Futures betting: What is a futures bet and how to place a futures bet

A futures bet is a bet made on a long-term outcome that generally plays out across several days, weeks, or months of competition and pays out in the future.

Sports betting futures are bets placed on an outcome that’s decided in the future. Futures betting is very different from a single-game wager that pays out on the day of the game. Popular types are futures include championship markets and end-of-season individual awards. In most cases, bettors place their money on “yes” on a certain outcome, such as whether a player will win the MVP.

However, a “no” option is sometimes available in markets on teams making or missing the playoffs. In that case, bettors can make a play on either side. Rarely is there a “no” option on a team winning the championship unless a team is a heavy favorite against the rest of the field. Futures bets are popular because of their longevity, frequently long odds and potentially lucrative payouts, and the ability to hedge (betting on a different outcome when your initial bet is close to hitting, such that a profit is guaranteed).

As its name suggests, a futures bet pays out days, weeks, months, or even years after being placed whenever the event or competition ends. There are popular futures markets in almost every sport, including the Super Bowl, World Series, Stanley Cup, NBA championship, World Cup, college national championships, golf tournaments, tennis tournaments, and many more. For example, you could bet on the Texas Rangers to win the World Series at +750, and that wager will either lose whenever the Rangers get eliminated or cash in October if they win. In this example, if you wagered $100 you would win $750 if the Rangers won the World Series. You could also bet on Tom Brady to be NFL MVP at +1600, and that wager will either win or lose when the award is announced at the end of the season.

There are all kinds of futures markets for both teams and individuals. In the NFL, you can bet on a team to win the Super Bowl, its conference, its division, and to make or miss the playoffs. You can also bet on a player to win MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, and Defensive Player of the Year. Similarly, in the NBA, you can bet on the outright title, a conference, a division, the MVP, and the regular-season leader in scoring, rebounds, and assists.

In a big soccer tournament, you can bet on the outright title, or you can wager on a team winning its specific group. There are plenty of future options for individual sports as well. Betting on the major championships in golf and tennis is quite popular, as are motorsports futures and horse racing futures such as the Triple Crown races.

Some sportsbooks will have an actual futures section with a link to it on the home page. On that link, you can find futures markets for a variety of sports. Therefore you would not see the futures options on the page of a specific sport. Most books, however, list the futures for a specific sport on that sport’s page and won’t have a devoted futures section on the home page. In that case, navigate your way to the sport first, and you can find the future options. Be sure to check out different sportsbooks to find the best odds for whatever market you are interested in, as the odds may differ slightly, and you want to find the best value. Some books may also offer a wider variety of markets, so it is always beneficial to shop around until you find the right bet at the right price.

Whether or not you can parlay future bets depends on the certain sportsbook. Some shops may not let you parlay futures together, while others may let you parlay certain markets. Regardless, you often cannot parlay correlated wagers. For example, you can’t parlay the Houston Astros winning the American League with Zack Greinke winning the AL Cy Young Award. Similarly, you can’t bet on the Green Bay Packers to win the NFC North with Aaron Rodgers winning NFL MVP.

Hedging a future bet is when you make a new wager that conflicts with a future ticket that is still in play, such that you are guaranteed to make a profit regardless of an event’s outcome. If you have a future bet on a team to win the title and that team reaches the final, you can then bet on the other team to win that final game or match to ensure that you will have a winner no matter what happens. For example, if you bet on the Tampa Bay Rays at +1500 to win the World Series during the 2020 Major League Baseball regular season, you could then bet on the Los Angeles Dodgers at -175 to beat the Rays once that World Series matchup was set. You need to decide on the amount of your hedge bet on the Dodgers relative to the size of your Rays futures bet so you guarantee a profit regardless of which team wins the series.

Even if your future bet has not been confirmed as an outright winner, if it remains in play long enough such that there is only one other outcome or few other outcomes, a hedging opportunity is created. Hedging gives you multiple outlets via which to guarantee a profit, and it all starts with the initial futures wager. That is arguably the main advantage of futures betting.

Futures betting can be both fun and lucrative. Such bets can last well into the future, so it gives you something to pay attention to for a much longer period than a money line, point spread or game totals bet. Often futures markets come with odds well into plus money, and longshot bets naturally pay out a substantial amount if they hit. Longshots aren’t likely to hit, but there are so many futures markets available that you can often find something you like if you look hard enough. Hedging is another potential advantage of futures betting. Even if your future bet has not been confirmed as an outright winner, if it remains in play long enough such that there is only one other outcome or few other outcomes, a hedging opportunity is created. Hedging gives you multiple outlets via which to guarantee a profit, and it all starts with the initial futures wager. That is arguably the main advantage of futures betting.

Although future bets have pros, there are a few disadvantages too. The first downside is that the house could have more of an advantage than usual. Unlike betting on a single match, the bookmakers don’t have to set future lines in order to encourage betting on two different sides. In a futures market, there is just a single outcome. The books can set odds to encourage betting on a single outcome at a price that they believe is advantageous to them. As wagers on teams or players come into a futures market, sportsbooks will adjust odds accordingly. Another disadvantage is bettors may not like the idea of having their money tied up in the same bet for a long period of time. You can make future bets on outcomes that aren’t determined for a year or more, so even if one proves to be a winner. you may not get a return on your investment for quite a while. Finally, the longer a future bet lasts, the more variables come into play that could prevent it from becoming a winner. Injuries and trades, for example, could have a big impact on the status of a team or individual player.

There are not necessarily any right or wrong futures betting strategies, and individuals have their own personal preferences when perusing futures markets. However, we have some tips that could be useful. Consider which sports are easiest for favorites to win the title and which sports are easiest for underdogs to win the title. Low-scoring sports like hockey and soccer often give underdogs a better chance to win a championship.

You should check different sportsbooks to find the best odds on whatever future bet(s) you want to place. The same futures markets are generally offered at all sportsbooks, perhaps occasionally with different odds. Find the best possible payout before making your wager, and remember the benefits of hedging. It’s not a strategy for everyone, as some bettors like to remain all-in on a futures bet that has the potential to produce a significant payday. But hedging would be the play if you want to guarantee at least some profit. To each his own, of course, but hedging is always something to consider.

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