How to Bet

Co-authored by Seth Hall

Last Updated: October 5, 2024

Care to make it interesting? Making bets can liven up a sporting event, a card game, or even a boring night out with friends at the bar. Whether you want to put casual wagers of a few dollars or a round of drinks on an outcome, or you want to make more formal point-spread bets with the Vegas bookmakers, we've got you covered. You can make informed bets on sporting events, casino games, and friendly bar wagers with wikiHow help. See Step 1 for more information.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Betting on Sports

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1
Understand the fixed-odd, money-line bets. Fixed-odd bets are the simplest to play and learn. For any given event or game, a win-loss outcome is given a probability, which you can bet for or against. Sometimes they're portrayed as a fraction or a decimal, which will be multiplied by the amount of money you put down as a bet to result in the payout.
- Say the Bears are playing the Sharks, and the probability is listed as Bears +400. That means the bookie's odds are 4/1 that the Bears will win. If you bet $100, your payout would be $400 if the Bears won and if they lost, you'd lose your $100. This would be a likely odds if the Sharks were heavily favored to win.
- If the odds were 1/4, or -400 on the same outcome, and you placed a bet of $100, you'd only win $25 if the Bears won and would lose your entire $100 if they lost.
2
Understand the point-spread betting system. The point-spread system is used by handicappers and bookers to generate interest in putting money on the game by providing a range of possible outcomes to even the action. It's not an indicator of the odds, and isn't always indicative of the smartest bet. Rather, it's meant to generate bets for teams that are unlikely to win. The point-spread system is used to ensure that enough bets will be placed for either team to cover the betting.
- Say a spread of 10 is given in the Bears-Sharks game, and the Sharks are favored to win. If the Bears score plus the spread ends up with a total number of points greater than the points the Sharks scored in the game, bets against the spread would win, while bets with the spread would lose.
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3
Ignore parlays, teasers, and other betting shortcuts. Bookmakers, in an attempt to extort as much money as possible from betters with incredible-looking odds but extremely low-probability outcomes, have invented all sorts of exotic-play bets that are to your advantage to ignore completely. The odds are simply not in your favor. If it seems to good to be true, that's because it is.
- If you're interested in side or additional bets to make the action more interesting, consider placing total bets. Total bets are usually placed as side bets additional to a spread or fixed-odd bet, in which you bet on the total number of points scored. These are common panel-features of sports talk shows and can offer compelling action.^{[1]
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4
Find the smart money bet. A smart-money bet is the opposite of what the bookies want you to make. Professional sports bettors, also known as "sharps" will often make smart money bets by calculating their own odds and consolidating a variety of bookmakers numbers from different sources to create a composite odd from which they place bets. For you, that might mean looking at several bookmakers numbers and making the most-informed choice.^{[2]
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- Smart money betting usually involves placing your bet at the correct time, before enough people jump on your side of the bandwagon to change the odds and make it a worse bet. When you've decided how you're going to bet, make it quickly and lock in the odds at that point, don't wait until conventional wisdom changes the odds out of your favor.
5
Consider the intangibles. What are the weather conditions set to be like for the game? Who seems to have the most momentum? Who feels right in your gut? There's more to betting on a game than tangible statistics. If you're a fan of and very familiar with the sport you're betting on, go with your gut. Consider the intangible, unquantifiable factors that can affect the result of a game.
- Often, intangibles are also taken into account when bookies make the odds. If a player is out with injury or in the middle of a slump, these things are factored into the odds-making. But there's also a more difficult to qualify aspect to wins and losses that you can only get by watching lots of sports and making educated picks.
- Don't just bet on your favorite teams. A classic rookie mistake is making uninformed bets on the teams that you like because you think that'll make the game more interesting. It won't. You have rosy-tinted glasses when it comes to your home team, and the game's already exciting for you since you're a fan. Only bet on teams with good odds that feel right.
6
Find a bookmaker and place your bet. Many online and Vegas-based bookmakers are available for you to place bets with in a regulated and semi-legal form. In-person bookmaking is illegal, but online venues based primarily in Las Vegas operate in a semi-legal gray area, making it a popular choice for sports bettors.
- In the UK and elsewhere, online bookies operate similar operations that you can take advantage of for the same events, generally speaking.
7
Pick a hard line and stick to it. Placing bets on sports can suddenly make a game between two teams in the basement of the standings seem like the Super Bowl. It can be fun and add a little life into your regular sports-watching, but it can also be addictive and easy to get in over your head. Select a reasonable amount of money you're willing to invest in a season, a game, a year, or a sport, and stick to that amount. Never bet more than you're willing and able to lose, and only bet to keep the game interesting and fun. It's not a sustainable way to make money consistently, and can become addictive. Be careful.
- If you suspect you might have a problem, get help immediately and stop gambling. Gambling is a serious addiction that affects people all over the world, and it can be very difficult to quit alone. Learn when you have a problem and take the necessary steps to kick your habit.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Betting at the Casino

