What should you know before you gamble with a bookie?

Is the bookie responsible? Does he pay off his players?
Usually if you find one who has been in business a while, he will be pretty dependable.

What will happen to you if you lose and don't have the money?
Will he let you float it a couple of weeks? Will he charge you interest? Will he break your legs?

What kind of juice does he charge? What is juice?
Juice is the price you pay to gamble. It's . You usually put up 10 to 20 percent to play, but only pay it if you lose. i.e. If you put $100.00 on a football game with it's 10% juice, you would lose $110 or win, you win $100. 

What kind of plays does he take?

• Straight
  A "Straight" play is one team against the other with one, the underdog, usually getting points. You can either take the dog plus the points, or take the favorite minus the points. Or it could be over or under a certain amount of points you think the game will end with, the total of both teams scores. A straight is one play of your choosing. A straight play is usually 10% juice and in most cases, ties push. That is, you neither win nor lose.
  

• Parlay
  A "Parlay" is where you take two or three plays and play them together. Three teams or total points or any combination of teams and points. Parlays are harder to win because all plays must win or you lose. Ties lose in parlays. But, usually there is no juice on parlays. You bet $100.00 on a two play parlay and it's usually 2 1/2 to 1, or $100.00 to win $250.00. A three play parlay usually pays 4 to 1, $100.00 to win $400.00. You lose you lose $100.00. Of course baseball parlays are a whole other story. But still if you lose you only lose what you bet.
  

• The Teaser
  Usually if you pick a three team tease you can give or take 10 points on each game or total. For example. If Washington is getting 3 points against Dallas, you could either take Washington +13, or Dallas +7. See? 10 points either way. And for the total, if it's 30 points, you could either take over 20 or under 40. And you can give the points on all 3 teams.
  
  Or if you're really adventurous, you could tease the whole game. Take Washington +13 Dallas +7 and over or under on the points. And if Dallas wins by, say 3 points, and falls within your total range you win. But that one is real tricky. A lot of people lost their butts on the Super bowl trying that one.
  
  A two team tease is usually 6 points either way. And like parlays, on teasers, all teams or plays must win, ties lose. And the juice on a tease is usually 20%. You gotta' pay for those points.

Your bookie will be the one who gives you the lines, odds and totals on each game. You must use his lines. If you have a better one with someone else, then by all means go with them. Also, some bookies will allow you to buy a half a point, up or down.

Now these are just a few of the many ways to bet with a bookie.
The odds and ways to bet are astounding.