The following are Top 10 guidelines for selecting a Sportsbook and make your bets online.

Years of Successful Operation: A Sportbook`s reputation has to be established over a period of time. It`s best to choose one that has been operating for at least 3 years.

Safety and Availability of Funds: Convenience and speedy transfer of your funds is of paramount importance. If you wish to withdraw funds from your account, how fast do they transfer your money? If they are surly or give you a hard time, asking you why you want the money, withdraw all you money, close the account, and find another book.

Complete and Accurate Accounting: How easy is it to check your account? Is the account accurate or are there "clerical" errors. Always keep track of your account on your own so you can check. If there are errors, have them correct the errors and then politely close the account and find another book.

Customer Service: The sportsbook should have a professional, courteous, fluent English-speaking staff, and customer friendly business policies.

State of the Art Computer Technology: Check the speed with which funds and wagers are posted, final results posted, and the accuracy of your wagers made. The book should have a tape of your call so you and the book can verify your bets if need be.

Las Vegas Rules and Regulations: Obviously 11/10 on straight bets is a must but also check the fine print on parlays, teasers, and other exotic bets.
Bonuses and Incentives: Some offshore sportsbooks offer some incentives to get you to open an account. If the incentives seem too good to be true, you`re probably better off passing them up.

Management: Is the manager or head man available to you upon request? The sports book is only as good as the people who run the every day business.

Size of Operation: Do they have enough phone lines so you can easily get in, especially during peak hours? Are there enough clerks and supervisors working at the operation, especially during rush periods? A tipoff is if the same people always answer your call. That may indicate under capitalization within the operation.

Hours of Operation: When does the sports book open and when does it close? Most are located in the Eastern time zone so if they close at 9 pm ET and you live on the West Coast, that`s 6 pm and doesn`t give you much time to place your bets during the week when you`re working.

Like most forms of gambling, money management is very important in sportsbook betting. Just like any other investment venture, money management in sportsbook betting is critical to your success.

For a lot of people sportsbook betting is just a form of entertainment. They might have a few bucks set aside for their weekend football games or a few dollars set aside for games on television. For those sportsbook betting enthusiasts money management is not as critical because they are not betting sports to make a great deal of money, they are doing it more for the action on the game.

If you are looking at sportsbook betting as more of something you want to make money at over the long haul, then a money management plan will definitely be helpful. The first decision as a sportsbook betting gambler, after deciding upon your bankroll, is how much to play on each game. There are many theories and thoughts on this subject, but I`ll keep it simple. Your best bet is to play every game for the same amount and to keep your bets at 5% or less of your overall bankroll. Sportsbook know this sounds small, but if you are in this for the long haul, it is your best bet. Sportsbook betting for the professionals is a daily grind and they don`t want to expose their entire bankroll to risk in one day. For those people that think 5% is too small, Sportsbook do understand. If you are in that group then Sportsbook recommend coming up with a percentage that you feel comfortable with and one that will still keep you in action if the inevitable losing streak occurs.

While Sportsbook recommend keeping all of your sportsbook betting wagers at the same amount there are other options you can consider. Some people rate their plays on a star or unit basis. They play more money on the stronger plays and less money on the weaker ones. Sportsbook can understand that form of money management, but Sportsbook have just found greater success keeping all of the plays at the same amount. Another option to consider is just betting a certain percentage of your bankroll all the time and either increasing or decreasing it after wins or losses. Let`s say for example that you start at $1,000 and play your games for 10%. You win the first five and now have $1500. You up your next plays to $150 per game. Remember that Sportsbook recommend a lower percentage, but for this example Sportsbook used 10%.

Whatever systems you use for your sportsbook betting remember to keep it simple. You don`t want to worry so much about how much each play is worth and forget to handicap. If you want to be successful at sports betting remember that money management will be important. If you can do that then your chances for success will definitely be better.

