How To Bet On The Moneyline

Moneyline A moneyline is a straight up bet on the outcome of a game. The favorite is always indicated by a minus sign (-), and the underdog is indicated by a plus sign (+). In the case of the favorite, the moneyline is the amount a bettor would have to wager to win $100. When placing a moneyline wager, you bet on the outright winner of the event without taking the point spread into consideration. There are still favorites and underdogs, but instead of being handicapped or assisted by a point spread, the competitors are given odds to win the game or event. One of the most important words to know is moneyline. The moneyline is a bet that is determined only by the winner of the game, and no lines are involved. Say for example the Lions and the Packers are playing. If you bet on the moneyline odds on the Lions, they would have to win for your bet to result in a win.

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?

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

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

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.

Moneyline betting is the simplest form of betting on sports. Whether you’re new to gambling or a seasoned bettor, you’ve likely already placed a moneyline bet at some point in your life.

Moneyline bettors don’t care about how many points that games are won by or how many total points are scored. In most sports, one team wins and one team loses. Your job in moneyline betting is to pick the winner of the game, match, race or event. If they win, you win. Pretty simple.

Think of it as the traditional bets you would make with your buddies whether you’re debating team supremacy from the bar, in the office or in the group chat.

For example, an overconfident peer claims their squad is the best in the land. It just so happens that team plays your team this weekend. (If this scenario doesn’t lead to a wager of some sort, you need to find more entertaining people to surround yourself with.) You decide to offer up a bet on the winner of the matchup. Loser has to offer up cash, buy lunch or humiliate themselves in some fashion.

That’s moneyline betting, at its simplest form — picking an outright winner without the point spread involved is moneyline betting.

It’s a little more complicated than that, but not much.

Let’s learn more about it.

How to Identify the Moneyline

Where can you find the moneyline at the sportsbook or online? In most sports, three major categories are listed for you to place a wager on. On the left side, it will typically show the point spread of the game, while the over/under point total resides on the far right.

The moneyline numbers sit in the middle. Usually the team listed with a negative number is the favorite, while the underdog will likely have a positive number. These numbers will likely fluctuate a bit leading up to the start of the event.

Betting the Moneyline Favorite

If you’re new to the growing sports industry, you’re probably thinking this sports betting thing is pretty easy. Just pick a winner and I get paid? Why not bet every favorite, get rich and quit my job?

If only it were that easy.

Put simply, you’re betting a lot to win a little if you decide to go with this strategy. It seems like a sure thing a particular team will win, but upsets happen. That’s why we watch games. It would be boring if the favorites always won.

Is it worth the risk of financial loss when the payout would be so low? That’s the balancing act sports bettors face when considering picking the favorite straight up in a moneyline play.

Betting the Moneyline Underdog

On the other hand, if you decide to bet the underdog, you have a chance to win a lot by betting a little, which makes for a thrilling bet placement.

Is there a big and unexpected outcome you think could shock the sports world? Bet the underdog on the moneyline, win big and brag to your friends.

Or, if you see a slight underdog you feel has a decent shot at not only covering the spread but winning, put some action on the moneyline to increase your payout.

Some bettors will bet the underdog on the moneyline as well as picking the team to cover the spread in an effort to protect themselves in case one bet hits and not the other.

Moneyline Parlays

One sports betting strategy some bettors go with is parlaying moneyline plays. If you are extremely confident in two or more moneyline outcomes, combine them into your wager and cash your ticket with a higher payout if all outcomes go your way. Keep in mind if just one team loses, you lose the bet.

On the flip side, if you start betting multiple underdogs on the moneyline and are successful, the little amount you put on the line could turn into a big-time payday.

Moneyline Examples

Now that you have the basics, let’s dive in to some real-life examples.

How to bet the moneyline in NFL

Example 1

Let’s take the biggest game of last season: Super Bowl 54 between the KansasCityChiefs and the SanFrancisco49ers.

How To Bet Moneyline Nba

According to the WestGate SuperBook in LasVegas, the Chiefs came into the game as slight favorites and a -130 listing on the moneyline. As small underdogs, the 49ers entered the game with a +110 moneyline.

You can tell sportsbooks anticipated a close game due to both numbers being very close to 100 either way.

To make this easier to calculate in your head, you can think of it this way. If you bet $130 on the favored Chiefs at -130, you will end up with $100. If you bet $100 on the underdog 49ers at +110, you will wind up with $110.

