What Is Betting The Money Line
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. For this example, we will use a $10 bet. In this situation, a $10 moneyline bet on the.
Before we had the options of wagering on future bets, parlays, teasers, alternative lines, Asian lines, prop bets and each-way, there was one betting option that reigned supreme. It was the money line bet. From a non-gambling perspective, winning a game in any sports will make a team happy. However, depending on the score, that win may not please bettors. That’s because the point spread betting option has taken over as the popular option, leaving the money line far behind. If you are the kind of person who bets on your favorite team each and every game, this is the bet for you. There is nothing worse than watching your team win the game, but lose you money by not covering the point spread.
What Does Money line Mean?
The money line bet is the simplest form of betting in the industry. A “money line” bet is a way of betting on which team is going to win the game outright, or which individual will win an event. With a money line bet, the margin of victory or the total number of points a team scores do not matter. If you like the Patriots to win outright versus the Browns, a 3-0 win would win you just as much money as a 77-0 win.
Unfortunately, the profit from winning a money line bet could be drastically different depending on if you bet on the favorite or underdog.
Money Line Odds
The money line bet always relates to bets of $100. A favorite will be represented by a negative money line figure such as -180. This means that in order to profit $100 off your winning bet, you would need to risk $180 dollars. But as I’m sure you already know, you can risk any amount you are comfortable with and the payment (should you win) will be in proportion to the odds. For example, a $50 bet on a -180 line would win you $27 dollars.
When betting an underdog on the money line, you will notice that they have a positive price attached to them. For example, if the underdog you like was +195, a $100 bet would profit you $195 dollars for every hundred put down.
The money line odds will always be different aside from the plus or minus – those are the only constant. The favorites will always have a negative value, which is how the sportsbooks make their money.
What Sports Can I Bet the Money Line On?
You can bet the money line option in every single sport that is offered up. It is the simplest form of betting and it is also the primary way to bet sports in which a point spread isn’t available (think hockey or baseball). Money line wagers are also available in football and basketball, but the point spread wager is much more popular. It is also used in tennis, golf, boxing, MMA, cricket, table tennis, and any other sport you can think of that has a winner at the end of the game.
Are Money Lines the Best Betting Option?
Money line bets are particularly attractive to square bettors when they are looking at underdogs. They see a nice high positive number and think that the payoff is significant enough to be worth the risk. Unfortunately, underdogs are underdogs for a reason, and it’s usually because they aren’t very good. However, when the right opportunity presents itself, a money line bet on an underdog can grow your bankroll quicker than betting favorites would.
Money Line Calculator
Now days, most online betting sites have the money line calculator built right into the betting window. It’ll tell you how much you stand to win on any bet amount you can think of. If you find yourself in a Las Vegas sportsbook and have to quickly do the math, here is how to do it.
Example 1: Underdogs
Potential Profit = Stake x (odds/100).
$50 Stake on +120 odds.
$50 x (120/100) =
$50 x 1.20 = 60
Potential Profit = $60.
Total potential profit + Stake =
$60 + 50
=$110.
Example 2: Favorites
Potential Profit = Stake / (odds/100)
$50 Stake on -200 odds.
$50 / (200/100) =
$50 /2 = 25
Potential Profit = $25.
Total potential profit + Stake =
$25 + 50
=$75.
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What is a Money Line or Straight Up Wager?
A Money Line or straight up wager is a bet on the outright winner of the game or event, without any point spread odds. A Money Line better doesn't have to worry about a team winning or losing by a certain number of points.
Oddsmakers still determine a favorite and an underdog by the overall strength of the competitor, but the odds given are based on the amount of money that needs to be put up in order to place the bet.
Example:
How To Read Betting Odds
The bettor will receive odds that resemble these:
Colts –140
Bears +120
Betting The Money Line Football
The (-) symbolizes which team is the favorite and the (+) indicates which team is the underdog. So in the above example, the Colts are the favorite and the Bears are the underdog. All the bettor is wagering on is who he or she thinks will win the game.
If one were to bet on the Colts, he or she would have to risk $140 to win $100 (or $105 to win $75; $70 to win $50, etc). If one were to bet on the Bears, he or she would only have to risk $83.33 to win $100 (or $62.50 to win $75; $41.67 to win $50, etc).
What Is Betting On The Money Line
So while the Colts are the favorite to win the game, one would have to risk more money if they wanted to bet on them.