One day, not so long ago, while being a "couch potato" and "channel surfing" on the television I became aware of just how many sports channels and programs there are available for viewing at any given time. There is baseball, basketball, hockey, football, soccer, UFC fighting, horse racing. boxing, wrestling, golf, and the list goes on and on. "Wouldn't it be GREAT", I thought to myself, "if you could earn money while watching sports on TV?" Well I am here to tell you that it can be done! There is money to be made from being a "couch potato"!

Welcome to the world of "sports betting online"! The average person often views this activity with a great deal of mistrust and apprehension. Possibly from watching one too many gangster movies portraying a time when sports betting was illegal, so you had to deal with shady underworld characters, typically cigar smoking "bookies", in dark dingy backrooms to place your bets. Yet many of us have already participated in a form of sports betting through the many "office pools" that are the rage during the playoffs in most major sports.

Well guess what! Sports betting has moved out of the Dark Ages, and has not only become legal (in most countries), but also very popular thanks to the dramatic growth in the Internet . The Internet is full of sites that offer sports betting services that you can access from the comfort of your own home through your computer. Even if you have never placed a sports bet in your life, most sites have a tutorial type system in place to help you place bets and have a wide range of betting levels that most anyone can afford.

Now before you jump off your couch and rush over to your computer to get started on sports betting online, here are "7 Super Beginner Rules":

Rule #1. Always Bet Within Your Limits

Do not ever bet more than you can afford to lose! Pretty common sense, but it is amazing how many people forget this basic rule and get themselves into big financial trouble! In fact if you are having serious money problems and are unable to pay bills, feed your family, etc. you shouldn't be betting at all!

2. Know Your Bets

There are 3 kinds of basic bets when sports betting that you must know which are "money line", "point spread", and "totals".

- "money line" is a type of bet only on who "wins" and who "loses"

- "point spread" is used by bookmakers to make the competition between two people or teams as even as possible by placing a handicap on one side through a system of giving points or getting points. (This is often used in football betting.)

- "totals" or "game totals" looks at the outcome of the game and bets are placed based on the total points in a game going "over" or "under" a number established by the bookmaker. (Often used for betting in hockey, basketball, baseball and again, football.)

Bookmakers, also known as Oddsmakers, create a set of odds that you use to bet on the probability of a competitor winning the contest. Depending on who the favored person or team is to win, the Bookmaker will set the odds to encourage people to bet on one side or the other, with better money making odds favoring the competitor with the least chance to win called the "underdog".

Rule #3. Shop Around

Before you actually do any betting on a particular game or event in your chosen sport, do some "window shopping" at a variety of online betting sites to see what "odds" are being given for the game or event. Odds may vary significantly between betting sites.

Rule #4. Do Your Own Research

Unless you have purchased some kind of sports betting software that keeps statistics on players or teams for you, it is imperative that besides just "watching" your favorite sport on the TV, you should keep track of performance, key injuries, etc. Often by focusing just on what is going on in your chosen sport, you may have a better insight than the bookmakers as to the possible outcome of the contest and can bet accordingly. This is the part where you are actually making money by being a "couch potato" and watching sports on TV!

Rule #5. Never Totally Rule Out The Underdog

Given the right circumstances, any "underdog" can rise to the occasion and demonstrate inspired play or performance. So if there is some happening or event that may motivate a losing team or competitor to go above and beyond, you may wish to challenge the odds.

Rule #6. Alcohol/Drugs = Dumb Bets

Another common sense rule! Betting while under the influence of alcohol or drugs is pretty stupid and almost guaranteed to lose you money in the end.

Rule #7. Beware of Scam Booking Sites

Once again, you need to do some research and be wary of sports booking sites that offer huge rewards or discounts for using their sites. The Internet has many sports booking review sites where you can go to read what other online betters have to say about their experiences with particular online sports betting sites called "Sportsbooks"

Final Thoughts:

I was writing this article the day after one of the largest stock market slides in recent history. To some of you, this may seem like the worst of times to consider any kind of online betting, but consider this. Given the instability of our current economy, this may be the time to seriously look at secondary forms of income to help you through potential bad times. The money that can be made from online sport betting can provide this cushion. That being said, nothing in betting is guaranteed and there is a risk involved with any type of betting as we all well know. Therefore I must reiterate Rule #1: Always Bet Within Your Limits, which is the most important rule of all!