What is Moneyline Betting?
Moneyline betting is by far the easiest betting type and the best betting option for first time bettors. There isn’t much complexity when it comes to betting on the moneyline, so it’s a common choice.
Bettors choose a team to win. That’s it. You pick the favorite or the underdog, and you place your wager.
Easy, isn’t it?
You are just picking the winning side of the bet based on your gut, statistics, your crystal ball, whichever reasoning you need to make that specific bet.
When it comes to the odds on a moneyline, you will only be seeing one number next to your selected team’s name. The vig, or juice as some may call it. This number will be identified with a plus (+) or minus (-) before it and will state the oddsmaker’s prediction for how this game will pan out.
The plus (+) sign means that team is the underdog, they aren’t expected to win, according to the oddsmakers. The minus (-) sign means the team is favorited to win, and the oddsmakers are banking that they will beat the other team.
The number next to the plus or minus sign will determine how much a team is favorited or how big of an underdog they are. In the case of the favorite, if the number is -300 that means the team is heavily favorited and more likely than not, it’s not even worth betting on because you won’t win much on your wager. If it’s lower, like -120, the team is likely to win but there is a slight chance they’ll lose.
When it comes to the underdog, it’s the same principle, but the opposite outcome. The higher the number, the bigger the underdog. +350 indicates that the team likely won’t win but you’d be looking at a pretty hefty payout if they do, depending on your wager.
Let’s look at an example:
New England Patriots (-180)
Miami Dolphins (+120)
The easiest way to explain a moneyline bet is with a $100 wager. All odds are easy to read when you’re assuming you’re betting $100 – for both the underdog and the favorite. The negative number is what you’ll have to wager to win $100, and the positive number is what you’ll win if you wager $100.
This example shows that the Patriots are the favorite, and the Dolphins are the underdog. You will have to wager $180 to win $100 on the Patriots. Conversely, if you’re feeling the Dolphins, you’ll only have to wager $100 to win $120. These are given that your selected team wins.
If the game ends in a tie – which is rare except in soccer – that will be a push, which means you’ll receive your wager back. Some sportsbooks do offer the Tie as an option, but it’s not common.
Moneyline Parlays
Once you’ve dipped your toes in and have made a few successful moneyline bets, you can look at doing a moneyline parlay. This essentially groups your selected teams together into one larger bet, taking all legs of the bet and combining the odds. When the odds are combined – your payout will be much larger because the odds will be much higher. You can group two or more moneyline bets into a parlay.
Many bettors will look at all Sunday football games and select their favorite teams to win, and group them into a parlay for a hefty payout.
Other Betting Types: