If you are a sports enthusiast and had wished to wager on sports in the past, quality soccer but were weighed down by all of the technical jargon such as point spreads, odds, and book making, relax. After you’ve got read this post, you will be ready to participate in a short period of time. Although sports betting may appear quite challenging in the beginning, it isn’t as complex as it may seem.

Gambling had deep roots in England and quite naturally, the colonists brought their love of gambling over to the states and continued with the tradition. Early colonists have been known to bet on cock-fighting, boxing, and horse racing. Within the early nineteenth century, many gambling was centered on horse racing with boxing in second place. Conversely, with increasing popularity of baseball, the focus of sports gambling shifted to baseball betting towards the later a division of the century.

Through the start of the twentieth century, sports like the school basketball and football started getting the attention of open public and with the passage of time these sports were competing with baseball with regards to popularity. The earliest type of wagering on football and basketball involved the use of odds – a system still practiced today – also referred to as the cash line.

The method of betting with money line posed big problems for the bookmakers and they were forced to put together a substitute. A majority of gambles were inclined to place bets on college teams that have been quite superior to their opponents, making the outcome of the matches a foregone conclusion and resulting in losses for book makers. Just prior to the Second World War broke out, the bookmakers introduce a new method of sports gambling that transformed this industry forever.

In simple terms, the point spread is a handicap which is placed on the likely winner associated with any basket ball or football game in points. For instance, if the Lakers were expected to simply demolish the Clippers, the point spread for the game may be calculated at up to 20 points. Generally, 20 points will be either subtracted from the total score of Lakers score, or added to the total score of Clippers. In such a case, any sports enthusiast who placed a sports bet on the Lakers would only earn money should the Lakers win by at least 21 points. Similarly, gamblers wagering on the Clippers stand to win their bets in the event the Clippers win the game and also should the Clippers lose the game, gamblers can still win provided Clippers lose by 19 points or less.

The point spread helped the bookmakers to balance their books as bets on sporting events were more evenly placed in comparison to the previous system where almost all gamblers placed bets on the same teams.

The huge success of the point spread helped the bookmakers recognize that the more betting options the general public had, the better bets they would be likely to place. This realization resulted in the creation of another system, the totals. Better known as “overs / unders,”, this betting proposition provides the gamblers to bet on the total score of both the teams, irrespective of the outcome of the game.

Sports betting has gone through many stages of evolution with the passage of time. Bookmakers have continued to put together betting methods and opportunities, latest of them being teasers and parlays. On the other hand, placing a sports bet with the traditional money line, against the point spread, or through totals, continue being the 3 most popular forms of sports gambling. No matter what sports you follow, there is definitely an equal opportunity now to earn money from your favorite sports.