The key to making money in betting is finding and placing bets with positive expected value. In theory, this means that any bet you place where you think the probability of winning is higher than what the sportsbook offers will make you money over time. Of course, identifying this value can be tricky, and it’s important to keep a long-term mindset when making your bets.

One way to identify potential betting values is to watch the odds for an upcoming game and see what they’re offering. The more you can see, the better chance of catching a bet with good value. Some bettors also choose to follow expert analysts on social media or check out pregame shows on major sports networks for their picks and predictions for upcoming games.

The most popular bets in sports betting are based on point spreads, which require the favored team to win by a specific number of points for the bet to win. This makes it more difficult for a team to win, but it also gives bettors more ways to win bets by taking the underdog.

Another common type of bet is a totals bet, which is a wager on whether the total number of points scored in a game will go over or under a line set by the sportsbook. This includes bets on things like how many total strikeouts a pitcher will have or how many rushing yards a player will get in a game.