You already know the Chiefs will have a smaller payout than the 49ers, but by how much? Here are the calculations.

• $100 on the Chiefs: $76.92 payout
• $100 on the 49ers: $110 payout

The Chiefs ultimately won the Super Bowl, so their moneyline bettors left the NFL season happy with a decent payout.

Example 2

So we covered the Super Bowl 54, which was expected to be a close game at the end. But what about an expected blowout?

Let’s take a look at week 2 in the 2019 NFL season in a matchup between the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins. The Patriots had Super Bowl aspirations, while the Dolphins had No. 1 overall draft pick aspirations.

Both plans ultimately fell flat, but the opposing directions of the franchises made for a lopsided expectation from oddsmakers.

According to DraftKings Sports Betting, the Patriots were listed at -2000 on the moneyline with the Dolphins at +1200. See how far away from 100 both these numbers are? A sign that a blowout is highly expected.

This is an extreme example as it’s fairly rare to have these types of numbers in an NFL game, but here’s what the payouts were for bettors:

• $100 on the Patriots: $5 payout
• $100 on the Dolphins: $1,200 payout

Yes, if you would’ve bet $100 on the Patriots to beat the Dolphins in this game last season, you’re walking away with five bucks. Is that worth the risk of a potential upset? That’s up to the bettor.

For what it’s worth, the Patriots won this game, 43-0.

How To Bet On The Moneyline Bet

How to Bet the Moneyline on College Basketball

Most college basketball betting scenarios would fit in the description above with the NFL, but what about this scenario? Let’s use a fictitious example. We’re getting ready for the national title game between, oh, let’s say Gonzaga and Kansas.

This would be a great game and who knows who would’ve been favored. However, for the purpose of this post, let’s say the two were so evenly matched the oddsmakers had no idea who’s going to win and it could go either way.

Here’s what the moneyline numbers could look like:

• Gonzaga -110
• Kansas -110

This doesn’t happen often, but occasionally teams are so close together and evenly matched that both teams feature identical negative moneyline numbers.

Either winner in this scenario would lead to a $90.91 payout on a $100 moneyline bet.

How to Bet the Moneyline on UFC Events

An individual sport like UFC is made for moneyline betting. While traditional team sports will show several categories to potentially bet on with different options, UFC betting is mainly focused on the moneyline.

Who do you think will win the fight? If you are confident about it, bet on that fighter.

UFC betting offers additional betting options, but moneyline wagers are far and away the focal point.

Let’s go to UFC 249 in Jacksonville for our example with a fight between TonyFerguson, whose moneyline odds were listed at -200 according to DraftKings, and JustinGaethje and his +168 moneyline odds as the underdog.

Here’s how the payouts would’ve gone had you bet on either fighter.

• $100 on Tony Ferguson: $50 payout
• $100 on Justin Gaethje: $168 payout

How To Bet On The Moneyline Rule

As the underdog, Gaethje won the fight, so his bettors had a fun start to the return of live sports.

How to Bet the Moneyline on Soccer

How To Bet The Moneyline In College Football

The previous sports are easier to understand and fairly straight forward in regards to the moneyline, but soccer is a little bit different.

Most sports list the moneyline with two options. One team wins or the other team wins. However, in soccer there are three options to choose from on the moneyline because of the amount of draws that occur.

For our example, let’s go back to the 2018 World Cup between France and Croatia.

How To Bet On The Moneyline

France entered the match as the favorite with a -110 moneyline number, while Croatia entered as the underdog with a +350 moneyline.

Bettors could decide a winner that way, but the third option of a draw at the end of regulation was listed at +230. Instead of picking a team, bettors could opt to bet on a draw if they believed the teams are that evenly matched.

Here’s a calculation of the 2018 World Cup payouts:

• $100 on France: $90.91 payout
• $100 on Croatia: $350 payout
• $100 on a draw: $230 payout

France wound up with a 4-2 victory as the favorite.

How to Bet Guides

Key Takeaways on the Moneyline

So what did we learn today?

How To Bet Moneyline In Vegas

Moneyline Bet Calculator

• Moneyline bets consist of picking the team you think will win.
• Betting the moneyline favorite has a lesser payout.
• Betting the moneyline underdog has a larger payout.
• Soccer has three moneyline options to choose from.