Intro to Sports Betting Part 3: Futures, Vig, and Pushes
In continuation with my previous posts, let's delve more into sports betting and understanding types of bets. In my first post, we covered the three major types of bets - Moneyline, Spread, and Over/Under - as well as reading and understanding odds and payouts. In my second post, we covered parlays and prop bets. In this post, we will cover futures, vig, and pushes.
Futures
Spreads, Moneylines, and Totals cover individual games. Futures are bets on the outcome of events far off in the future, and many do not involve game outcomes. Two common types are bets on the future outcome of the title game such as the Superbowl or world series winner, and outcomes of the draft such as which player is selected with the first pick, or which team gets the first pick. The odds are typically set at the beginning of the season and may change dramatically over the course of the season, but the odds you bet at are locked in for the season. Futures can also be used to cover MVP winners or other outcomes such as win totals for the season being above or below a pre-set total.
Vig
Vigorish, sometimes known as the juice, is the cut oddsmakers make on each bet. For example, if they offer a spread of + 2.5 on Team A, they are offering -2.5 on Team B. In reality, the outcomes are 50/50. But the odds will likely say Team A +2.5 (-110) and Team B - 2.5 (-110). What this means is that the oddsmakers are taking a small cut from the bet. If they collect $110 from a bet on team A, and $110 from a bet on team B, they will pay $210 to the winner and keep the $10. Typically, sportsbooks will offer spread odds of -107 to -110. This ensures that if they receive equal volumes on both sides of the bet, they net a profit by taking the bet. This also means that in order for a better to turn a profit on betting 50/50 odds, you have to win slightly more frequently. With standard -110 odds, you would have to win at least 52.39% of your bets to turn a profit due to the vig.
Pushes
A push is a bet that neither side won. This can happen if a spread is a whole number and the score finishes at that number. For example, if the spread is Team A -3 against Team B, and Team A wins by exactly 3 points, then neither bets on Team A nor bets on Team B beat the spread. In this scenario, the oddsmakers have to refund the bets entirely. Such outcomes are not favored by oddsmakers as they typically stand to make a profit off of all betting activity with the vig. Therefore, spreads are usually in half-point increments to ensure that there is no push, but it can happen. In addition, a push is a possibility for a bet with no spread (even money) if the teams tie.
Next Steps
If you would like to learn more about sports betting, many sports betting apps offer tutorials on advanced betting strategies and also offer promotions to receive free bets to try it out for yourself. At many of these sites, you will also receive bonuses matching any deposits you make.
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