8 Bet Types Every Sports Bettor Should Know Before Placing a Wager

Sports betting rewards preparation and understanding of the available bet types; this is the most fundamental form of preparation for a new bettor. Placing a wager without understanding what you are actually betting on is a reliable way to lose money on a technicality rather than a bad prediction. The eight bet types below cover the vast majority of what any bettor will encounter across major US sports markets.

The Foundations

1. Moneyline

The moneyline is the simplest bet in sports wagering: you pick which team wins, and the odds reflect the implied probability of each outcome. A negative number like -170 means you need to wager $170 to profit $100, while a positive number like +150 means a $100 wager returns $150 in profit. Favorites carry negative odds, and underdogs carry positive ones, which makes the moneyline an accessible starting point for anyone new to reading betting lines.

2. Point Spread

The point spread levels the playing field between unevenly matched teams by assigning a margin of victory that the favorite must exceed for a bet on them to win. If a team is favored by 6.5 points, they need to win by 7 or more for a spread bet on them to cash. 

Betting the underdog means they can lose by up to 6 points, and the wager still wins. This is why spread betting often produces more competitive lines and tighter markets than moneylines in lopsided matchups.

3. Totals (Over/Under)

You are wagering on whether the combined score of both teams will go over or under a number set by the sportsbook. Totals betting is particularly popular in high-scoring sports like basketball and football, where game pace, defensive matchups, and weather conditions all influence how totals move in the hours before kickoff.

Building on the Basics

4. Parlay

A parlay combines two or more individual bets into a single wager, with all selections needing to win for the bet to pay out. The appeal is the significantly enhanced payout that comes with linking multiple outcomes, since odds multiply across each leg of the parlay. The tradeoff is straightforward: one losing selection voids the entire ticket, which makes parlays higher risk than single-game wagers despite their popularity.

The most common parlay mistakes bettors make include:

• Adding legs purely to increase the payout rather than because each selection has genuine value

• Including heavy favorites whose odds contribute little to the overall return

• Treating parlays as a primary betting strategy rather than an occasional supplementary one

• Ignoring correlated outcomes that sportsbooks often restrict or void in parlay format

5. Prop Bets

Proposition bets, commonly called props, are wagers on specific outcomes within a game that do not necessarily relate to the final result. Player props might cover how many passing yards a quarterback throws for, how many points a basketball player scores, or how many saves a goaltender makes. Game props can cover things like which team scores first or whether a game goes into overtime. 

Prop markets have expanded significantly recently, and the range available on any given platform varies considerably between regular-season games and marquee events. Bettors who want to bet on sports online on BetNow or any other offshore platform should check if prop markets are offered consistently across the season, since regular-season depth is a more reliable indicator of genuine market coverage than what a sportsbook makes available only around the Super Bowl or playoff games.

6. Teaser

A teaser is a modified parlay that allows the bettor to move the point spread or total in their favor across multiple games, in exchange for a reduced payout compared to a standard parlay. In football, a common teaser moves each line by 6 points, which can be used strategically to cross key numbers like 3 and 7. Teasers require the same all-or-nothing outcome as parlays but offer more control over the margin of each individual selection.

Advanced Bet Types

1. Futures

A futures bet is a long-term wager placed on an outcome that will be decided well down the road, most commonly a championship result. The odds on futures shift constantly in response to results, injuries, and roster changes, which means timing matters considerably when deciding when to place a futures wager.

Key things to understand before placing a futures bet:

• Your money is tied up until the event resolves, sometimes for an entire season

• Odds shorten as a team performs well

• Most sportsbooks do not allow futures bets to be cashed out before the outcome is decided

• The vig built into futures markets is often higher than on single-game bets

2. Live Betting

Live betting is a relatively new digital habit that allows bettors to place wagers on a game while it is in progress, with odds updating dynamically as the action unfolds. A bettor who notices a team dominating possession but trailing on the scoreboard can act on that observation in ways that pre-game lines simply never allow. Live betting requires quick decision-making and a stable platform that reliably refreshes odds under traffic, particularly during playoff games when volumes spike sharply.