Online betting basics

[elbita]

Is there a thread for getting some basic info?

Q's like, how much do the online bookies get?
If I bet a dollar and get three back, what does house get?

They'd have to get something, I'd think, but it wasn't obvious from the sites I checked.

If they didn't get anything, you could bet $1 on both home and away and still win if both had more than $2 payout. There's also Draw as a possibility.

Does anybody just bet on the home team (for a very good home team) every time and come out ahead?

[Magpie Maniac]

Before online books came about, your typical vigorish or juice (the commission to the sports book) could run around 5% of the total amount wagered on all options. With the online sports books, their juice is around 2% to 3%. Only winners pay the juice. Therefore, it's pointless to bet on all outcomes.

I have no hard rules on betting on teams. It depends on the given odds, current form, and gut feeling. It's just entertainment for me.

[Hammond Egg]

The bookie's slice will come from the way he sets his prices.

Hence: Odds from the biggest UK bookie on the Poland-Ecuador game on June 9 (decimal format):

Poland 2.2
Draw 3.0
Ecuador 3.5

Add the reciprocals of those three numbers together and you get 1.12 (near enough).

Provided the bookie gets money bet on each of the three outcomes in
proportions roughly equal to those suggested by his prices, he'll make his profit. If you put $1 on Poland to win, and they do, you get $3.20 back -
$2.20 winnings and your $1 stake back.

Magpie Maniac's explanation holds true for betting exchanges, where bettors are betting against each other. In such cases the odds will add up close to 1.00 - on the UK's biggest betting exchange the odds to back each outcome are 2.08 Poland, 4.4 Ecuador and 3.3 the draw. You would pay 5% of your profit to the exchange.