Rugby World Cup bets
The Rugby World Cup was first held in 1987 which is now a four-year round tournament.
The tournament consists of twenty teams split into 4 groups, competing against one
another over the duration of four weeks. The next International Rugby World Cup is
scheduled to be held in 2011 in New Zealand.
The Rugby World Cup betting becomes more intense after the 1st qualifying final when
equal footed teams play against each other. Betting can be done in a variety of different
ways during the world cup including the 1st Half & 2nd Half Handicap (explained later
on), 1st stoppage in Play among others.
Basics of Sports Betting
The sports betting history goes back to ancient times. Modern day betting systems mostly
originated from the legalization of horse racing betting. Nowadays legal betting systems
are licensed by the government.
Different sports have different system of betting. Some of the same sport may have more
than one way of placing bets. In order to understand this system, one first has to
understand the basic terminology.
Betting actively is called "action". For example if you want to place a bet on a rugby
game, you might say something like "give me some action on the game tonight".
Usually when one team is favored to win against a particular competing team, the weak
team is given a handicap to level the odds. For example, bets are to be placed against a
game of the English Premium League football (soccer) and Manchester United is favored
to win against Blackburn playing in Blackburn. Then the handicap might be something
like Man United -2 – Blackburn. This means that Manchester United would have to win
by more than 2 goals, in order for the bets to pay off.
The net profit gained by the bookmakers (colloquially ‘bookies’) is called the "handle". The Super Bowl usually
makes for the biggest handle annually for many bookies.
Another form of the handicap is the spread, which is used for sport where the scoring is
high. The spread is used to balance the odds in a game. On the contrary, in sport where
scoring is not very high like baseball, the money line is used. This basically is an
indicator of the percentage of bets placed on a particular team. Usually placing a bet on a
team which is highly favored to win costs more than betting on an underdog.
In games where money line is not used, usually because both teams are equally matched,
such a game is called a pick. Betting on either game listed as a pick will cost the same
amount of money.
A sort of a high risk jackpot is the "parley", where a bettor tries to guess the outcome of a
couple of games instead of one. Since the odds are much higher in a parley, so is the
reward.
Role of the Oddsmaker and placing bets
In the sport betting world, on of the most crucial role is that of an odds maker. The odds
maker is the person who sets the "line". The "line" means the point spread or the money
line set for the sport against which betting will be done. In layman terms, a line is simply
guessing the odds of a particular game translated into the betting system being used.
When a big casino issues the first line of the day for a game, it is called the starting line.
Other bookies might issue their own lines but the starting line is considered the most
reliable.
The job of the odds maker is to make sure that the bets are evenly divided among both the
teams playing in the game. This means that no one team is betted unevenly heavy against
the other team, because in such a case the bookie stands a much higher risk of losing
money, in case the heavily betted side wins. The line can even be altered by the odds
maker in response to the betting tread.
This is especially true if a bettor who’s a reputable gambler places a bet. His/her bet
attracts a lot of attention and similar bets are likely to be placed by other bettors as well.
It’s a good tip to follow the trends of these bettors as they have a reputation to win often.
Also if a line is altered by an odds maker then the bettor can place another bet against
their old bets, which are still counted against the old line. This way the bettor may win on
both bets, this process is called "middling". For example if the line is set at Team A –
TEAM B -7. Where Team B is the home team, which is always written in capital letters,
is favored to win against the Team A, the underdog. The bets will pay off if the Team A
loses by more than seven points. Now if more and more bets start being placed on Team
B, then the line might be altered and look more like Team A – TEAM B -10. Now this is
done to even both sides, encouraging betting on Team A. Now if a bettor places another
bet, but this time on Team B. If the Team B wins the game by 8 points, then the bettor
has won by middling meaning that he won on both the bets. This is a great tip while
betting as well.
Betting online can save you time and hassle
Online betting has revolutionised the world of sports betting. It is no longer the case that you have to make it to the game, or even to the local bookies to get involved in the Rugby World Cup. Getting to a game can be costly, and stressful to say the least – finding that elusive car park and fighting your way through the crowds can sometimes tarnish the excitement of the day. The crowds and hooligans that often frequent the local pub or TAB can do the same for the avid punter. So betting online can be the most convenient way for you to back your favourite team.
Placing a bet online can also mean you have access to the latest information and updates on the game, if the weather has turned bad, or if a key player has received an injury and this means more informed wagering for you. Online also offers privacy and convenience that traditional betting venues cannot.
The Rugby World Cup is one of the most anticipated sporting events for many Australians, and the 2011 World Cup will prove to be no different. If you can’t make it to New Zealand to see the games, then you can still participate in your favourite sport by placing a wager online.