No matter how you like to bet, Sportsbook offer your preferred wagering method! If you are not clear on how any one of these wager types work,

Straight
The most common type of sports wager is on the result of a single game, known as a straight wager. One team is typically favored over another by a pointspread; the favorite gives the underdog points as a head start, for betting purposes only. The favorite is always indicated by a minus sign (-3) and the underdog by a plus sign (+3). The amount of points a customer must give or take is estimated to be the amount which will generate equal wagering on both the underdog and the favorite. For betting purposes, the result of the game is determined by taking the actual score and subtracting points from the favorite`s score or adding points to the underdog`s score. So, a favorite can win the game but lose it for betting purposes and an underdog can lose the game but win it for betting purposes.

Money Line
A bet on a matchup between two teams may be set by a money line instead of a pointspread. If a matchup is determined by a money line, like Major League Baseball, then it will cost the customer more to wager on the favorite. For example, the Atlanta Braves are a -150 favorite over the Chicago Cubs. In this example, the customer must lay $150 in order to win $100. If Atlanta loses, the customer loses $150. However, the customer could bet on Chicago, in which case the customer would lay $100 in order to win $140 (10 cent line). If Chicago loses, the customer only loses $100, and if Chicago wins, the customer would win $140.

Totals
A customer can also bet whether the combined number of points or goals scored by the two teams in the game will be over or under the total set by the oddsmaker. For example, if the total is 42 and you believe that the combined points scored by the two teams will exceed that number, you would bet over. You would bet under if you believe the total points score will be less than 42.

EXOTIC WAGERS

Quinella
You win by selecting the first two finishers, in any order, in a designated race.

Exacta
You win by selecting the first two finishers, in exact order, in a designated race.

Trifecta
You win by selecting the first three horses in the exact order of finish, in a designated race.

Superfecta
You win by selecting the first four horses in the exact order of finish, in a designated race.

Daily Double
To win, you must select the winners of two designated, consecutive races by placing the wager before the first of the two races.

Pick-3 or Pick-4
To win you must select the correct first place finisher in each of the races that make up the Pick ticket.

Sportsbook is a person or company that accepts bets. Some times Sportsbook refers a place where a gambler can wager on various sports competitions, including golf, football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, horse racing and boxing. The method of betting varies with the sport and the type of game. The more prominent the event, the more wagering options that are made available. Winning bets are paid when the event finishes, or if not finished, when played long enough to becomes official; otherwise all bets are returned. This policy can cause some confusion since there can be a difference between what the sportsbook considers official and what the sports league consider official.

Internet sportsbooks: While internet sportsbooks lack face-to-face transactions, they can handle more customers than land based sportsbooks and operate more cost effectively. Internet sportsbooks pass lower costs on to customers in the form of reduced vigorish (cheaper prices) or bonus incentives. Internet sportsbooks can also offer similar products, such as casino games, bingo, and poker to their existing clients. While Internet sportsbooks take bets online, normally they are licensed in some jurisdiction. Taxation and regulation vary greatly by country.

Internet sportsbooks range from fraudulent operations with no intention of paying their customers to multi-billion dollar publicly traded companies. Furthermore, many internet sites have been reported for questionable customer service practices and withholding money from customers. Internet sportsbooks range in focus, as some primarily cater to American sports, while others focus on European soccer. Some sportsbooks handle large wagers while others have low wagering limits. Some offer many exotic proposition wagers, where others have limited choices. Payment methods are not universally accepted at all sportsbooks.

Costa Rica is home to a large number of offshore sportsbooks, as it caters to many of the needs of the industry with an open regulatory environment and a large, capable workforce. A number of sportsbooks are also located in Jamaica, Gibraltar, Antigua, Curaçao, Australia, and many other countries around the world.

Today there are roughly 150 licensed sportsbooks in the United States, all located in Nevada casinos. Now that many casinos share the same parent company, they offer the exact same wagering choices and odds, which is a disadvantage to the astute gambler who in the past could do more shopping for better prices.

Spread - A spread in sports wagering is the predicted scoring differential between two opponents as quoted by a sports book. Square - A novice when it comes to sports betting. Steam - In sports betting steam is when a line starts to move rapidly. Most "steam games" do not necessarily reflect objective circumstances, but are games that a mass of bettors is drawn to for some reason. Store - A bookie or sports betting establishment.