How To Play The Moneyline

1. How To Play The Moneyline Super Bowl
2. How Do You Play The Moneyline
3. How To Play The Moneyline

One of the most common types of sports betting lines when wagering on a game is the moneyline. You will see moneyline odds for every game and every sport played for the most part. While some games that have a very large spread but stray away from offering a moneyline, it is still one of the most popular styles of betting. A moneyline is a type of straight wager where the bettor wagers simply on who will win the contest, straight up – without any spread involved.

The easiest way to think of moneyline betting odds is that you are only betting on who wins the game. It does not matter how many points or goals they win by, all that matters is who wins. If you see a - (negative) symbol then that team is the favorite and the team with the + (plus) sign is the underdog. Keep reading below to understand how moneyline odds work or visit the homepage of ExplainBettingOdds.com to read about odds in general.

Understanding How Moneyline Betting Odds Work

The moneyline is used exactly the same no matter what sport you are betting on. All you must do is select who you believe will with the matchup without any other thought behind you. By taking the favorite, a bettor would have to risk more money than what their expected return would be. Because there is no point spread involved to handicap the game, the oddsmakers and books handicap the payouts to ensure their book stays balanced. Betting on the underdog will result in a much better payout, as the oddsmakers have deemed this team less likely to lose. As you take action on either the favorite or the underdog and select the moneyline, a ratio of $100 is used to represent the payouts.

Seems pretty easy right?

The spread converter / moneyline converter tool would then tell you that you should expect to find moneyline odds of -284.8 on the favorite and a moneyline price of +225.2 on the underdog, based. A moneyline bet simply involves you picking one of two teams to win the game. No catch, no angle, just the right answer or the wrong answer. Each team/person in a matchup for a moneyline betting option is given a separate numerical value for bettors to wager on and these are called “odds.”.

Well, it's definitely easier than betting the point spread, in which a team has to cover a spread installed for a match up however you should know that moneyline wagers do not payout the same as a wager against the spread. Keep reading to learn more about payouts when betting on the moneyline.

Understanding Payouts When Betting On The Moneyline

Betting on the moneyline means picking a team (or in other sports, a player) to win, plain and simple. The actual number (+111 and -120 in this case) affects what is paid out, not how the bet is graded. Your bet either wins or loses based on if the side you picked wins, simple as that. Moneyline bets take the gold medal when it comes to simplicity. Pick a winner, decide if the payout you’ll receive is worth the risk, make the bet, and that is it. If your team or player wins, you win. People will try and overcomplicate this, but that is all there is to it. Money Line – How it Works. Here is a typical money line for a game in the NFL: Green Bay Packers +180 Pittsburgh Steelers -200. When a sportsbook sets a money line, they’ll base the odds on the probability of a team winning the game, and in the majority of cases.

The biggest differences on the moneyline though, aside from no point spread, is the payout. The idea behind a point spread is to bring the two teams in a match up to a more even playing field. If a team is better than the other, the points given by the favorite brings the underdog to a more even field. That is not the case on the moneyline.

Simply put, you will have to risk a whole lot more money on a favorite to profit. On the flip side though, if you bet on the underdog, the potential profit is a lot bigger on the moneyline than betting on the point spread. That is because the likelihood of the underdog winning is slim on the moneyline.

Explanation Of How Moneylines Work In MLB

• Atlanta Braves -300
• Philadelphia Phillies +200

This is an example of a moneyline you could see in Major League Baseball. The Braves are matching up with the Phillies, with Atlanta set as the favorite. You can tell Atlanta is the favorite because of the minus symbol. It is indicative of the amount that must be risked to return a profit. At -300, a $1 profit is made for every $3 risked on the Braves to win the game. On the other side, at +200, that is the same as saying 2/1. That means, for every $1 risked on Philadelphia to win the game, a $2 profit is returned. Moneylines are simply straight-up betting lines with no spread involved, which is why they can range quite significantly.

Article: How To Read MLB Betting Odds

Understanding The Moneyline In Football

• Denver Broncos -300
• Jacksonville Jaguars +300

How To Play The Moneyline Super Bowl

Here in this example, the Broncos have been set in the role of the favorite, going off at -300 on the betting line. That means, for every $3 risked on Denver to win, a $1 profit is returned. So if you wager $30 on Denver to win, you stand to win $10. On the flip side, the Jaguars are set as a +300 underdog. That means for every $1 risked on Jacksonville, a $3 profit is returned. So if you were to wager $10 on Jacksonville to win, you would profit $30. So you can certainly see the disparity on the payout and why someone might want to take the Jaguars over the Broncos. Also, taking underdog moneylines in parlay bets can be huge for your payouts!

