 Ever since sportsbooks were created, the house has attempted to sway bettors from betting straight and instead have them wager on point spreads, moneyline's, parlays and so forth. For online betting this is no different, however, sports fans new to wagering, should know that point spreads and straight bets go hand in hand with one another. A straight bet simply put is when a bettor wagers on which team will win and which team will lose. This form of wagering has become common for the recreational bettor, otherwise known as the guy who puts down $2 on a winner.
The straight bet and point spread is commonly used in football and basketball and rarely in hockey. How the two go hand in hand, is that by betting upon whether or not a favorite will cover a point spread, is essentially picking the winner or loser. A point spread works in that the bookie will set a number of points in which they believe the favorite will beat the underdog. Your task as the bettor similar to determining the outcome in a totals bet, is to determine whether or not the favorite will cover the point spread. For example when expecting the winner to cover the spread, you would make a straight bet of choosing the LA Clippers at -7 to beat the Toronto Raptors + 7 by seven or more points. If the Clippers win by seven, this is known as a tie, as this was the number determined by the house. As a result, you will be refunded your money for tying with the house. However if the Clippers win by more than seven, you win your bet. Conversely if the Clippers win by six or less or the Raptors pull the upset, then you automatically lose your straight bet as a result of the point spread not being covered.
 Wednesday night a feat once rare in professional baseball almost became a commonality. Prior to this year MLB betting based on the possibility of a perfect game, had perhaps the slimmest odds in all of sports. However in the span of five weeks, the odds have increased as two of a possible three pitchers have accomplished the biggest rarity in all of baseball. On May 14th, Dallas Braden of the Oakland Athletics tossed the 19th perfect game in league history against the powerhouse Tampa Bay Rays. Almost two weeks later on May 29th, pitching phenom Roy Halladay became the 20th pitcher in league history to record a perfect game. Finally four days later, last night, on Wednesday June 2nd, Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers almost became the third pitcher this season to record a perfect game.
However, with two out in the bottom of the ninth, a routine grounder was hit to first baseman Miguel Cabrera, Galarraga, raced down to first to cover for Cabrera who threw the ball to Galarraga recording the out. Or so we thought, fans betting online for the Tigers and Indians game could not have predicted what would happen next, as although Galarraga had clearly beat out the Indians player to first base and recorded the out, veteran umpire Jim Joyce called the Indians player safe. The result was the young Galarraga losing his perfect game bid to what was ruled as an infield single. Galarraga will go down as the player to get the closest to a perfect game, recording 26 of a possible 27 outs before giving up a hit, on perhaps the most controversial call in sports history. Joyce's error on the play is not the first bad officiating of the year, as various umpires have been making headlines all season. As recently as Tuesday, another umpire was in the spotlight, as Angel Hernandez, the home plate umpire in the Blue Jays versus Tampa Bay Rays game made a few questionable calls. First he refused to grant a time out to Rays designated hitter Carlos Pena resulting in a strike out, where Pena was unprepared for the at bat. Then later in the same inning he shortened the strike zone for Jays closer Kevin Gregg resulting in a four run ninth inning come from behind victory for the Rays.
For Tiger pitcher Galarraga, the missed out is surely disappointing, however Galarraga is a good enough pitcher that he has plenty to build upon after this experience. Tiger's fans betting on another perfect game for the young Galarraga have reason to feel confident as such a strong outing will not go lost on the young pitcher.
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 The online sports betting world has taken off in recent years, with players choosing the convenience and reliability of the Internet to place all of their wagers. After choosing your sports book destination, players will be prompted to sign up, and once they have and are ready to begin playing, a variety of options become available. There are a multitude of bets players can lay, ranging from straight up, to buying points, to betting the number, but the one that is becoming the most common wager is the parlay bet.
A parlay, or accumulator as it is called in some circles, is a single bet in which two or more individual bets are placed together, with wins across the board being the only possible way for the player to win. While the odds of winning significantly decrease ranging from two wagers grouped together on a single parlay, or six wagers grouped together on a single parlay, the amount that can be won goes in the reverse direction, as the potential to win even more money is increased with every bet included in the parlay. Should any of the bets included in the parlay push, the parlay just becomes smaller, not including the total altogether. For example, if a player chooses MLB betting, and bets on the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays to win, then only if all three teams win does the player get his money. If even one of those teams loses, the wager is considered lost. If the Rays game is rained out, then the parlay becomes a two-team wager, and the player wins, just lesser money than he would have if the Rays had played and won.
 Stop the presses - have the Oakland Raiders actually started to figure things out? Most NFL betting tips over the last decade have been why someone should bet against the pathetic Oakland Raiders, but now it appears that the tide has turned a bit. For starters, they acquired Jason Campbell, which was a shrewd move. Secondly, they cut ties with JaMarcus Russell, who is one of the biggest busts in NFL history. Now they are continuing to make smart moves in their back field.
College football betting fans thought that Darren McFadden would be a stud when he made it to the next level but that has been far from the case. Granted, the Raiders - and the offense - haven't helped him much but it appears he'll have to share carries, or maybe even give some of his up, with a lower draft pick. McFadden may be a combine star but Michael Bush has been more effective as a pro running back and the Raiders are not willing to part ways with him, even though opposing teams have been calling. Bush is a steady, reliable running and while McFadden has the razzle and dazzle, that hasn't produced much so far in his career. So far, he's been backseated for Justin Fargas and now Bush. Bush helps the Raiders cover NFL points spreads and win games. McFadden is just the bigger brand name that those who bet on sports are familiar with. At the end of the day, though, McFadden will fade into the background, similar to the over-hyped Reggie Bush, unless he starts showing us similar stuff to what he did in college.
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