Moneyline betting is the foundation on which all sports betting is built. Most people have used moneyline odds even if they weren’t familiar with the term.
In this article, we will explain everything you need to know about moneyline betting.
What does Moneyline Betting Mean?
Simply put, it is betting on one side to win.
A variety of factors including injuries, current form, weather, and home advantage make one team more likely to win than the other. Because of this, a system needs to be put into place to make both sides of the wager fair. This is where moneyline odds come into play.
How does Moneyline Betting Work?
To understand moneyline betting, you have to be able to read the odds attached to each game. Favourites and underdogs are distinguished by “-” and “+” signs. The minus signals which team is the favourite and, conversely, the plus sign shows which team is the underdog to win.
A coin-flip contest – or a match where oddsmakers see the two squads as evenly match – would have a line of -110 for both sides. This means a bettor would have to wager $110 to win $100. The extra 10 cents (or 20 depending on the shop) is the book’s price of placing the bet. This is also commonly referred to as the vig or vigorish.
Let’s say the Toronto Maple Leafs are hosting the Boston Bruins and the books have installed the Leafs as -160 favourites. The Bruins are priced as +140 underdogs. This means a bettor would have to put $160 to win $100 if they liked the home team to win. A bettor who liked the Bruins would win $140 if he bet $100 and the visitors came as with the victory.
A bet of $80 on a -160 line would win you $50, a bet of $16 would win you $10 and a bet of $2,400 would win you $1,500. You can apply the -160 price to any wager size.
On the other hand, Boston is going off at +140, read as plus 140. When a moneyline has a plus in front, it means that a bet of $100 will win you the amount indicated by the plus. In this instance a $100 bet would win $140 if it is a winner.
The amount you decide to bet doesn’t matter. A $30 bet will pay $42, a $1,000 bet will pay $1,400 and a $200 bet will pay $280. The ratio always works out to +140.
What’s the Difference Between Pointspread and Moneyline Betting?
A pointspread is common alternative to moneyline betting. Pointspreads are used as an option to even out the sides with point handicaps, and are especially popular in football and basketball. Moneyline betting requires a user to only pick which side will win a game. However, a pointspread win is determined by the point differential. A pointspread is a method to get even odds (-110).
Imagine the Green Bay Packers are visiting the Dallas Cowboys and the books list the ‘Boys as -380 moneyline favourites. A bettor might not like those odds if they liked the home team to win. They could look at the pointspread odds and see the Cowboys are 7-point favourites. They could take Dallas (-7) and would win if Big D wins by eight or more points. A $100 wager on the pointspread is a better return in this case than betting taking the Cowboys at -380 on the moneyline.
Moneyline odds give better payouts than pointspreads for underdog bettors. In the example above, Green Bay would pay (-110) on the pointspread (+7) but +275 on the moneyline. The underdog bettor wins if the Packers win or lose by six or fewer points if they play the pointspread. The payout is higher with the moneyline because the risk is higher. The Packers must win the game if the moneyline bettor to win their wager.
Not every game has a clear-cut favourite or underdog. When both sides are going off at the exact same price, usually at -105 or -110, this is called a pick’em.
Final Moneyline Betting Thoughts
When betting on sports, remember there is no canceling or changing your bets once the games are underway. Your wager on the moneyline is set on the price that you bet it at. Lines fluctuate as gametime approaches for a variety of reasons, including injury updates and lopsided betting action on one side or the other.
Sometimes these line movements will work in your favour. If you locked in an underdog at +200 and it moves down to +160 during the week, you still have it at +200. Sometimes it will work against you. For example, the underdog moves from +160 to +200 after you bet. The important thing to remember is that if you are happy with your bet when you make it, you don’t have to worry about which way the line moves. On the other hand, if you like a favourite or underdog, but don’t like the price, check back throughout the week to see if the line moves in a direction that is better for you.
The range on moneylines changes quite a bit from sport to sport. In a game like baseball or hockey, the biggest favourites usually only get up to about -350. The underdogs in those games will go to around +275. In a sport like tennis, one of the world’s high-ranking players are often as large as -8000 favourite (bet $8,000 to win $100) against a relatively unknown player at +2500 (bet $100 to win $2500). The bigger the talent discrepancy is, the bigger the adjustment on the moneyline has to be.
Some players prefer moneyline betting to point spreads; some are the other way around. Regardless of which camp you fall into, it is always good to evaluate all of your options before placing a bet. All you have to do is choose the right type of bet and you are good to go.