Online Sports Betting- Betting If Bets

One of the main reasons why bettors turn to online sportsbooks like HRWager to bet the games is the overall variety of betting options. Even though the majority of the action still centers around straight bets on the pointspread, total and moneyline, having the ability to tailor your overall betting strategy with different exotic bets has wide-scale appeal.

If you are looking for a great way to manage your online sports betting bankroll, placing an ‘If Bet’ is a proven strategy. This type of wager is similar to a parlay since you are grouping multiple plays into one single bet. However, with a parlay you have to win all those plays to cash in.

The basic premise of the if bet is one play dependent on the outcome of the previous play. If you win the first game, there is action on the second. If you win that game, there is action on the third game and so on. As soon as you lose an game, there is no action on any of the remaining plays included.

For example, you decide to make a three-team if bet on Sunday’s NFL games. Here are your three picks:

• New England (-7) against Buffalo
• Green Bay (-4) against Minnesota
• Philadelphia (+3) against Dallas

The actual times of the three games does not matter. An if bet starts with the game you bet first and then moves on to the other picks.

If New England covers the spread in the first game, there is action on Green Bay. If Buffalo covers in that game, the entire if bet is cancelled and you owe the money wagered on that game.

If New England and Green Bay cover as favorites, there is action on Philadelphia. If Minnesota wins that second game, there is no action on the third game.

An important aspect of an if bet is the actual amount of the wager since one bet builds on the next. Using the example above with a $100 bet on the first game, that would be the same amount wagered for every game included in the if bet.

If you win the first game, the $100 won rolls over to the next game. If you lose the second play, your net loss for the day is the $10 juice on that game. If you win the first two, another $100 is in play for the third game.

Most online books will take if bets up to seven teams with the minimum being at least two teams. You need to designate if your bet will still have action if the preceding play ends as a PUSH (tie). This is referred to as an “action” wager. Without that designation, the bet is known as an “if win only” play.

The main strategy behind any if bet is the order you play the games. Most bettors will use a confidence scale when putting the games together. You should make your most confident pick first followed by your next most confident play and so on.

As a general rule, if you do not already have a high level of confidence for any pick, do not risk money betting that game.

Once again, an if bet is designed to be a money management tool based on your total betting bankroll. It puts a stopgap on how much money you can lose while riding a winning streak if all your picks are correct.