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 (-3.5) vs. Houston Texans

The Green Bay Packers suffered a disappointing loss last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, losing 38-10 after starting off the game with a 10-0 lead. I think the Packers are coming out for blood after an embarrassing performance last week, and will be able to pull off a comfortable victory against the 1-5 Houston Texans. Through six weeks, the Texans defense has been prone to give up a lot of points to opposing offenses, giving up 42 points to the Tennessee Titans last week. I think this Packers offense will be able to light up the scoreboard, leading to a Packers victory by more than a field goal.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Las Vegas Raiders (Over 53.5)

This Sunday Night Football matchup has all the signs of a shootout. The Raiders and the Buccaneers both average 27.8 points per game, tied for 9th in the league. This matchup also features two offensive minded head coaches in Jon Gruden and Bruce Arians. If you match up these two offensive coaching legends in primetime football, you are going to get a shootout. I expect a high scoring affair with both teams scoring over 30 points each.

*Bet at your own risk

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