Article: How To Read College Football Betting Odds - How To Read NFL Betting Odds

Understanding The Moneyline Odds In The NBA

• Los Angeles Lakers +200
• Miami Heat -200

Here in this moneyline example for the NBA, the Lakers are matching up with the Heat. Miami has been set in the role of the betting favorite, going off at -200 on the betting line. As such, a $2 wager is needed to profit $1. So if you were to wager $200 on Miami, as $100 profit is returned if the bet is won. On the other side of the equation, the Lakers are in the underdog role. at +200, that is the same as 2/1. So, for every $1 risked on L.A to win, a $2 profit is returned. You can see a wide range of profits for a moneyline, because the underdog and favorite can be far apart straight up with no point spread.

Article: How To Read NBA Betting Odds

Bovada Sportsbook - Best Sports Betting Site For Betting On The Moneyline

Moneylines are one of the most popular bets that players get involved in. There are always teams that are expected to beat other teams. The margin of victory may be pretty wide. The big thing that sticks out here is how big of a favorite some teams are.

There plenty of moneylines that might show a team being a heavy favorite and if players bet against them, that is a very huge profitable opportunity. Upsets are always going to happen so this is where a lot of bread can be won. There are also toss-up games as well that many players take a stab at as well and end up cashing big on Bovada. This is the place to get when it comes to Moneyline bets regardless if its blowouts or close games.

BetOnline Sportsbook - Best Sportsbook With Great Moneylines

It's clear that BetOnline is one of the best sportsbooks for players and the moneylines that are offered are one of the main reasons why. There is news coming out all the time about teams prior to games and as soon as news drop that effects a team, it also affects the Moneyline on BetOnline.

This is what gives BetOnline a bonus over other sportsbooks because of the consistent update of Moneyline and always moving. Place your bet early could also be a great idea because of the news that could swing later on that week or day before matchup. BetOnline has it set up to where if any changes need to have done that is possible.

SportsBetting's Sportsbook - Lots Of Betting Odds When Betting On Moneylines

There are a number of things that SportsBetting sportsbook offers that makes it one of the better online sportsbooks for players. When it comes to picking some of these games with favorable matchups, the Moneyline does really determine how much players want to put down on these games. Most of the time, these games have the favorite that doesn’t really see players win a lot unless they put a lot of money down. When it comes to upsets, however, this is where players can have their lives change by just one pick.

Players with SportsBetting account have seen the Moneyline and have taken advantage of that the line because of the possible big payout. When you see a team like the Lions be underdogs against the Arizona Cardinals pull out the victory, only one thing is happening and that is big money is being handed out to all the players who took the chance on SportsBettting.

MyBookie Sportsbook - Money Line On MyBookie One of The Best

It is hard to find any sportsbook that has better moneylines that MyBookie. The way Moneyline works is very simple and most of the time it changes depending on what players are playing and are not. This often changes and sometimes in the favor of a player's bet. MyBookie is known for having a lot of people cash big when picking the Moneyline and the reason why is simple, their lines are better.

See the underdog betting like at (+115) is not bad but MyBookie will have that same under down with a Moneyline of (+130) which would win players more money if they were to bet on that underdog team. This is why shopping for lines is so important for all players. You can like a team to win a game and have decided you want to place a wager on them but once shopping around for lines, there is a big chance that you will find that MyBookie has the best moneylines.

Since sports betting is now a reality in Virginia, moneylines have (or likely will) become a big part of your life. They’re one of the most basic types of sports bets and no sportsbook, online or live, operates without them.

If you’re new to sports betting, the notations for a moneyline bet might look a bit confusing. We’ll break it down for you.

What is the moneyline?

A moneyline bet is one of the simplest bets a sports bettor can make. It’s a bet on which team will win the game, match, or contest.

No other element plays into the determination of the bet. Neither the margin of victory nor the total number of points scored matters to a moneyline bettor.

The moneyline is always visible by the three-digit number next to each team’s name. Except in rare situations, each game will feature one team with a positive number and one team with a negative number.

What do moneyline numbers mean?

What each number denotes is the payout ratio associated with a successful bet on that team.

The team with the positive number next to its name is the underdog and is ostensibly expected to lose. Therefore, the money line is how much a winning $100 wager will pay out to the bettor.

Conversely, the team with the negative number next to its name is the favorite for the game. The sportsbook expects this team to win so the number is how much a player must pay to win $100.

It’s important to understand that these numbers are ratios, not hard numbers. You don’t have to bet in $100 increments to participate in moneyline betting. Your potential payout will scale according to the size of your bet.

If you’re having trouble wrapping your head around moneylines, the examples below should help show how moneyline betting works.

