition.

Sure, sportsbooks will guide bettors how much a point spread will possibly serve as keys to winning big money. They can only help you as much but ultimately, it is yours to decide your fate in winning or losing.

ADAPTING TO THE TIMES

At the time social media serves as a powerful tool to spread information around the world, gone are the times that bettors have to go straight to the casino to place their bets without even thinking properly about the choices they make due to the long travel time and the stress of going back home.

How expanded is the spread betting multiverse? Everything can be accessed by a click of your fingers, from your desktop PCs to laptops and even to smartphones on some sites. Placing bets has been more accessible than ever; it gives bettors no excuses to miss out on their favorite teams or the crucial games that merits their full attention after a full working day.

Can spread betting further expand to a bigger universe (or yes, a multiverse like in a popular superhero movie)? Bettors have seen how the sportsbook breaks down all aspects of the game at every sport from a quarter to a half to another quarter (in basketball) and per half (football) and even player-related bets. Sports betting websites continue to lure more potential bettors with increasing bonuses and risk-free bets for starters and this trend will further continue.

Point spread betting can only go higher, thanks to more exciting teams and players in every sport and an expanding creativity by sportsbooks that can provide unlimited potential. The world is indeed catching up, and sports betting lines can only spread everywhere from Internet cafes to the smallest store in a remote town of a province.

Change is good in everything we do. It’s just a matter of embracing these changes and properly adapting to the times but being responsible for the (points spread) choices that we make.

THRILL OF CHASING POINT SPREADS

Point spreads may be different depending on any sport, but some of the basic aspects remain. In football, bettors look out not just which team will win and by what margin, but also how the match can go based on the two teams performance the past few matches.

For example, take the case of a match between Manchester United against Tottenham. The sporting line says United will win featuring two to three goals as Tottenham has proven to be a defensive team by limiting opponents to less than two goals at the time the match will be played. If bettors believe the two teams will end up in a low-scoring match, they will sell at the lower end of the spread to raise their chances.

A high-scoring match, however, will urge bettors to buy at the upper end of the spread.
Things would be different in a possible high-scoring, entertaining matchup like, for example, Arsenal and Manchester City.

A bettor gets to earn GBP12 in profit should the match end up tied at 2-2.High-scoring games are usually the case in basketball, particularly the NBA, so point spreads may vary from six to eight points to as much as 10 to 20 points. But there are also some defensive-minded teams that, when ranged against a high-scoring team, can drag the match into a low-scoring match that could be different from the lines posed by sportsbooks days before the match.

But what do sports bettors get in point spread betting aside from the chance to win and get a higher payout? For the die-hard non-bandwagon hoops fan, it’s the glory of sticking to their favorite team win or lose and still have a chance to win if they get the right point spread against their team’s opponent.

Say, an NBA matchup between a defensive-minded team in the San Antonio Spurs back in the Tim Duncan era of the 2000s against the high-scoring Golden State Warriors that featured Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant in the mid-2010s provide contrasting fates based on their playing styles.

Bettors then look back at the last five to 10 games of both teams, and say the Spurs are winning by holding down teams to 97.5 points per game. But the Warriors were 4-1 in their last five games by scoring 121 points per game and outgunning their opponents by 10 to 15 points. So how do you bet on this game?

If both teams are on winning streaks, the sportsbook will still pick a favorite and a point spread for bettors to choose. The hunch may come into play here, as the decision is still yours to make, but try to look carefully if you believe the Spurs will win by five points or less or the Warriors emerge victorious by 10 to 15 points.

The thrill of betting on point spreads? You can still bet on an underdog like the Spurs and they lose but you still win your bet.

RISKY BUT EXCITING

The risk of betting on point spreads will also be how fast the complexion of the match differs throughout the course of the contest. A slow start in soccer may doom bettors to a low-scoring match that might end up in a scoreless draw, only to see a sudden momentum change late in the second half or the final minutes of the game that sees a team like Man United outscore Man City, 5-1 despite their last five matches seeing them limit their opponents to get victories.

For low-scoring sports like soccer, bettors are urged to adjust their bet amounts accordingly while making adjustments to high-scoring sports like basketball, rugby and cricket. There are some bettors who bet on impulse and their faith on their favorite team that they spend larger amounts for them winning by a huge margin.

A word of advice: Know the sports, your team, the opposing teams and their recent performances before plunging on high stake bets. New bettors in a particular sport can start with smaller amounts before slowly taking it to a whole new level and make large bets once they learn the ropes of the sport.Another exciting feature for point spreads betting? Bettors need to watch until the end of the game – a lopsided result of a close one – to determine if they won or not.

MORE CHANCES TO WIN

For basketball, the NBA in particular, the point spread market has already expanded not just for the final result but from the first quarter to halftime and the third quarter to prop bets involving one player against the other during the playoffs. Newcomers into point spread betting will not be out of the dark as most sports betting sites offer tips and information on spread betting and near-accurate betting odds to guide them before placing their money on a certain spread.

Sportsbooks in most sports, not just in basketball, now offer live scenarios and futures game days for bettors to analyze and consider, as well as alternate spreads and variations for battles among players, for example. Risk-free bets for new bettors to as much as USD2,500 are now offered in these sportsbooks to give them more confidence to stake their money early into their sports betting journey.