Category: Sportsbook Tips

This is a question a lot of beginner bettors ask when they first face the options the sportsbooks offer them in terms of types of bets – is parlay a good bet to make? We are going to answer this, but first, let’s review again what is parlay and how parlay bets work.

Unlike straight bet, where the player bets on the outcome of a single game, the parlay gives the players the chance to accumulate multiple bets into one. By doing so the player increases the risk of the bet, but also the reward. Keep in mind that in order for your parlay to be a winner, you must predict all games on your parlay, losing even one, of let’s say 10-game parlay will result in a loss.

Let’s say you log into your favorite sportsbook and see three football games are left available for betting and you think you can predict the outcome of all three games. Now you have a choice to make – should I bet on each game individually (straight bets) or should I go for a parlay instead? Assuming you have $100 to bet on each game and each will pay even money if correct, then when you do 3 straight bets, you will win $300. But if you choose a parlay betting all $300 on it, instead of $100 on 3 games, and you get them all correct – your payout will be $2,400! As you can clearly see, parlay does seem to be a darn good bet in this case.The downside to parlay is that you’ve just tripled the risk of losing the bet. If just one of those games were a loser – you lose all $300 wagered on the parlay bet, while with the straight bets option you would have $100 profit in the end, vs. $300 loss with the parlay.

Still, parlay is a good bet, especially when you don’t have a large bankroll. Some people have parlayed $10 into thousands, but those cases are indeed rare. With such long parlays, it’s not sports betting but gambling and we strongly advise against confusing betting with gambling. if you want to give the parlays a shot and try to win some really big amounts, try to keep your parlay withing three, maximum four games. And don’t be discouraged to throw in a Hail Marry if you have 50 cents left in your sportsbook account – put them all on a parlay with a bunch of games and let it ride. Sometimes gambling is fun.

You wouldn’t believe how many times we heard the question if the online sportsbooks are safe for USA players, or some variation of it, like is my money safe with the offshore sportsbooks or people wondering how safe for US players the sportsbooks are in general. It pains me to say it, but you have every right to be asking these questions and at the same time, this is one of the main reasons sportsbook recommendation websites like ours exist. Let’s make one thing clear right of the bat – you are safe with the online sportsbooks for US players we have listed and that’s a fact. But are all online sportsbooks safe for USA players? The answer is “no”.

We have built our reputation on offering advice about solid sportsbooks, top of the line, if you will. But if you do some internet browsing and searching for books, you will find soon enough that there are a lot more sportsbooks claiming to welcome US players as we have recommended on our site. The simple truth is that a lot of those sportsbooks, the majority in fact, are just awful, rogue, thieving sportsbooks. There is just no sugar-coating some of them. We can spend countless hours retelling horror stories of bad sportsbooks and maybe one day we will add some of those stories to our website, but for now the best advice we can give you is – if a USA sportsbook is not listed among our recommendations, just play it safe and avoid it. You can look at an offshore sportsbook like a car – we told you which are the most dependable models, pick whichever you want from them. The bad sportsbooks are like a lemon – it will always let you down when you need it the most and leave you on the side of the road. In the sports betting scene, the moment of let-down will likely come when it’s time to collect your winnings and are met with silence or just a bunch of excuses.

So in general, are the online sportsbooks safe for USA players – there are some that are perfectly safe and have reputation many traditional companies could only envy, while there are those sportsbooks you shouldn’t even look at, not to mention giving them your private information and you money.

 

If there is a timely advice everyone deserves to be reminded of, whether you are a pro bettor or just began wetting your feet with the sportsbooks, is to never confuse sports betting with gambling. Sure, in the eyes of the law, regulators, license issuing entities,sports betting is indeed considered a form of gambling, but you as a bettor should never make this mistake.

Sports betting is as much about gambling as driving down the road. There are chances of something happening (or not) on everything and always, literally, but that doesn’t make it gambling. This point is best aimed at the beginner bettors, although as mentioned, some pros need a reminder every now and then. Do not approach sports betting as a form of gamble, or you will lose. Sports betting is all about knowledge and making an informed decision, period. What makes it gambling in the eyes of many is that in the end – it involves money, and not the risk. Let’s break this down.

Sports betting is about knowledge. Get your facts right, do the research, know what you are talking about. Back in the days, the really sharp bettors were people who lived by the sport – they watched every game possible, read every article in the paper, kept track of all the stats, you get the picture. Today with the internet and its vast knowledge just a mouse click away, you don’t have to be a die hard fan, all this information is freely available online. Heck, even the online sportsbooks are more than happy to provide you with stats on every sport imaginable. So take advantage of this spots data, find a few places where you can gather information about the teams, players, coaches, all their stats, etc. and keep it handy. And most importantly – use it all the time.

Sports betting is about making informed decision. Now that you have the knowledge a click away, make sure you put it to good use. Making the right decision is where you will draw the line between betting and gambling. Don’t be the old lady on the slot machine, putting a dollar in and hoping to win the jackpot based purely on luck and nothing else. Sure, in sports betting sometimes you will have luck work against you, but this should be exactly your goal: luck should only work against you, your picks must be based on the knowledge you have and the good decision you made. When you win, you should never think that “you got lucky with those bets”.

Bottom line – collect the information, stay cool and make an informed decision about your bets. And never, ever bet on your favorite team!

For the first time online bettor, choosing the right sportsbook is the first and most important step. Today we will take a look at the basic features you should consider. Keep in mind that we assume that you have some understanding of sports betting and you have bet before at a traditional sportsbook or bookie.

Unlike the traditional sportsbooks, primarily those in Vegas, the world of online sportsbooks is vast and vastly unregulated. Some sportsbooks are licensed, but in Latin or South American jurisdictions and to be perfectly honest – carry no more weight than a blank piece of paper. We have never heard of scenario when one of those licensing bodies have intervened in a dispute. That said, it’s not all doom and gloom. The online sportsbooks are probably the best example of true economy at work – only those with good reputation and treating customers the right way survive. On the flip side – how do you choose the right sportsbook and not one of the hundred rogue ones? Simple – see our list of sportsbooks for US players and choose one. We have listed only the very best few sportsbooks, which have been true to their customers for well over a decade each.

But how do you choose one among those sportsbooks? Well, there are a few main features which distinguish the sportsbooks. Deciding which one is a priority for you will indicate which sportsbook is the best for you. Let’s look at the major considerations you should think about:

The sportsbook bonus – naturally this is one of the first thing people wonder about – how much in free money they will get. Nothing wrong in that, just make sure you understand the sportsbook bonus beforehand. For example, some online sportsbooks offer large bonuses money-wise, while others offer a greater percentage. In other words, if you plan on depositing small, look for the biggest amount of money you can get as a bonus, while if you deposit big, look for the highest percentage. Also keep in mind the bonus rollover, the higher the rollover the worse the bonus is.

The betting markets – the betting markets simply refer to the number of things you can bet on. Some sportsbooks, such as Bovada have a very large number of betting markets, but the odds on some a slightly worse than Bookmaker, where you usually have an option to bet only on the core sports (football, basketball, baseball, etc). Is having the option to bet on Eastern European soccer more important than having a tad better odds? It’s up to you to decide.

Payment processing – finally we will look at the meat and potatoes, i.e. the deposits and withdrawals a sportsbook offers. Oftentimes this would be the main feature one considers when choosing a sportsbook, just out of necessity. Make sure you read our reviews of each sportsbook to see if they accept your preferred form of deposit (and withdrawal). For example, if you only have a Visa card and you plan on depositing using it, signing up at a sportsbook which does not offer Visa as a payment method would be pointless, no matter how good the sportsbook is.