Betting Systems - Futures Betting

The author has experienced many different betting situations and experiences, and as such, the author will now discuss how futures betting is a bad idea in general. Futures betting is a type of propositional bet that is dependent upon (usually) the championship. For example, if the author were to bet team A to win the championship, he would place a futures bet on team A at (for example) 10:1 odds—meaning that for every $1 wagered, the bettor would get $10 if team A were to win the championship.

This is a bad bet because there can be outside factors that will affect team A. In other words, money wagered on a futures bet is locked into the sportsbook and cannot be touched until after the champion is determined. In other terms, if one were to simply bet such a team straight up from the beginning of the playoffs until the very end, one would show a bigger profit, as compared to betting such a team on a futures.

Injuries and the like also make this a bad bet. One year, the author remembers placing a substantial futures bet on the Sacramento Kings to win the championship, only to have Chris Webber injure himself and thus destroy the Kings’ hopes of any championship title run. If the bettor likes a team to go all the way, the author recommends that the bettor simply ride out and bet that team all the way until the end. Futures betting is not, and will never be as profitable as straight up betting.

Shopping around will provide some value to the sports bettor. Different betting shops have different lines on futures bets; so, if the sports bettor is still insistent in placing a futures bet, then the author recommends that he shop around. A few cents here and there can make all the difference between a $1500 payout and a $1400 payout.

In closing, futures betting is a type of prop bet that considers who will win the championship. It is a one bet that is graded at the very end of the season (including post-season), and thus the money will be locked away until the very end. The author does not recommend the novice gambler to partake in futures betting.