By Timothy An

Moneyline: Betting on what team is going to win the game. For example, if the Spurs odds to win are -130 and the Warriors odds to win are +110, it means the Spurs are favored to win.

- If you bet $130 on the Spurs, you would win $100.

- If you bet $100 on the Warriors you would win $110.

a). (z/100) = (y/x) b). (100/z) = (y/x)

If you want to calculate how much you would win if you bet a value other than $100, use the equations above to calculate. The equation in (a) is to solve for the odds if it is a negative number. You put the odd in (z), then how much you want to be in (y), then solve for (x). So, let’s say you want to bet $50 on the Spurs winning and their line is set at -140.

(140/100) = (50/x)

X = 35.71

In this particular case, you would get a payout of $35.71.

Betting the Line: Betting the line means that you are essentially betting to double your money. An example of a line would be Los Angeles Lakers -9.5 and Miami Heat +9.5. This means that the odds are set at the Laker’s winning by 9.5 points. You can either bet the Lakers -9.5, which means you are predicting the Lakers will win by 10 or more points. Or you can bet Miami Heat +9.5, which means you are predicting that the Miami Heat will win, or lose by 9 or less. If you are correct, you double your money, and if you are incorrect you lose it all.

SUREFIRE BETS OF THE WEEK:

Green Bay Packers (-1) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Green Bay Packers have started off the season looking pretty much unstoppable. They have a 4-0 record, and look to have the best offense in the league, followed by an above-average defense. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, on the other hand, are 3-2 with losses to both the Chicago Bears and the New Orleans Saints. Though this team is stacked on paper, their offense hasn’t seemed to click as of late. With both Leonard Fournette and Chris Godwin missing time, and O.J. Howard going on IR, this offense might still take some time to click. Unless we see this offense start firing on all cylinders and instantly gaining chemistry, we can expect the Packers to come away with this one.

Los Angeles Rams (-3) vs. San Francisco 49ers
The Los Angeles Rams are only favored by 3 points and I think this is a big mistake. The Rams are 4-1 on the season, and their only loss came against the Buffalo Bills, who got a bad pass interference call to win the game. This Rams team has been playing like a Superbowl contender again, and very wel could be undefeated right now. On the other hand, the 49ers have struggled to play well with the absence of a multitude of starters due to injury. Their only wins have come over the 0-5 Giants and the 0-5 Jets. With questions surrounding Jimmy Garoppolo heading into this one, it’s safe to expect a blowout win by the Rams this week.

*Bet at your own risk

Follow Timothy on Twitter @timothyan1