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If you want to see what the casino game is all about, decide on an amount of money you're willing to lose as a way of investing and then know when to quit. Gambling is addictive and can be dangerous, and spending more isn't a reliable way of making your losses reappear.
2
Play games of skill over games of chance. Games in which you play an active role in the outcome of the game result in smarter bets than games in which chance plays a larger role. In general, the smartest game is always poker, both in video form and in person, as long as you've got the skills to play. The smartest casino bets are those made in the midst of a poker game by a player who knows how to play. Learn to play poker well and make smart bets if you want to make money at the casino.
- Pure chance games like roulette, keno, and state-run lotteries offer the worst odds, making your investment worth the least in the long-run. If you want to make smart bets, bet on games in which your decisions and your play have some effect on the outcome.
- Games like blackjack, craps, and baccarat offer better outcomes and smarter investments than other kinds of casino betting.
3
Learn basic blackjack strategy. Blackjack is still a game in which chance plays a huge role, but learning the proper strategy can help you make smarter bets and blackjack offers decent player odds you can learn to take advantage of. Basic strategy is a tabulation of odds that smart plays memorize and use to make the most probable bets and decisions at any point in the game. Learn when to stand, when to hit, and when to split or double down.
- If you want to really improve your chances of winning and making good bets, learn to count cards. It's not illegal, but it is generally against the house rules, making it something that pit bosses have learned to keep an eye out for.
Make no-pass bets at the craps table. If you want to shoot craps with the high-rollers, bet against the roller. No-pass bets offer slightly better odds than pass bets, even if the roller makes point. Consistently placing no-pass bets still gives an advantage to the house, but it's not a bad one.
Bet on the dealer in baccarat. Like craps, baccarat is a relatively simple up or down game when you learn the ins and outs. In baccarat, you either bet the dealer will win or the player will win, and the game is played by passing the shoe around the circle and dealing out two hands (one dealer hand, one player). The rules for taking a hit favor the house slightly, though the odds are incredibly close, making dealer bets always the smarter option, by a hair.
While it's bad form to patrol the casino floor for people about to leave slot-machines (and is against the rules in some places) keep an eye out for people who've been sitting at a machine for hours without hitting any big pay-offs. When they get up to leave, play a few rounds. Those machines are statistically more likely to hit now.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Winning Bar Bets

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1
Turn water into whiskey. Ask the bartender for a shot of whiskey and a short glass full of water, then bet your friends you can switch the liquid in the glasses without using a third glass, and without putting either of them in your mouth. If you can't do it, the next round is on them. The trick is, you'll be able to do it every time.^{[3]
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- Use a business card, a playing card, or a coaster and cover the water-glass tightly with it. Turn it upside down, and put the water glass on top of the whiskey with the card separating them. Line them up carefully, then slowly pull the card out, so a little space remains.
- If you watch closely, the different densities of the liquids will cause them to switch places gradually. The water will flow down into the whiskey and the whiskey will rise, until both glasses are eventually switched.
2
Win a round with the "repeat after me" challenge. Order two shots and then bet a friend for the next round that there's no way they'll be able to repeat after you and drink their shot exactly the way you drink yours. To complete the trick, you'll need four coins, two given to each participant.
- Tell your friend to do exactly what you do. Put your shot glass on a coaster and let your friend repeat it. Then, put one coin to one side of your shot glass. When your friend does the same, put another coin on the other side. Your friend should be feeling quite confident now.
- Pick up the glass and take the shot, but do not swallow all of it. Hold some of it in your mouth, but swallow some of it to make it look like you took the whole thing. Your friend will be trained in repeating after you, and will down the shot. When he looks at you expectantly, spit out the rest of your shot back into your glass. Since he's taken his, he won't be able to repeat after you, meaning that you win!
3
Win the 2 x 2 challenge every time. Bet a friend that you can drink two pints of beer before they'll be able to take two shots of whatever liquor they favor. The only rules are that you're not allowed to touch the other's glasses and that you both have to wait to pick up the second glass until you've both put your first glasses down.
- Your friend will take the first shot quickly. Try to drink your beer quickly, looking concerned that you'll lose. Your friend will wait for you to finish smugly and talk trash. When you're finished with your beer, put it upside down over your friend's second shot, then pick up your beer and drink it at your leisure.
4
Make smoke come from your fingertips. Bet your friends for a round that you can make smoke come from your fingertips, then rub your fingertips together and promptly blow your minds. This bar trick requires a little preparation, but is easy to pull off.
- Tear off the striker strip from a box or a book of matches and fold it in half. Put it into an ashtray and light it on fire. Let it burn for a while and then blow it out. When you move it aside, there should be a yellowish-brownish residue left. Wipe it up with your fingers. When you rub your fingertips together, they should smoke slightly.
5
Collect 17 coins and win. Come up with a pile of 17 coins, preferably all the same, but the trick works just as well with a variety of coins. Tell your friend that you'll take turns pulling one, two, or three coins at a time from the pile, but that your friend will always be the last person to choose.^{[4]
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- The trick requires that you let your friend pick first. When they pull their coins from the pile, pull enough coins so that the sum taken from the pile for each turn is 4. In other words, if your friend takes 1 coin, you'll take 3. If your friend takes 2, you take two. Always keep the sum 4. After four rounds, you'll only be left with 1 coin and it'll be your friend's turn. You win!
6
Make the glass drink itself. Tell your friends that, like Soviet Russia, you can make a glass drink itself. For the trick, you'll need a glass with some water in it, a small plate or a saucer, and a match.
- Pour some water or other liquid from the glass into the saucer. Hold the glass upside down and light a match. Hold the match under the glass and wait for the match to burn out. When it does, put the glass upside down onto the plate and the liquid will move into the glass mysteriously, from the suction created by the heat.

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Only bet on money at your own cost and what you can afford.

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Never do anything that will hurt or offend anyone.

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