If you’re new to the world of sports betting, then you may be unfamiliar with the term PK betting. This is actually a pretty simple form of wagering that is associated with betting on team sports like soccer, rugby league and American football. PK is an abbreviation for ‘pick ‘em’ and we’ll explain more about what that really means later. If you’re seeking an answer to the question, ‘What does PK mean in betting?’ then you’re in the right place! Read on to find out more.
PK meaning in betting
So, now you know that PK refers to ‘pick ‘em’, what does that actually mean in wagering terms? It refers to even money bets in points spread betting. Points spread betting is popular in team sports where bookies offer odds on the margin of victory. A pick ‘em bet is slightly different to a usual points spread wager, however.
See also: How to read betting odds
A PK bet is where there is negligible difference in the chances of success of either team, so you are effectively just picking a winner from two equal options. The point spread in situations like this is usually zero. In order to better illustrate PK meaning in betting, we’ll provide you with an example below. We’ll use soccer as an example, as this is the world’s most popular sport and offers plenty of chances to do some PK betting.
PK in sports betting
We’ll use a fictional World Cup match between France and Italy to illustrate what PK means in betting. We’ll use American odds, as pick ‘em betting is particularly popular in the USA. We explain how odds work in other articles here at EsportsBets if you are unsure about how these odds works.
| Team | Odds | Probability |
|---|---|---|
| France | -121 | 52% |
| Italy | +100 | 48% |
As you can see, the bookies have made France the slight favorites, with Italy as the marginal underdog. There really is not a lot to choose in terms of the odds here, with you needing to bet $12.10 to win $10 by betting on France. You would need to bet $10 on Italy to win $10. If the game ends in a draw, then your bet would be refunded.
What does PK mean in soccer betting?
When a soccer fan sees the letters PK placed adjacent to each other, their first assumption is always that it means ‘penalty kick’. Of course, this is not the case when it comes to this type of betting! You can see a soccer PK bet explained above. For more information about soccer betting, you can read our betting guides here at EsportsBets.com.
PK in esports betting
While this type of bet remains rare in esports betting currently, the adversarial, team-based nature of esports means that it will surely become more common as time progresses. This is especially true for games such as FIFA or NBA2k that are based on real-life team sports. You can adapt very similar strategies when picking PK bets on esports events as you would when betting on mainstream sports. We’ll give you a few hints and tips about putting together some betting strategies next.
How to build a successful PK betting strategy
Now you know what PK means in betting, you can start to build a strategy. The key to building successful betting strategies for this form of wagering is knowledge, just as it is with other forms of sports betting. As there is usually little to choose between the teams in PK betting, you need a deep understanding of both teams’ strengths and weaknesses to pick a winner. Here are some tips on building that knowledge.
Follow all news about your chosen sport as carefully as possible
Use specialist news sites and be particularly careful about finding about injuries to key players or disputes in the dressing room, as these can be key to the outcome of a narrow contest!
Read also:
Use social media to boost your knowledge and insight
Follow the accounts of the top players and clubs from the league on which you are focusing. It also pays to follow the social media accounts of top journalists, as they can offer key insights into close contests.
Select stake size carefully for all PK bets. This is important as there is likely to be little difference in the size of your winnings for this type of bet. The probability of either team winning is around 50%, so it is unwise to risk massive stakes on this kind of bet. Instead, use small stakes on several bets if you want to boost your chances of larger wins.
Good luck with your PK betting
We hope that this article has provided an answer for anyone wondering what PK means in betting before opening an online betting account. PK in betting is actually a really simple concept, and even newcomers to the world of sports betting should be able to grasp the idea pretty quickly. The key to being successful when selecting pick ‘em bets is to have as deep as possible knowledge of the sport on which you are betting. This will allow you to make the kind of discerning judgement based on real insight rather than simply calculating odds.
Frequently asked questions
What does PK point spread mean?
Is PK money line?
How do you win a PK bet?
