Instructions
The tracker is extremely easy to use. We’ve broken down the instructions on a per-column basis.

Column 1
Your bet. Type in anything you want to let yourself know what your bet was

Column 2 - Sport
Type in the sport your betting on. You must type one of the following for it to track the number of sports correctly in the bottom summary.
NFL
NBA
NHL
MLB
HORSE

If you’d like another option you can put it in, but it won’t track properly. You’ll need to change the coding in the cells which add up the wagers. If your not sure how to do this, please contact us and we can add it for you!

Column 3 - Bet
Type in the amount you bet. Just type the number, it will automatically be formatted into currency form

Column 4 - Win
Type in the amount you won. If you did not win, type in nothing, or 0.

Column 5 - Lose
Type in the amount you lost. If you did not lose, type in nothing, or 0.

Column 6 - Outcome
Shows you your total winnings for the wager. Red numbers are NEGATIVE and represent a loss.
If you’ve filled it all out correctly, our tracker will take all the info and present it to you in the summary portion. NOTE: On the 200 bet tracker, the summary is NOT located at the bottom of the sheet under all the wagers. It is located on the second sheet in the excel file (see the tabs at the bottom of each sheet).

If you have any comments or suggestions for our tracker please let us know! We love to implement new features.

Before beginning your sports betting career, check into the legality of it in your region. You can bet anywhere that takes sports wagers. In the US, Casinos (Vegas) offer sports betting. In Canada you can play Proline (a government regulated sports betting service), or hit up some casino’s. You can also bet at a horse track, or an “off-track wagering” facility. But of course your easiest option is to bet online.

Betting Online
There are hundreds if not thousands of places where you can place your wager online. And yes there are hundreds, if not thousands of online bookies ready to rip you off, change the rules on you, and flat out steal your money. This is why you need to be very careful when picking an online bookie to do your wagering. We have several suggestions and lots of information on online sportsbook.
See our “Betting Online” section for more information.

Betting At The Casino
Most people know where their local casino’s are. Unfortunately, they arent always very “local”. Casinos can be anywhere from a few minutes away to a few hours away! Although the benefit of a Casino is you can play other games while your waiting for the outcome of your sports wager.
See our “Betting In A Casino” section for more information.
Betting At Tracks and Off-Track Wagering Facilities
Betting in an Off-Track Wagering facility or even at a track is usually restricted to just Horse Racing. Although its not everyones choice, there are a lot of bettors out there who are more than happy to find these places and bet their favourite sports track. Off-Track facilities allow you to bet on any race happening at that time. You can be in Toronto and bet on races happening in Philly, Vegas, New York - basically any track in North America.
See our “Betting At The Track/Off-Track Facilities” section for more information

A large market for sports wagering is at the horse track. Tracks usually have windows to place your bets, as well as slots. There are also many “Off-Track” wagering facilities which you can place your bets, and watch the races live on television.

At the Track
When you get to the location, find out where you place the bets, and where you can find the odds. There should be programs available so you can find the schedule. Alternatively, you can usually download race schedule and post time online at the tracks website.

Once you have the race information, make your picks! Anything you’d like.
See our Horses section to see how Horse wagering works.

Take your picks up to the window and tell them your bet. You will get a slip with you wager on it, and you will pay them cash. DO NO LOSE THIS SLIP OF PAPER! Whether or not your picks win, you cannot claim your winnings without it.

Take your slip to your seat and go crazy cheering on your horse. If you’ve won your bet, take your slip back to the window and collect your winnings! (You have to wait until the results become “Official” - usually a few minutes after the race has ended)
If you’ve lost, throw your ticket away and try again!

Off-Track Wagering Facility
An Off-track wagering facility is usually a bar which has the ability to take bets. It is a fun way to spend an afternoon watching and betting horses.

The process is generally the same. DO NOT LOSE YOUR BETTING SLIP. Same as with the track, you cannot collect your winnings without this ticket. You may have to buy a schedule or program to find out all the details on all the races. The horse numbers and odds are displayed on the screens before the race, so its not completely necessary to purchase the racebooks with the info. It is your choice.

After you’ve bet and won, you have to wait until the results become “Official”, and until the facility receives the information from the track.

Pointspread or “Spread”

The point spread on a game is setting a number of points a team must win (or a number a team is allowed to lose) by in order to win your bet.
A pointspread bet will give you a bigger return on your bet than simply picking which team will win.

