What is a future?
Unlike traditional betting where your action is tied to a specific event, futures are more general and predicting something long term, exactly as the name implies. The most common type of future wager is betting on the champion for a given sport (e.g. betting on the Super Bowl winner in September).

How do I bet on futures? CP doesn't offer futures, but go to almost any sportsbook and they should have some offered. Odds can change regularly based on changes as the conclusion of the wager draws near. Futures can be taken off the board at any time and the best odds are usually pre-season / pre-event longshots who haven't made a name for themselves yet. For example, the Marlins were pre-season longshots to win the MLB World Series last year, but as the season progressed you could see they were a quality team capable of winning it all.

What types of bets are standards in futures?
Before each major sport's season, there are odds to win division/league/championship. There are also bets based on the total wins for a team. There are also futures for major horse races, including the Triple Crown races. Golf and tennis futures are instituded for majors. You can also find future bets on auto racing, olympics, and other events... Sometimes even non-sports events like the Grammy awards.

What's the down side of futures?
The main down side is the long time it sometimes takes for a future wager to be graded. If you bet for the super bowl winner four months ahead of time, you'll get some great odds if you are correct... But you need to wait until after the super bowl (obviously) for the wager to be graded. The money for the wager is placed on hold in your account - you can't use it until that wager has been closed.

Actual Future Bets you can Place at Betcom