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 one team will be favored (unless the teams cannot be split). A money line like +100 or -100 indicates even odds: bet $100 to win $100. Some sportsbooks differentiate even odds by listing the 100 without a positive or negative symbol, but a money line of 100 is that same as +100.

Money line bets are possibly the simplest form of sports betting. Money line bets do not use point spreads like straight bets do. Instead, your job is to pick the winning team with no concern to the score. Since one team may be heavily favored over their opponent, odds for each team are different. It may seem confusing at first, but money line bets are very easy to understand.

Except in situations where opponents are considered an even matchup, the favorite will have a negative (-) money line and the underdog will have a positive (+) money line. Negative money lines indicate the amount of money needed to wager to win $100 in profit. Positive money lines indicate the amount of money that can be won from a $100 wager.

Recommended Sportsbook for Money Line Bets:

Long term reputation, USA-friendly and fast payouts

Example:

Money line betting may seem like a lower-risk proposition for those who like favorites. At the same time, a lot of us get in big trouble by habitually betting on favorites on the money line. For example, if we make 20 bets on -400 favorites, we would need to win 80% of our wagers just to break even. Now, what does the -200 mean? This means that you would have to bet $200 on the Packers in order to win $100 back. Anytime you see odds with a minus in front of it, take the number and that is what you would need to bet in order to win $100 in profit. So, a -450 number would mean that you would have to bet $450 in order to win $100 in profit back.

Colorado Rockies -160

Arizona Diamondbacks +140

In this case, the Colorado Rockies are the favorite, and bettors need to wager $160 to win $100 in profit, for a total payout of $260.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are the underdog, and a wager of $100 will produce a profit of $140, for a total payout of $240.

Always think of money line bets based on $100 figures. Negative (-) means how much is needed to wager in order to win $100, and positive (+) means how much can be won on a $100 wager.

Occasionally, two teams or competitors that are very evenly matched may produce two negative money lines.

Example:

New York Yankees -115

Boston Red Sox -105

In this case, the Yankees are considered a very slight favorite. It would require a $115 bet on the Yankees to produce a $100 profit ($215 total return). The Red Sox would require a $105 bet to produce a $100 profit ($205 total return).

What Does Money Represent

Money Line Vigorish

The term vigorish means ‘house take’, also called vig or juice. This is the money the sportsbook or bookie makes for taking the wager. Let’s use the Yankees/Red Sox example from above for this explanation.

If a sportsbook takes 1000, $100 bets on the Yankees and the Yankees win, the sportsbook would pay out $87 profit to each bettor (100/115 odds = .87%. $100 X .87% = $87). So a Yankees win would result in a total pay out of $87,000 in player profits.

From 1000 Red Sox bettors who also placed $100 average bets, the sportsbook would collect $100,000. $100,000 collected minus $87,000 paid out = $13,000 profit.

Now, let’s turn this into a Red Sox win instead. 1000 bets of $100 on the Red Sox would pay out $95 profit per bettor (100/105 odds = .95%. $100 X .95% = $95). In this case the sportsbook would pay out a total of $95,000.

From the Yankees bettors, 1000 bets averaging $100 each would result in a $100,000 collection. $100,000 collected minus $95,000 paid out = $5000 profit for the sportsbook.

In each case, the sportsbook made money. Since a sportsbooks goal is to make money on every bet, they’re trying to create bets that will split the bettors down the middle. When that happens, they guarantee themselves a profit. If they come up with odds that cause a higher % of bettors to bet on one team, the book opens themselves up to potential losses.

Popular Sports for Money Line Bets

Sports like auto racing, horse racing, MMA and boxing do not use points. Without points a point spread can’t be created, so money line bets are the most popular way to bet on these types of sports. While tennis is scored with points, results are determined by sets won, not a point total. This means that tennis must also use money lines.

Money lines are also the most popular way to bet on low scoring sports like baseball, soccer and hockey. The reason is because with low scoring sports it’s difficult to predict a result. One run or one goal can easily be the difference between a win or loss, so betting on a point spread doesn’t make sense.

While straight bets using a point spread are most popular for high scoring sports like football and basketball, money line bets are available as well. Straight bets are used to even out the odds, offering 11/10 odds on any team you choose. With money line bets, there is no point spread and your goal is to simply pick the winning team. Since one team may be heavily favored against their opponent, the money lines offer a much wider range of odds.

Example:

What Does A 200 Money Line Meaning

Philadelphia Eagles -170

San Fransisco 49ers +150

In this game, a $170 bet is required to win $100 on the Eagles ($270 total return). A bet of $100 on the 49ers would result in a $150 profit ($250 total return).

As you can see, betting on the favorite requires a much larger bet for a smaller win. The underdog requires a smaller bet for a larger win. It makes perfect sense since the underdog is not expected to 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

What Does Money Line Mean In Gambling

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.