Popular types of bets available
As is the norm, BetRivers Sportsbook offers different types of bets to its community of players in Maryland. Players don't have to bet on the winning team only but can choose to bet on the total points scored as well as the margin of victory. Below is a list of bet types available to Marylanders on BetRivers Sportsbook:
Money line bets
Moneyline bets simply involve picking the winner of a sporting event. There’s no need to worry about the margin of victory or whether a certain player scores more or less than a projected point total.
Point spreads
Unlike the moneyline bet, point spread bets involve deciding on the margin of victory. For example, say the Baltimore Ravens are 4.5-point favorites against the Pittsburgh Steelers. In this example, the Ravens would need to win by at least five points for a bet on Baltimore to win. On the opposite end, a bet on Pittsburgh would win if the Steelers won outright or if they lost by four points or less.
Sportsbooks tend to include half-points when listing the spread to avoid a “push,” where the spread line perfectly matches the margin of victory. If the Ravens were five-point favorites and won 28-23, those who placed bets with the line at Baltimore -5 would see their bets returned.
Parlay bets
Parlay bets involve stringing together multiple betting outcomes into one wager to multiply the winnings. Let’s say the Ravens and Baltimore Orioles are playing on the same night and you want to bet on both teams to win. You could place a $20 wager on the Ravens at -125 and a $20 bet on the Orioles at +200, risking $40 and winning $56 for a $96 payout.
However, if you parlay those two bets (called “legs”) into the same bet, you could potentially risk $20 on one total bet and win $88 for a $108 payout if both the Ravens and Orioles win. Unfortunately, if either one loses, the entire bet is lost.
Keep in mind that the more legs to parlay, the harder it is to get a winning bet. All it takes is one leg to miss and the entire parlay is sunk. BetRivers offers parlay insurance on parlays with at least four legs if exactly one leg misses the parlay. There are some conditions to the insurance, such as all legs having odds of -200 or better, and the total parlay having odds of +100 or greater. Insurance can be a great way to take the sting out of a close loss.
Teasers/pleasers
Teaser bets are an expansion of parlay bets wherein the bettor can adjust the spread to make a bet easier to win, though the sportsbook will adjust the payout accordingly. Sticking with the football example, let’s say the Ravens are 8.5-point favorites against Cleveland, and the Washington Commanders are 3.5-point underdogs against the Carolina Panthers.
With a teaser bet, you could adjust the Ravens' line down to -2.5 points and the Commanders’ line to +9.5. Continuing the example, if the Ravens won 28-21 and the Commanders lost 28-24, both of the original bets and the parlay would’ve failed to cover. However, by teasing the lines, the new parlay hits.
By “buying” the additional points for teasers, your cost for the parlay will increase, and the payout for winning will be less because of the increased win probability for the player with these new lines. Still, a well-placed teaser can still result in a worthwhile payout.
Teasers are most common on football, where you can usually tease up to at least 7.5 on a spread. They can also be applied to basketball parlays (though this is less common) and usually, you’re permitted up to four points on a basketball teaser.
A reverse teaser or “pleaser” is the exact opposite of a teaser, where you’re instead conceding points to the sportsbook in pursuit of an even higher payout. Using the above example of Ravens -8.5 and Commanders +3.5. A full six-point pleaser means Baltimore must now win by a whopping 15 or more points and Washington must win by at least three points for the parlay to hit. By nature, reverse teasers are even harder to hit than a standard parlay, but hitting one results in even higher payouts.
Championship futures
Do you have a really good feeling about the Orioles winning the World Series this year? If so, you can play a futures bet, where you’re betting on the outcome of a long-term result rather than betting on a day-of or next-day game.
Futures bets are often on things like players winning awards or passing certain statistical milestones over the course of the season. With championship futures bets, you’re specifically betting on which team or player will win a specific event.
Because the bets are often placed before the start of the event or the season, you can potentially get a favorite to win at plus money when they might otherwise have minus odds. Before the season, Baltimore may be +2000 to win the Super Bowl. However, if they make the big game, you’d never see those kinds of odds on the moneyline.
A good rule of thumb is the earlier you place a futures bet, the better odds and larger payout you’ll receive with a win, but the closer to the event, the greater your chances of winning, even if the payout isn’t as large.
Round robins
Round Robins are another extension of a parlay bet where you are essentially boxing multiple bets and playing an individual parlay on each combination.
For example, let’s say your Round Robin bet includes the Orioles, Yankees, and Dodgers. You have three parlays: Orioles/Yanks, LA/Orioles, and Yankees/LA. If two two of those teams win, you hit one parlay, and you hit all three of them if all of your selections are correct.
Over/under bet
Having a hard time picking a winner? Placing an over/under bet may be the play for you. Instead of deciding who will win, you can instead wager on whether teams will combine to score above or below a certain point total.
Over/under or “totals” bets can also apply to a player’s individual point total or other statline. For example, an Orioles pitcher registering over or under six strikeouts or a Ravens quarterback throwing for more or less than 235 yards would also be considered totals bets.
Live betting
Live betting, also called “in-play betting,” involves betting action after the event has already started. Successful live betting involves understanding game trends, quick decision-making, and good instincts. Every pitch, play from scrimmage, or penalty called can and will affect the live-betting odds, and getting your bet in at the right time can have a huge impact on your potential payout.
For this reason, we highly recommend you only place an in-play bet for an event you’re actively watching. Stat lines while in-play can only tell so much of the story of the game, and betting solely based on the scoreline at the time can be a recipe for disaster.