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Playoff-bound Thunder play host to T'Wolves

Basketball Betting Lines

04/04/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It wasn't easy but the Oklahoma City Thunder have secured their first playoff berth since the Seattle SuperSonics won the Northwest Division back in 2004-05. Now the Thunder will try for their fourth straight win Easter Sunday versus the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Ford Center.

Oklahoma City punched its ticket to the postseason with Saturday's 121-116 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in the finale of a perfect three-game road trip. Kevin Durant went for 23 points and Jeff Green added 22 for the Thunder, who are sixth in the Western Conference, just two games off the jumbled No. 2 spot in the overall standings.

"That was a good win. It's [Dallas] not an easy place to play," said Thunder head coach Scott Brooks. "I'm proud of the work they've put in. We've made the playoffs, and that was one of our goals."

Russell Westbrook and Nick Collison scored 17 points apiece in the win.

The Thunder are back at home, where they own a 24-13 mark in 2009-10.

Meanwhile, lowly Minnesota will try to put the brakes on a nine-game road losing streak tonight against Oklahoma City. After ending a lengthy 16-game slide with a victory over Sacramento on Wednesday, the Timberwolves landed back in the loss column with last night's 97-84 loss versus Miami in the finale of a three-game homestand.

Al Jefferson and Ramon Sessions each scored 12 points for the T'Wolves, who fell for the 17th time in 18 games.

"They came out and hit some big shots," Minnesota's Kevin Love said. "We hit a drought, and Wade kind of went off and sealed the game for them."

The Wolves are 5-33 away from the Twin Cities this season.

Oklahoma City has won the first three matchups with Minnesota this season and is aiming for a series sweep tonight. It is unbeaten in the past four encounters overall with the T'Wolves, who have lost 13 of 18 road games in this series.

<< Knicks seek rare win at Clippers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Knicks hope to salvage the finale of a five- game road trip tonight against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. The Knicks have lost the first four tests of the road swing and five straight overall

<< Nelson eyes history as Warriors visit Raptors
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If Golden State head coach Don Nelson has any plans on breaking Lenny Wilkens' all-time wins record this week, he'll have to achieve the feat on the road. Nelson and the Warriors will open a four-game road trip Easter

<< Kobe, Lakers aim to cash in vs. Spurs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Freshly paid superstar Kobe Bryant will lead the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers versus the San Antonio Spurs this afternoon in a possible playoff preview from Staples Center. Bryant signed a huge three-year extension with

<< Top-seeded Cavs pay a visit to Celtics
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Now that the Cleveland Cavaliers have clinched the Eastern Conference's top seed for the playoffs, they'll try to keep the momentum going Easter Sunday on the road against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. The Central Di

<< Bucks' Bogut out indefinitely with multiple injuries
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Bucks announced Sunday center Andrew Bogut has a dislocated right elbow, a sprained right wrist and a broken right hand, injuries he suffered in Saturday's win over Phoenix. While the

Magic welcome Grizzlies to central Florida >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic are closing in on their third straight Central Division title and will open a three-game homestand Easter Sunday versus the Memphis Grizzlies at Amway Arena. Orlando is coming off a 112-100 lo

Nets aim to snap road funk in Washington >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Nets will try to put the brakes on a six- game road losing streak tonight, when they open a quick road trip against the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center. New Jersey will also visit Milwaukee a

Pacers, Rockets collide in Indy >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indiana Pacers will shoot for their fourth straight win over the Houston Rockets tonight, when the two clubs get square off at Conseco Fieldhouse. Indiana has won three in a row in this series and handed the Rockets a

Sliding Flyers host Red Wings >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The struggling Philadelphia Flyers will try to get back on track when they host the surging Detroit Red Wings this afternoon at Wachovia Center. The Flyers are locked in a tight battle for a playoff seed, but Philadelphia

Flames continue playoff push in Chicago >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames will try to help their playoff chances when they shoot for a fourth straight win in today's road test at the United Center in Chicago. The Flames enter Sunday tied with Colorado for the eighth and final


Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Why Sports Betting is so much fun?

Betting Sports

The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)

But you could also simply bet on the money line, or straight-up winner of the game. Oddsmakers use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as NASCAR. ( More details on playing the Money Line)

Points (or Runs) Scored

Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.

The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.

Future Bets

Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

The main advantage of futures is that you can get appealing odds by betting far in advance. For example, with NFL futures you often can get much higher odds on a team by betting before the season even starts. A NFL future bet on a team to win the Super Bowl odds might be 20/1 in the preseason; but by midseason, their odds might decrease to 10/1 if they turn out to be legitimate championship contenders.

Proposition Bets (or Prop Bets)

Proposition bets , also known as prop bets, focus upon the more exotic aspects of a game and are generally reserved for events that are widely televised. Prop bets are extremely popular when it comes to wagering on the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The Imperial Palace Casino’s sportsbook is well-known for the enormous number of prop bets offered. For example, you can bet on:
  • What team will win the coin toss
  • What player will score the game’s first touchdown
  • What will be the exact margin of victory

Types of Bets

Straight Bet

Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.

Sports Betting Parlays

A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. The benefit of the parlay bet is much better odds than placing each individual bet separately since the difficulty of hitting it is much higher.

Standard payoffs on a two-team parlay are 13/5; while a three-teamer pays 6/1; and a four-teamer 10/1.

Parlay cards are also fairly common in sportsbooks and popular with bettors, as they are released early in the week with set odds that do not change in return for a slightly lower payoff.

Round Robin Betting

Adventurous bettors who enjoy betting parlays sometimes put together a series of parlays called a Round Robin . A three-team Round Robin consists of one three-team parlay and three two-team parlays. For example, Joe likes teams A,B,C – with a Round Robin he has a three-teamer with ABC, and two-teamers with AB, AC, and BC.

Betting Teasers

Similar to a parlay, a teaser bet is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers, but is different in that the point spread is adjusted to your advantage on each individual wager. In exchange for the points, you get less of a return on your bet compared to a parlay. For example, a 6-point teaser would move the line on a 7-point favorite from -7 to -1, meaning the team would have to cover 6 less points. Each of the individual wagers must win or the bet is a loss.

These are the main types of sports bets available today. But as sports betting continues to grow, sportsbooks will continue to develop new and creative ways to bet. We’ll continue to track these changes to the sports gambling landscape, so check back often and we’ll tell you all about it!

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.