"IF" Bets and Reverses I mentioned last week, that if your book offers "if/reverses," it is possible to play those rather than parlays Some of you may not learn how to bet an "if/reverse" A complete explanation and comparison of "if" bets, "if/reverses," and parlays follows, together with the situations in which each is best An "if" bet is exactly what it sounds like You bet Team A and when it wins you then place an equal amount on Team B A parlay with two games going off at differing times is a type of "if" bet in which you bet on the first team, and when it wins you bet double on the next team With a true "if" bet, instead of betting double on the second team, you bet the same amount on the next team You can avoid two calls to the bookmaker and secure the existing line on a later game by telling your bookmaker you would like to make an "if" bet "If" bets can be made on two games kicking off simultaneously The bookmaker will wait until the first game is over If the first game wins, he will put an equal amount on the next game though it was already played Although an "if" bet is in fact two straight bets at normal vig, you cannot decide later that you no longer want the next bet As soon as you make an "if" bet, the second bet cannot be cancelled, even if the second game has not gone off yet If the first game wins, you should have action on the next game Because of this, there is less control over an "if" bet than over two straight bets Once https//one88center without a doubt overlap in time, however, the only way to bet one only when another wins is by placing an "if" bet Needless to say, when two games overlap in time, cancellation of the second game bet is not an issue It ought to be noted, that when the two games start at differing times, most books will not allow you to fill in the second game later You need to designate both teams when you make the bet You can create an "if" bet by saying to the bookmaker, "I would like to make an 'if' bet," and then, "Give me Team A IF Team B for 100" Giving your bookmaker that instruction will be the same as betting 110 to win 100 on Team A, and, only when Team A wins, betting another 110 to win 100 on Team B If the first team in the "if" bet loses, there is no bet on the second team No matter whether the second team wins of loses, your total loss on the "if" bet would be 110 once you lose on the initial team If the initial team wins, however, you'll have a bet of 110 to win 100 going on the second team In that case, if the second team loses, your total loss would be just the 10 of vig on the split of both teams If both games win, you'll win 100 on Team A and 100 on Team B, for a total win of 200 Thus, the maximum loss on an "if" would be 110, and the maximum win will be 200 This is balanced by the disadvantage of losing the entire 110, rather than just 10 of vig, each and every time the teams split with the first team in the bet losing As you can plainly see, it matters a great deal which game you put first in an "if" bet In the event that you put the loser first in a split, then you lose your full bet In the event that you split but the loser is the second team in the bet, you then only lose the vig Bettors soon found that the way to steer clear of the uncertainty caused by the order of wins and loses would be to make two "if" bets putting each team first Rather than betting 110 on " Team A if Team B," you'll bet just 55 on " Team A if Team B" and create a second "if" bet reversing the order of the teams for another 55 The next bet would put Team B first and Team Another This sort of double bet, reversing the order of the same two teams, is named an "if/reverse" or sometimes just a "reverse" A "reverse" is two separate "if" bets Team A if Team B for 55 to win 50; and Team B if Team A for 55 to win 50 You don't have to state both bets You only tell the clerk you need to bet a "reverse," the two teams, and the amount If both teams win, the effect would be the same as if you played a single "if" bet for 100 You win 50 on Team A in the first "if bet, and 50 on Team B, for a total win of 100 In the next "if" bet, you win 50 on Team B, and then 50 on Team A, for a total win of 100 Both "if" bets together result in a total win of 200 when both teams win If both teams lose, the effect would also be the same as if you played an individual "if" bet for 100 Team A's loss would set you back 55 in the initial "if" combination, and nothing would go onto Team B In the second combination, Team B's loss would set you back 55 and nothing would look at to Team A You would lose 55 on each one of the bets for a total maximum lack of 110 whenever both teams lose The difference occurs once the teams split Rather than losing 110 once the first team loses and the next wins, and 10 when the first team wins but the second loses, in the reverse you will lose 60 on a split whichever team wins and which loses It works out this way If Team A loses you'll lose 55 on the initial combination, and also have nothing going on the winning Team B In the next combination, you'll win 50 on Team B, and also have action on Team A for a 55 loss, resulting in a net loss on the next combination of 5 vig The increased loss of 55 on the initial "if" bet and 5 on the next "if" bet gives you a combined lack of 60 on the "reverse" When Team B loses, you will lose the 5 vig on the initial combination and the 55 on the second combination for the same 60 on the split We've accomplished this smaller lack of 60 instead of 110 once the first team loses with no decrease in the win when both teams win In both single 110 "if" bet and the two reversed "if" bets for 55, the win is 200 when both teams cover the spread The bookmakers could not put themselves at that type of disadvantage, however The gain of 50 whenever Team A loses is fully offset by the excess 50 loss 60 rather than 10 whenever Team B may be the loser Thus, the "reverse" doesn't actually save us hardly any money, but it has the benefit of making the risk more predictable, and preventing the worry as to which team to put first in the "if" bet What follows can be an advanced discussion of betting technique If charts and explanations give you a headache, skip them and simply write down the rules I'll summarize the rules in an easy to copy list in my own next article As with parlays, the overall rule regarding "if" bets is DON'T, if you can win more than 525 or even more of your games If you fail to consistently achieve a winning percentage, however, making "if" bets whenever you bet two teams will save you money For the winning bettor, the "if" bet adds some luck