One of the biggest mistakes that sports bettors tend to make is to ignore their sportbook’s rules before placing wagers. Since each sportsbook runs its own policy and has its distinctive set of regulations, it is strongly recommended to check this information thoroughly so that you will know exactly what to expect of that particular online sports betting resource. Most sportsbooks respect a selection of universal rules, but there are also areas where each sportsbook takes care of things in a different manner.
Universally Valid Rules
These mainly refer to strict norms and regulations applicable to all official games, regardless of sport. With both online and real-life sportsbooks, the first thing you should verify is their strictness concerning things like match starting times, game duration, interruptions due to unexpected events, and so on. At this step, you should find out for instance what happens with your payout in case a match ends prematurely due to bad weather conditions (especially when wagering on weather-dependent sports), or other unforeseen events (like infield incidents for instance).
The fundamental rule here is that matches are considered official at different points in the game for different types of bets. For side bets, games are pronounced official after 5 innings, or 4.5 innings in case the home team holds the lead in the game at the time of the interruption. As an example, if you bet the Yankees to win, and after 5 innings the match is called off due to heavy rain at the score of 8-3 in favor of the Yankees, it means you get to collect your wager anyway.
Totals and run-line wagers are a different story though, as the match must go 9 innings (or 8.5 if the host has the lead in the game) to be pronounced official. Taking the previous example as reference, you would not be able to collect your payout even if you placed your bet over 9.5 runs, because the game didn’t undergo all 9 innings. In such situations, you would normally get a refund of your wager.
Sportsbook-Specific Rules
When it comes to sportsbook-specific rules, baseball betting is once again brought into the spotlight, and since many online sportsbooks allow selecting the starting pitchers for a particular wager, most regulations primarily address this aspect. Some Internet sportbooks however don’t provide sports bettors with the option to name the starting pitchers for coming games, while others choose to restrict this feature exclusively to totals.
Another area to check out involves parlay and teaser wagers, which may also be subject to different rules. While most real-life or Internet sportsbooks would normally reduce the number of games in your ticket in the event of a tie, with others you might lose the entire wagered amount should the game end in a draw. Obviously, the best course of action here would be to steer clear of the latter category of online sportbooks and aim for sports betting services that are more convenient.
Local Bookmakers
Probably the greatest advantage of knowing your sportsbook’s list of rules in advance becomes apparent when turning to the services of local bookmakers. With most betting resources of this type, chances are you won’t find clearly specified norms and guidelines, which means you will never know exactly what to expect from your wagers and the bookie will have the freedom to adjust their rules as they please.
By comparison, sticking to online sportsbooks is a much safer approach to betting, because such resources provide access to clearly defined guidelines and rules on their websites. Even so, spending a few moments checking out the rules and regulations of your brick-and-mortar or Internet sportsbook is highly advisable, as this allows you to avoid any unpleasant wager-related surprises along the way.
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