FanDuel Sportsbook offers PA sports bettors a robust menu of betting options. In addition to providing a variety of bet types, players will find all kinds of sports with available markets for those who prefer less popular leagues. Let’s peruse a few of the core bet types on FanDuel.
1. Point Spreads
Betting on the point spread forces the bettor to consider just how much better one team is than another. FanDuel projects the final score to determine how many points one team will win by and its up to the bettor to determine if they think that’s accurate or inaccurate.
For example, if the Golden State Warriors are listed as -4.5 favorites over the Los Angeles Lakers, a bet on the Warriors means they need to win by at least five points for that bet to cash. Conversely, if you bet on the Lakers at +4.5, they can lose by up to four points or win the game outright to win a bet with the point spread.
2. Moneyline
Moneyline bets are much simpler. All that matters when betting the moneyline is that the team you back wins the game outright. You’ll see the odds listed next to the team that’s favored are lower than those of the underdog, indicating the return on your money is greater if you correctly pick the underdog.
3. Totals
Rather than try to pick a winner or loser, PA sports bettors can also bet on the total amount of points scored by both teams. Let’s take a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers where FanDuel has set the total at 49.5. Bettors can bet on whether they think there will be more or less total points scored.
If the final score is 28-21 Chiefs, a bet on the under would cash.
4. First Half & Second Half Bets
While it’s most common for bettors to place their money on a moneyline, spread, or total for the entire game, they can also predict the outcome of a specific quarter, period, or half.
Here, it’s important to have an understanding of the rules. When placing bets on the final period of an event, there’s always the possibility the event finishes regulation in a tie. When this happens, all of the stats accumulated during extra time are counted towards your bet on the final period.
Simply put, if you bet on an under for the second half, overtime is not your friend as each team now has more time to increase the score.
5. Player Props
Player Prop markets allow you to bet on a player’s performance, rather than worrying about the entire team. Much like wagering on the total score of a game, these bets come in the form of an over or under.
Let’s say LeBron James and the Lakers are taking on the Phoenix Suns. FanDuel might set LeBron’s point total at 25.5 points for the game. Sports bettors can choose to either bet he will score more or less than 25 points that night.
6. Futures
For those who want to bet on future league champions or division winners, etc., FanDuel offers futures markets. A bet on a long-term outcome usually presents a high-risk/high-reward scenario.
For example, you can place a wager on who will win the 2024 NBA championship nearly a full year before the Finals are even played. So, why would you do that when you can wait until the season actually starts to see how the team performs? Because in some cases, the odds for a team to win it all will drop once they start winning games in the regular season.
7. Parlays
Parlays have become very popular with the advancements in online sports betting. A parlay is the act of taking two-or-more separate bets and combining them into one. When that happens, the bettor now needs every one of their bets to cash in order to win any money.
Since this presents greater risk for the bettor,the book will increase the payout should all of the selected bets hit.
8. Teasers
Teasers also require bettors to combine multiple bets into one with a slight tweak to the mechanics. For starters, bettors can’t include a moneyline bet within a tease. Rather than simply taking two bets and combining them into one like a parlay, a tease allows you to manipulate to separate spreads or totals in any direction.
Say there are two different games on the NFL slate that interest you: The New York Giants as -10.5 favorites over the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins -7.5 over the New England Patriots. You can tease the game by 4 points to move those numbers in your favor. Now, the Giants are -6.5 favorites and the Dolphins are -3.5.
9. Live Betting
Betting on games while they’re in play is known as live betting. PA sports bettors have the opportunity to wait for an event to get underway before placing any wagers. So, why would they do that?
Let’s say the Denver Nuggets are listed as -10 favorites over the New York Knicks. You think the Nuggets will win the game, but that’s a pretty large spread and it makes you nervous so you don’t lay any money on it.
Instead, you can choose to wait for the game to start to see if that spread goes down a bit. If the Nuggets start out slow and the Knicks build a lead, you’ll see FanDuel and other sportsbooks drop the spread in the Nuggets’ favor, ripening the moment for you to bet on them.