"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 might not learn how to bet an "if/reverse" A complete explanation and comparison of "if" bets, "if/reverses," and parlays follows, along with the situations in which each is best An "if" bet is exactly what it sounds like You bet Team A and IF it wins then you place an equal amount on Team B A parlay with two games going off at different times is a type of "if" bet where you bet on the first team, and when it wins without a doubt double on the second team With a true "if" bet, rather than betting double on the second team, you bet an equal amount on the second team It is possible to avoid two calls to the bookmaker and secure the current line on a later game by telling your bookmaker you want to make an "if" bet "If" bets can also be made on two games kicking off concurrently The bookmaker will wait before first game has ended If the initial game wins, he'll put an equal amount on the second game though it was already played Although an "if" bet is actually two straight bets at normal vig, you cannot decide later that so long as want the second bet Once you make an "if" bet, the next bet cannot be cancelled, even if the next game have not gone off yet If the initial game wins, you will have action on the second game For that reason, there is less control over an "if" bet than over two straight bets Once the two games without a doubt overlap with time, however, the only way to bet one only if another wins is by placing an "if" bet Needless to say, when two games overlap in time, cancellation of the next game bet is not an issue It should be noted, that when both games start at different times, most books will not allow you to fill in the second game later You need to designate both teams once you make the bet You can create an "if" bet by saying to the bookmaker, "I wish to make an 'if' bet," and then, "Give me Team A IF Team B for 100" Giving your bookmaker that instruction would 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 initial team in the "if" bet loses, there is absolutely no bet on the next team Whether or not the next team wins of loses, your total loss on the "if" bet would be 110 when you lose on the initial team If the first team wins, however, you'll have a bet of 110 to win 100 going on the second team In that case, if the next team loses, your total loss will be just the 10 of vig on the split of both teams If both games win, you would win 100 on Team A and 100 on Team B, for a total win of 200 Thus, the utmost loss on an "if" would be 110, and the utmost win will be 200 This is balanced by the disadvantage of losing the entire 110, instead of just 10 of vig, each time the teams split with the initial team in the bet losing As you can see, it matters a good 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 If you split however the loser may be the second team in the bet, then you only lose the vig Bettors soon found that the way to steer clear of the uncertainty caused by the order of wins and loses is 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 then make 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 called 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 need to state both bets You only tell the clerk you need to bet a "reverse," the two teams, and the total amount If both teams win, the result would be the same as if you played a single "if" bet for 100 You win 50 on Team A in the initial "if bet, and then 50 on Team B, for a complete win of 100 In the second "if" bet, you win 50 on Team B, and 50 on Team A, for a complete win of 100 The two "if" bets together create a total win of 200 when both teams win If both teams lose, the result would also function as same as if you played a single "if" bet for 100 Team A's loss would set you back 55 in the first "if" combination, and nothing would look at Team B In the second combination, Team B's loss would cost you 55 and nothing would go onto to Team A You'll lose 55 on each one of the bets for a complete maximum lack of 110 whenever both teams lose The difference occurs once the teams split Instead of losing 110 once the first team loses and the second wins, and 10 when the first team wins however the second loses, in the reverse you will lose 60 on a split no matter which team wins and which loses It works out this way If Team A loses you will lose 55 on the initial combination, and also have nothing going on the winning Team B In the second combination, you will win 50 on Team B, and have action on Team A for a 55 loss, producing a net loss on the next combination of 5 vig The loss of 55 on the first "if" bet and 5 on the next "if" bet gives you a combined lack of 60 on the "reverse" When Team B loses, you'll lose the 5 vig on the initial combination and the 55 on the second combination for the same 60 on the split We have accomplished this smaller loss of 60 rather than 110 once the first team loses with no reduction in the win when both teams win In both single 110 "if" bet and both 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 extra 50 loss 60 rather than 10 whenever Team B is the loser Thus, the "reverse" doesn't actually save us hardly any money, but it does have the advantage of making the chance more predictable, and preventing the worry concerning which team to place 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 