When you’re Points Betting, the margin of victory or loss determines how much you win or lose. In theory, you could win up to 50x your wager. But if you take that risk, you could also theoretically lose 50x your wager. This is why having a firm grip on the mechanics of Points Betting can make or break your strategy. Brush up on the basics and be sure you understand Points Betting in full before placing a wager.
You can typically find Points Betting wagers on point spreads and totals, though there are a few more complex types such as game-winning margin squared. For the purposes of our overview, we’ll stick to the more common types.
Points Betting Explained
First, it helps to understand that the degree to which you are right or wrong determines your win or loss with regard to Points Betting.
We’ll use one minor example here, but don’t worry, there will be more in the sections that follow.
Say you want to place a Points Betting wager on the Philadelphia 76ers vs. Miami Heat matchup, and you think the game will be a high-scoring shoot-out between two top-tier squads. The Points Betting over line is set at 210. In this case, lets consider points “units.” If your bet wins by a single unit (in this case, the total would be 211), then you’d win 1x your wager. If your bet wins by 10 units (the final score being 220), you would win 10x your bet.
The opposite is true if you lose, however. You would lose 1x your bet if the final total score was 209, and you would lose 10x your bet at a total score of 200.
The Stop Loss Adjuster
If you’re feeling confident but not too confident, you can set the stop loss adjuster, which you’ll find once you add a wager to your bet slip. This meter lets you adjust your maximum payout or loss by dragging the selector between 10x and 50x. So if you’re feeling good but don’t want to risk the possibility of a 50x loss, you can drag the selector to 20x max, meaning you will only lose 20x your bet if you lose by that amount or more. Of course, you can only win a maximum of 20x your bet with these options selected, too. It goes both ways.
PointsBet Withholds A Balance
You may only be placing a $1 bet, but the potential win or loss can be up to $50 in that bet. For this reason, PointsBet holds a balance equal to a certain percentage of your maximum loss, depending on the market’s volatility. If you win, you’ll obviously receive that withheld balance back in your account.
This is why you might see $20 removed for the bet instead of $1.