This is an example of a poinspread

• Indianapolis colts –10
• Oakland Raiders +10

If you choose to bet on the Colts, according to your bet, the game doesn’t start 0-0. It starts -10 - 0. The Colts would have to win the game by MORE than 10 points for you to win your bet. If they win by exactly 10 points, your bet is a “push” or tie, and you just get your money back. If the Colts win the game, but by less than 10 points, you lose your bet.
On the other hand if you bet the Raiders, they could lose the game and you can still win your bet, as long as they don’t lose by more than 10 points!!
If there is a 10.5 pointspread, its simply preventing a tie from occurring.

Moneyline

A moneyline is the straight up basic odds to win a game. You pick which team is going to win. Simple as that.
The only downside to this bet is, if a team is heavily favoured to win a game, the return on your bet will not be very high.

In most cases sportsbooks list the moneyline as an amount you must bet win $100, or the amount you will win if you bet $100.
For example, a Moneyline of -120 means  you must  bet $120 to win $100.  A Moneyline of +120 means you will win $120 on a $100 bet. The difference is the +/- signs before the number. A negative number is the amount to bet to win $100. A positive number is the amount you’ll win on a $100 wager. A -450 moneyline means you must bet $450 to win $100 (in this case the team is HEAVILY favoured to win the game).

Of course the lines are posted for $100 winning/betting, however the same odds apply to all bets. You can bet $1 or $57 or $1,000,000. You get the same odds.

Totals

A “Totals” bet is a bet which is predicting if final score (both teams scores’ combined) will be OVER or UNDER a specified amount. So if you see a football OVER/UNDER of 42, you are betting wether or not the final combined score will be over 42. Example, Colts 24 - Raiders 20. The combines score is 44. An OVER bet will have won.

Parlays

A Parlay bet is selecting two or more individual bets, and combining them into one bet. In order for the parlay bet to win, ALL your combined bets must be winners. If one loses, the entire bet is lost. The advantage to having multiple choices in one bet (a parlay bet) is a bigger payout.
Example: Colts -6 and OVER 52.
This bet is a parlay of pointspread and totals. If the Colts win by more than 6, AND the final combined score of both teams is over 52, you win the bet.
Parlays are not limited to the same game, or same sport. You can usually parlay any bet in any sport. You could do Detroit Red Wins +1.5, Indianapolis Colts -6, Boston Redsox OVER 6.  Three different sports, all one bet, one big payout if you win.

Basic Ground Rules of Parlays

• If your bet ties, it will be disregarded in the Parlay. So if you have a 3 team parlay, and one of the bets tie, your parlay is reduced to a 2 team parlay (and the odds adjusted accordingly). If you only had 2 teams, and one of the bets ties, you are left with a standard 1 team bet.
• ALL of the bets you parlay together MUST WIN. If any one loses, the entire parlay is lost.
• If a game is canceled or not played, it is considered NO ACTION, and your parlay is reduced to the next level. Meaning if you have 4 teams parlayed together and one of them don’t play, your parlay is reduced to a 3 team parlay. The odds for your payout are adjusted accordingly.

Teasers

Teasers are a selection of two or more outcomes in a single wager in which either the point spread or total is adjusted in the bettor’s favor. Each sport has its own range of points for teaser selections. A teaser adjusts the spread for the favorite so that it decreases the posted spread, or conversely, increases the posted spread for the underdog. If you select a total, the adjustment makes totals higher-to-go-under or lower-to-go-over.

If the lines you want to tease are Philadelphia Eagles +3 and New England Patriots vs. Indianapolis Colts over 37, your two-team, six-point teaser would be:

• Philadelphia Eagles +9
• New England Patriots/ Indianapolis Colts over 31

Both results need to be correct for this teaser to be a winner.

Buy Points

Buy Points refers to a bettor moving the point spread for a given game in order to give up fewer points on the favorite, or gain more points on the underdog. Bettors pay a fee – often 10 per cent – for each half-point bought in their favour.

Example:

• The Indianapolis Colts are seven-point underdogs. To move the spread to seven-and-a-half points, you would buy a half-point for 10 per cent of the wager.

Some basic rules:

• Points can be bought only on standard odds (-110). Point buying is not allowed on off-standard odds.
• Wagers must be on the outcome of a single event or game and all standard rules apply.
• The team wagered on must win by the point spread you have bought.

Futures

Futures, as the name implies, is a single-wager bet on the outcome of a game or event to be held in the future. For example, the Super Bowl or the World Series.