write down the guidelines I'll summarize the guidelines in an an easy task to copy list in my next article As with parlays, the overall rule regarding "if" bets is DON'T, if you can win more than 525 or more of your games If you cannot consistently achieve an absolute percentage, however, making "if" bets whenever you bet two teams can save you money For the winning bettor, the "if" bet adds some luck to your betting equation it doesn't belong there If two games are worth betting, they should both be bet Betting using one should not be made dependent on whether you win another However, for the bettor who includes a negative expectation, the "if" bet will prevent him from betting on the second team whenever the first 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 point that he could be not betting the next game when both lose Compared to the straight bettor, the "if" bettor comes with an additional expense 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 number of games that the loser bets The rule for the winning bettor is strictly opposite Anything that keeps the winning bettor from betting more games is bad, and therefore "if" bets will cost the winning handicapper money When https//new88studio/ winning bettor plays fewer games, he has fewer winners Understand that next time someone tells you that the way to win would be to bet fewer games A smart winner never wants to bet fewer games Since "if/reverses" workout a similar as "if" bets, they both place the winner at an equal disadvantage Exceptions to the Rule - Whenever a Winner Should Bet Parlays and "IF's" As with all rules, there are exceptions "If" bets and parlays ought to be made by successful with a confident expectation in only two circumstances When there is 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 are the best man at your friend's wedding, you are waiting to walk down that aisle, your laptop looked ridiculous in the pocket of one's tux so you left it in the automobile, you merely bet offshore in a deposit account without credit line, the book includes a 50 minimum phone bet, you like two games which overlap in time, you pull out your trusty cell 5 minutes before kickoff and 45 seconds before you need to walk to the alter with some beastly bride's maid in a frilly purple dress on your own arm, you make an effort to make two 55 bets and suddenly realize you merely have 75 in your account Because the old philosopher used to state, "Is that what's troubling you, bucky" If so, hold your head up high, put a smile on your own face, search for the silver lining, and create a 50 "if" bet on your two teams Needless to say you could bet a parlay, but as you will see below, the "if/reverse" is an effective replacement for the parlay for anyone who is winner For the winner, the very best method is straight betting In the case of co-dependent bets, however, as already discussed, you will find a huge advantage to betting combinations With a parlay, the bettor gets the advantage of increased parlay odds 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 made as "if" bets With a co-dependent bet our advantage comes from the point 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 would simply lose the vig regardless of how usually 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 Predicated on a 110 parlay, which we'll use for the intended 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 would 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 When 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 includes 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 are not in a 50-50 situation If the favourite covers the high spread, it really is more likely that the overall game will go over 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, when you have a confident expectation the "if/reverse" is really a superior bet to the parlay The actual probability of a win on our co-dependent side and total bets depends upon how close the lines privately and total are to one another, but the proven fact that they are co-dependent gives us a confident expectation The point at which the "if/reverse" becomes an improved bet compared to the parlay when coming up with our two co-dependent is a 72 win-rate This is simply not as outrageous a win-rate as it sounds When coming up with two combinations, you have two chances to win You only have to win one out from the two Each of the combinations has an independent positive expectation If we assume the chance of either the favorite or the underdog winning is 100 obviously one or another must win then all we need is a 72 probability that whenever, for instance, Boston College -38 � scores enough to win by 39 points that the overall game will go over the total 53 � at least 72 of the time as a co-dependent bet If Ball State scores even one TD, then we are only � point away from a win That a BC cover will result in an over 72 of the time is not an unreasonable assumption beneath the circumstances When compared with a parlay at a 72 win-rate, our two "if/reverse" bets will win a supplementary 4 seventy-two times, for a total increased win of 4 x 72 = 288 Betting "if/reverses" may cause us to lose an extra 10 the 28 times that the outcomes split for a complete increased loss 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"