A couple of "newb" questions. All replies appreciated.

[jmrogers7]

Hi all -

I am just getting into sports betting. I have always bet football games with the basic ATS bets. However, I am betting baseball for the first time and have a few newb questions that i was hoping some of you could take the time to give me a quick answer to.

First of all, what exactly is a "unit"? When I see a line that says, for example, "-110", I am assuming that the "-110" is a single unit. But what exactly does that mean? If someone could give me a brief but thorough explanation of the concept of units and how it is meassured I would appreciate it.

Secondly, I have seen lines listed a couple of ways. What is the differnce between a line like "St. Louis -1 -116" and "St. Louis -116"? Again, any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[tech]

A unit is your standard wagering amount -- this is unique to each individual. Typically you would want this to be about 1%-2% of your sports betting bankroll. When you see a line listed at -110, that means you have to bet $110 to make $100, or you have to lay 11/10 odds. Using these odds, you can work out what the figures will be for your specific betting amount. As an example, let's say my betting unit is $500. Then for a line of -110, I have to bet $550 to win $500.

The STL -1.5 is a runline. Without the -1.5, STL just has to win the game for you to win your bet. With the -1.5, they have to win by at least 1.5 runs (so really at least 2).

[20Five]

Both questions are very simple to explain and understand.. here goes:

First of all a unit is simply a set bet amount size, that usually corresponds to the size of your bankroll. A single unit play is your standard bet, maybe $10 if you a $300 bankroll, or $1,000 if you had $30,000. On most forums you'll see people say a unit just so everyone can operate on more or less the same level. Sometimes you might see a capper say, I like this play a lot Im making it a 2 unit play, or something along that line.. they feel stronger about this play and want to wager more then usual on it. Money management is key to being successful find a system that works for you as soon as you can.

Second, the -110 is the price your paying to pay that side to win the wager. It is very simple to calculate once you get the concept down.. Say you play the Mavericks -200 to beat the Sonics.. in this case you'd need to bet $200 to win $100. If the price were -150 on the mavs, you could win $100 by only wagering $150.

On the flip side, you might see a dog who gets a price such as the Reds +140 vs the Giants.. this is just as easy, bet $100 to now win $140.

Obviously this price (also called juice, or vig) isnt good for you, the lower you get it the better.. This is also why a lot of us have a few different books to play from, often trying to find the site who offers the best price for what game we want. Why would we play the Bulls -135 on Bodog if we could get them for -125 on Pinnacle. At first glance this might not seem like a big difference, but over the long term the amount of juice you pay out will definetly influence your long term gain or loss.

Hope that helps [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

[jmrogers7]

Tech - Thanks for the quick response!

Interesting. So, does that mean that you have an overall individual betting unit (i.e. - max wager you are willing to make on any given bet)? Or, does it mean that a unit is actually whatever amount you make on any given bet? By that I mean, let's say I make a $50 bet on game #1 and a $100 bet (the max that I would be willing to bet on any given game) on game #2. Does that mean that I have 2 different units? Or does that mean that I have a 1 unit bet on game #2 and a 1/2 unit bet on game #1?

Also, that would seem to mean that when someone says they are up X amount of units for the year that could really mean anything in real dollars since we do not necessarily know what there actual unit measurement is. Is that correct thinking?

Thanks again. Sorry for the newbiness nature of these questions. [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

[20Five]

dam you tech beat me to it [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[null]

Hello,
A unit can really mean anything, depending on who is using the term. Generally it means 1% or 2% of your bankroll. If you are varying the amount you bet based on how much you like a play, you aren't supposed to do more than double it (and I've also read advice of only increasing it by 50%). Varying the amount you bet by more than that is usually a bad idea.

As for that line, when I bet St. Louis -1 -116, that means you subtract a run from their score. So if they win by one my bet pushes. Baseball is generally bet on the moneyline, but there's also a thing called a runline you can bet. When you bet a runline you either give up 1.5 runs with a favorite or get 1.5 runs as a dog, for adjusted odds (unlike spreads it doesn't vary from game to game, although some books will offer several different runlines for the same game with different juice). There is also such a thing as an alternate runline, which handicaps the dog and gives runs to the favorite. Pinnacle lets you change how many runs you give/take with a runline, so I took St. Louis -1 -116 instead of betting them on the moneyline at -157. Most places only deal with the standard +/- 1.5. When betting runlines, keep in mind a good percentage of games are decided by a single run.

(got beaten by just a little bit there, heh)

[jmrogers7]

Excellent info, 20Five! Thanks for aking the time to write it down. I have a VERY small bankroll right now to work with (the majority of my roll is tied up in poker sites where I do the majority of my playing. I am picking this up on the side because first I love sports, and second, why not make it interesting, right? [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Because of my small bankroll at the moment I have'nt been making wagers over $20. So, does that mean that for me, a unit would be $20? I think that that is what I'm hearing.

Thanks again!

[tech]

[ QUOTE ]
Also, that would seem to mean that when someone says they are up X amount of units for the year that could really mean anything in real dollars since we do not necessarily know what there actual unit measurement is. Is that correct thinking?


[/ QUOTE ]

Completely correct. One person might be up 100 units and be up $1000 while another person could be up 10 units and up $50000. I plan on answering the other part of your question, but it takes a much longer response and I am in a rush. I will try to get to it later if no one else does. Good luck.

[jmrogers7]

Thanks, null! You guys are definitely helping me understand things better!

[jmrogers7]

Thanks, tech! I look forward to seeing your reply to my other question.