It’s important not to rush into wagers, especially if you don’t have much experience. We’ve written this article to help you develop good habits right from the start. Below are our top sports betting guidelines. You’d be wise to follow all of these tips for legal sports betting in Indiana and any other state, no matter what your goals are.

Set Achievable Goals

Winning several bets and winning enough to turn a profit isn’t the same thing. The latter is quite hard. It’s a mistake to think you can rely on your knowledge of sports to beat the bookmakers at their own game. Even extensive knowledge doesn’t suffice. To set achievable goals, you need to learn the basics. Here is a quick introduction.

Fixed Odds

This is the conventional type of betting where the gambler predicts an outcome and then bets on the respective selection. The odds are called “fixed” because they are agreed upon placing the wager. The payout depends on these odds if a wager wins. Whether they’re moved or not after that is irrelevant. The types of betting listed below are alternatives to conventional fixed odds betting.

Exchange Betting

While fixed odds are used by exchange betting as well, no bookmaker is involved here. The bettors are the two parties to a bet. One lays a selection, and the other backs it. The first person acts as the bookmaker, offering the second fixed odds. If the second person’s selection is right, the layer must make a payout based on the odds agreed. The layer gets their stake if the backer’s selection proves wrong.

Live or In-play Betting

While the odds here are still fixed, the difference to traditional fixed odds sports betting is that these wagers are placed before the beginning of the betting event. Wagers can also be placed during the event with in-play betting. This type of betting has become really popular because of the many opportunities it has opened up.

Spread Betting

With spread betting, the gambler must decide whether a given number will be lower or higher than the spread posted by the bookmaker. You win or lose an amount, which is determined by the difference. Spread betting is common with both pro betting online and offline.

Pari-mutuel

While this type of betting is most popular for horseracing bets, you can use it for other sports too. It also does away with the need for a bookmaker. It doesn’t involve odds either. All players’ stakes are pooled for each specific betting market. When the event ends, those who chose the winners are all paid out a portion of this pool.

Since winning money gambling is less likely than losing, you must decide how much money you are able and willing to stake. You can set an annual, monthly, weekly, or even daily budget. It’s also important to avoid placing too many bets. This can be as damaging as wagering excessive amounts because it will result in losing money faster.