Betting: An act of risking money on the outcome of a game/competition. A bettor either wins the amount they risked or loses the money they placed at stake. Sportsbook: An establishment/website that accepts wagers on sporting events and returns winnings based on the results of those competitions. Oddsmaker(s): The people responsible for setting and adjusting betting lines/odds. Favourite: A team or athlete that oddsmakers anticipate will win the game/competition. Underdog: A team/individual that oddsmakers anticipate will lose the game/competition. Moneyline: A straightforward type of bet where a bettor picks one side to win a game/competition. A winning bet yields a payoff equal to the total amount risked.

Theoretically, any bet that offers you value should make you money long-term. However, due to variance in betting, you should always expect to lose some bets and only bet those that offer you true value.

Finding value is a subjective process and you can find it in many different ways. Some examples include –

When a selection is priced lower than its realistic chance of winning this can represent value. For example 2/1 on a team with a 25% chance of winning is better value than Evens (1/5) on a team with a 50% chance of winning.

Another way to find value is through a method called “matching”. This involves taking multiple bets on competing selections in order to increase the potential payout (known as a parlay). The more selections you choose, the higher the payout.