Examples of moneyline bets

Below are some real-world examples of moneylines that were real bets on DraftKings Sportsbook at one time.

One thing that you’ll see is a discrepancy between the amount of the payout and the total amount of money that you can expect to receive on a winning bet. The amount that the moneyline is publicizing is the profit that you can expect to make, but you can also count on receiving the original value of your bet back.

NBA: Phoenix Suns vs. Washington Wizards

• Suns: -305
• Wizards: +245

In this NBA moneyline example, the Suns are favored to beat the Wizards fairly handily. A quick check of the point spread betting line accompanying this game predicted that Phoenix would win by 7 or 8 points despite having a similar record as the team from Washington D.C.

You may notice that the values associated with each team are different. Part of the reason that there is a discrepancy in the value of moneylines is that the sportsbook injects its profit into the payout ratio. Sample payouts include:

• $100 on the Suns: $32.79 profit, $132.79 total
• $100 on the Wizards: $245 profit, $345 total
• $305 on the Suns: $100 profit, $405 total
• $305 on the Wizards: $747.25 profit, $1052.25 total
• $50 on the Suns: $16.39 profit, $66.39 total
• $50 on the Wizards: $122.50 profit, $172.50 total
• $5 on the Suns: $1.64 profit, $6.64 total
• $5 on the Wizards: $12.25 profit, $17.25 total

MLB: New York Mets vs. Boston Red Sox

• Mets: -110
• Red Sox: -106

While a money line for a game usually features a positive and negative number, it’s not a guarantee. Some games, like this one, have two negative moneylines.

When you see two negative moneylines, you’re essentially seeing the sportsbook shrug. The two teams are so closely matched that there’s no way to know who will win. So, the sportsbook only slightly favors the Mets as a way to eke out a tiny profit for itself.

Incidentally, you would never see two positive moneylines in the same game. That would mean that the sportsbook is predicting both teams to lose somehow. Sample payouts include:

• $110 on the Mets: $100 profit, $210 total
• $110 on the Red Sox: $103.77 profit, $213.77 total
• $106 on the Mets: $96.36 profit, $202.36 total
• $106 on the Red Sox: $100 profit, $206 total
• $50 on the Mets: $45.45 profit, $95.45 total
• $50 on the Red Sox: $47.17 profit, $97.17 total
• $5 on the Mets: $4.55 profit, $9.55 total
• $5 on the Red Sox: $4.72 profit, $9.72 total

How to Bet on Sports

Moneylines in other bets

The moneyline format is extremely versatile for the sportsbook to use. So, you will see the moneyline format pop up in many other types of bets, and its inclusion might seem a bit curious.

Straight odds on a bet

Moneylines can be used to express the odds on a bet. Rather than publish the odds as 2:1, 3:1, 5:1, or the like, the sportsbook will convert the odds into a moneyline format.

As it turns out, calculating betting odds for a moneyline bet is rather simple. To generate a moneyline for a longer odds situation, you need only multiply the first number by 100.

So, for instance, a bet that is 2 to 1 against can also be expressed as +200, a bet at 3:1 is +300, and 5:1 is +500. Conversely, if you want to convert moneyline odds to straight odds, just divide the moneyline figure by 100.

This kind of formatting is common in several different types of wager, but one of the most prominent places is in futures bets. For instance, here is a sample of a futures golf bet on DraftKings for the PGA’s WGC – St. Jude Invitational:

• Jon Rahm +850
• Justin Thomas +1,000
• Rory McIlroy +1,150
• Bryson DeChambeau +1,200
• Patrick Cantlay +1,800
• Xander Schauffele +2,000
• Tyrrell Hatton +2,200
• Webb Simpson +2,200
• Matthew Fitzpatrick +2,800
• Collin Morikawa +2,900
• Daniel Berger +3,000
• Brooks Koepka +3,000
• Hideki Matsuyama +3,000

How Do You Play The Moneyline

You can easily figure out what these bets are if you simply divide the numbers on the list by 100. So, another way to express that list would be as follows:

• Jon Rahm: 8.5/1
• Justin Thomas: 10/1
• Rory McIlroy: 11.5/1
• Bryson DeChambeau: 12/1
• Patrick Cantlay: 18/1
• Xander Schauffele: 20/1
• Tyrrell Hatton: 22/1
• Webb Simpson: 22/1
• Matthew Fitzpatrick: 28/1
• Collin Morikawa: 29/1
• Daniel Berger: 30/1
• Brooks Koepka: 30/1
• Hideki Matsuyama: 30/1

How To Play The Moneyline

Please note that this trick only works if the moneyline bet is positive. A negative moneyline means that you are going to be laying odds, so you’ll have to divide 100 by the moneyline number, and it will always result in a fractional answer.