to your betting equation that doesn't belong there If two games are worth betting, then they should both be bet Betting on one should not be made dependent on whether or not you win another On the other hand, for the bettor who has a negative expectation, the "if" bet will prevent him from betting on the next team whenever the initial team loses By preventing some bets, the "if" bet saves the negative expectation bettor some vig The 10 savings for the "if" bettor results from the fact that he could be not betting the second game when both lose Compared to the straight bettor, the "if" bettor comes with an additional cost of 100 when Team A loses and Team B wins, but he saves 110 when Team A and Team B both lose In summary, anything that keeps the loser from betting more games is good "If" bets reduce the amount of games that the loser bets The rule for the winning bettor is exactly opposite Whatever keeps the winning bettor from betting more games is bad, and for that reason "if" bets will definitely cost the winning handicapper money When the winning bettor plays fewer games, he has fewer winners Understand that the next time someone lets you know that the best way to win would be to bet fewer games A smart winner never really wants to bet fewer games Since "if/reverses" workout exactly the same as "if" bets, they both place the winner at the same disadvantage Exceptions to the Rule - When a Winner Should Bet Parlays and "IF's" Much like all rules, there are exceptions "If" bets and parlays ought to be made by successful with a confident expectation in only two circumstances If you find no other choice and he must bet either an "if/reverse," a parlay, or perhaps a teaser; or When betting co-dependent propositions The only time I could think of that you have no other choice is if you're the very best man at your friend's wedding, you are waiting to walk down the aisle, your laptop looked ridiculous in the pocket of one's tux so you left it in the automobile, you only bet offshore in a deposit account with no line of credit, the book includes a 50 minimum phone bet, you prefer two games which overlap with time, you grab your trusty cell five minutes before kickoff and 45 seconds before you must walk to the alter with some beastly bride's maid in a frilly purple dress on your arm, you make an effort to make two 55 bets and suddenly realize you only have 75 in your account Because the old philosopher used to say, "Is that what's troubling you, bucky" If that's the case, hold your mind up high, put a smile on your own face, search for the silver lining, and make a 50 "if" bet on your two teams Of course you could bet a parlay, but as you will notice below, the "if/reverse" is an effective replacement for the parlay when you are winner For the winner, the very best method is straight betting Regarding co-dependent bets, however, as already discussed, you will find a huge advantage to betting combinations With a parlay, the bettor gets the benefit of increased parlay probability of 13-5 on combined bets which have greater than the normal expectation of winning Since, by definition, co-dependent bets should always be contained within exactly the same game, they must be produced as "if" bets With a co-dependent bet our advantage originates from the truth that we make the next bet only IF among the propositions wins It would do us no good to straight bet 110 each on the favourite and the underdog and 110 each on the over and the under We'd simply lose the vig no matter how often the favorite and over or the underdog and under combinations won As we've seen, if we play two out of 4 possible results in two parlays of the favourite and over and the underdog and under, we can net a 160 win when among our combinations comes in When to find the parlay or the "reverse" when making co-dependent combinations is discussed below Choosing Between "IF" Bets and Parlays Based on a 110 parlay, which we'll use for the purpose of consistent comparisons, our net parlay win when among our combinations hits is 176 the 286 win on the winning parlay minus the 110 loss on the losing parlay In a 110 "reverse" bet our net win will be 180 every time among our combinations hits the 400 win on the winning if/reverse without the 220 loss on the losing if/reverse Whenever a split occurs and the under comes in with the favorite, or higher comes in with the underdog, the parlay will lose 110 while the reverse loses 120 Thus, the "reverse" has a 4 advantage on the winning side, and the parlay has a 10 advantage on the losing end Obviously, again, in a 50-50 situation the parlay would be better With co-dependent side and total bets, however, we have been not in a 50-50 situation If the favorite covers the high spread, it really is much more likely that the overall game will review the comparatively low total, and if the favorite does not cover the high spread, it is more likely that the game will under the total As we have already seen, if you have a confident expectation the "if/reverse" is a superior bet to the parlay The actual probability of a win on our co-dependent side and total bets depends on how close the lines on the side and total are to one another, but the proven fact that they're co-dependent gives us a confident expectation The point at which the "if/reverse" becomes an improved bet compared to the parlay when making our two co-dependent is really a 72 win-rate This is simply not as outrageous a win-rate since it sounds When making two combinations, you have two chances to win You merely need to win one out from the two Each of the combinations comes with an independent positive expectation If we assume the chance of either the favorite or the underdog winning is 100 obviously one or the other must win then all we are in need of is a 72 probability that when, for example, Boston College -38 � scores enough to win by 39 points that the game will go over the full total 53 � at the very least 72 of the time as a co-dependent bet If Ball State scores even one TD, then we have been only � point away from a win A BC cover can lead to an over 72 of the time isn't an unreasonable assumption under the circumstances As compared with a parlay at a 72 win-rate, our two "if/reverse" bets will win an extra 4 seventy-two times, for a total increased win of 4 x 72 = 288 Betting "if/reverses" may cause us to lose a supplementary 10 the 28 times that the outcomes split for a complete increased lack of 280 Obviously, at a win rate of 72 the difference is slight Rule At win percentages below 72 use parlays, and at win-rates of 72 or above use "if/reverses"