Sports Betting Guide and Terms - Side

Definition

The term ‘side’ refers to a particular team (either favorite or underdog) in a sports matchup. In the sports betting industry, this term is used in conjunction with the terms against the spread (ATS), totals (over / under) , and moneyline (betting for a team to win straight up).

Advice

The following are general tidbits when betting sides:

Parlays. Parlays are generally a bad idea. One must hit all sides of a parlay for the ticket to cash, hence, one must win all the sides (it is hard enough to win one side, let alone multiple sides). There is an exception to this rule: in college football, parlaying the favorite to the over and the underdog to the under is a good bet if the spread divided by the total is greater than 33%.

Teasers. Similar to parlays, teasers are also a bad way to play. Although it does sound enticing, teasers are exactly what they advertise to be—teasers. Such bets often ‘tease’ the gambler by giving him/her points, but often if a team does not cover the regular line, such a team will not cover the teased line also.

‘Easy looking teased sides’. This is more of an advanced topic in spotting ‘bad lines’, but in general it states that to be wary of teams that are easy to tease—such as 7, 10, and 13 point favorites in football and 5-7 point favorites in basketball. Often these teams bust teasers, and hence, do not likewise cover their games.

Buying points. The author does not recommend buying points. Oddsmakers have already built in the inherent 50/50 proposition in setting the –110 line. Buying points by paying a higher commission will only require the sports gambler to increase his / her required winning percentage (from 55% to a higher one). In short, do not buy points.

Selling points. Similar to buying points, the author likewise does not recommend selling points. Only a handful of sportsbooks, such as www.pinnaclesports.com, offer this option. This betting strategy works by selling points back to the sportsbook and in return, the gambler will get a worse line for a better commission (often at +money). In the long run, one will lose games due to this type of strategy, although in the short term, one will be able to save on commission paid to the sportsbook.

Summary

In conclusion, a side is the team, either favorite or underdog, in a sports matchup. This term refers to either team and is used in conjunction with other sports betting terms.