If you are a sports enthusiast and had wished to wager on sports in the past, but were weighed down by all of the technical jargon for example point spreads, odds, and book making, relax. After you have read this post, you will be ready to participate in a short period of time. Although sports betting may appear quite difficult originally, 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 usa and continued with the tradition. Early colonists have been known to bet on cock-fighting, boxing, and horse racing. Within the early nineteenth century, virtually all gambling was centered on horse racing with boxing in second place. On the contrary, with increasing popularity of baseball, the focus of sports gambling shifted to baseball betting towards the later involved in the century.

By the start of the 20th century, sports like the college basketball and football started getting the attention of open public and with the passage of time these sports were competing with baseball with regard to popularity. The earliest type of wagering on football and basketball involved the use of odds - a system still practiced today - often known as the cash line.

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

In simple terms, the point spread is a handicap that is placed on the likely winner of any basket ball or football game in points. One example is should the Lakers were expected to simply demolish the Clippers, the point spread for the game might be calculated at up to 20 points. Simply put, 20 points could 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 in the event the Lakers win by at least 21 points. Similarly, gamblers wagering on the Clippers stand to win their bets should the Clippers win the game as well as if 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 with the previous system where almost all gamblers placed bets on the exact same teams.

The huge success of the point spread helped the bookmakers recognize that the better betting options the general public had, the more bets they can be prone to place. This realization resulted in the establishment 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 come up with betting methods and opportunities, latest of them being teasers and parlays. In contrast, placing a sports bet with the traditional money line, against the point spread, or through totals, will still be the three most popular forms of sports gambling. No matter what sports you follow, there is an equal opportunity now to make money through your favorite sports.