Payouts on Futures depend on the odds offered by the house for each bet placed. Typically, Futures are represented by basic, fixed odds (although sometimes a moneyline or a multiplier may be featured). The payout is determined by those posted odds.

To calculate a payout, translate the odds (a moneyline such as -110, -180, +140 etc., or fixed odds such as 3/1) to a multiplier (the Payoff Price plus one). Multiply the multiplier by your bet to determine the Payout or Win Amount (Payoff Price plus original bet).

Some basic rules:

• Bets are on the outcome of a single event or game only
• The team wagered on must win the league or tournament.
• All wagers have action regardless of relocation or name changes.

Online Betting Basics

Online betting is the easiest way to bet on sports for nearly all of us. It is very convenient and easy to set up. Unfortunately, there are some shady online sportsbooks (a sportsbook is where you wager on sports), so you’re going to want to do some research to find one you feels comfortable. Here is our tried and tested suggestion.

To bet online you create a new account with the sportsbook. An account is necessary so the sportsbook knows who is making which bet. Once you have your account established, you need to Deposit Funds. Depositing funds can usually be done in many ways, such as bank wire, credit card, neteller, etc. To view a full list of depositing methods from our preferred sportsbook, click here. Depending on the method you choose to deposit your funds, there may be fees or minimum deposits. Check the sportsbook’s FAQ for these numbers.

Now that you have deposited your funds, you’re free to make your bets! Pick anything you’d like to bet on, choose how much to bet, and submit your wager. If you deposited $100 and you bet $50 on a game, $50 will be still left in your account, and $50 will be taken out to be put in your wager. If you win your bet, your $50 wager will be returned to your account with your winnings. Your account balance will now be $100, plus your winnings! If you are to lose your bet, your account will have $50 left in it, and the $50 you wagered is gone. When you’ve received your winnings (could take anywhere from a few mins to hours after the game is over), its your choice to wager some more, or cash out!

Collecting your winnings

If you’re done betting, and you want to take your money from your online account to your pocket (or your bank account), you need to do a withdrawal. Depending on the sportsbook you use, the withdrawal methods and restrictions on them may differ (such as minimum withdrawal amount, fees, etc). Rarely will a sportsbook allow you to withdrawal money for free, however our recommended sportsbook does!

And that’s it! That is the basics to wagering on sports online. Enjoy betting on sports and enjoy your betting experience. Know your limits, play within them. Responsible Gambling.

Where to place the bet

In casinos you need to find the “Sportsbook”. This is where the sports wagers are taken and paid out. Usually it’s a big room with lots of TV’s and stats screens on the wall showing odds and future matches.

Making your bet

Decide what game you would like to bet on. Look at the large screens in the sportsbook and find the game. There will usually be a NUMBER associated with game. Find the number, look over the odds and/or wager details, and walk up to the desk where the casino employees are in the sportsbook. There are usually a lot of people walking back and forth to the desk so it should be easy to spot. If there’s a line, be patient and you’ll be placing your bet in no time!

When you get up to the desk, tell the writer (person who takes the bet for the casino) which game number you want to bet, and then the details of your bet (whether it’s a spread, money line, etc). You will pay (usually with cash), and they will give you a ticket with your wager on it. DO NO LOSE THIS TICKET! If you lose this ticket, even if you win your bet you won’t be able to collect your winnings!

Enjoy the Game!
It is sometimes hard to beat the atmosphere in a busy and energetic casino sportsbook! If your in Vegas, that means free cocktails and 100s of your new “closet friends” cheering on your favourite teams. You do not have to stay in the sportsbook. You may leave the casino entirely and go anywhere you’d like. Watch the game in your favourite sports bar if you’d like! Enjoy the game!

Collecting your bet

Once the game is over, and you have won your bet, go back to the sportsbook desk and hand them your ticket (the one they gave you when you placed the bet). They will scan in, and pay you with cash. That’s it! Go make more bets! You do not have to collect your bet the day the game is over. Usually you have some time (many places its 30+days) to collect your winnings on a winning ticket.

Losing your bet

If you lost your bet, you don’t get anything. Rip your ticket up, swear, throw a fit, just don’t go too crazy. Your ticket is worthless and you can throw it in the garbage. You can now choose to restart the process and hope for a winner, or decide you’ve had enough for that day.

That is the basics for betting in a casino. Some casinos will have restrictions on minimums and maximums for each bet / sports. Check with the employees when making your bet. Some casinos require you to bet at least two matches to even place a bet, so look over the casino’s sportsbook rules before you decide to place a bet at the particular casino.