What Is a Moneyline Bet? Sports Betting Terms Explained

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Moneyline betting is a straightforward way to wager on sports events. It indicates the odds of a team or participant winning the game outright, without factoring in point spreads. With moneyline bets, you can quickly see who would be labeled as the favorite, and who would be the underdog. Here’s a simplified explanation:

Understanding the Moneyline

Sportsbooks label moneyline bets with triple digit odds, with either a positive or negative number. It tells you how much you can potentially win or how much you need to bet to win $100. For instance:

  • Positive Moneyline: If you see a positive moneyline like +150, it means you could win $150 for every $100 you wager. If you bet $50, you’d potentially win $75 (+150).
  • Negative Moneyline: A negative moneyline like -150 means you must bet $150 to win $100. Betting $75 would potentially result in a $50 profit (-150).

Here’s an example from Caesars of a moneyline bet on the Tennessee Titans and its potential payout.

Moneyline bet placed on Caesars

Flexible Betting Amounts

Moneyline betting allows for flexibility in your wager amount. For example, if you bet $10 on a team with a +150 moneyline, you could potentially win $15. If you increase your bet to $20, your potential profit would double to $30.

Moneyline Betting in Different Sports

Placing moneyline bets is commonly associated with various sports, including:

  • Baseball: In baseball, moneyline bets are the primary way to wager. The absence of point spreads makes moneyline betting the go-to option for baseball enthusiasts.
  • Hockey: Similar to baseball, hockey often utilizes moneyline odds due to the limited number of goals scored in games.
  • Soccer: While soccer predominantly uses the three-way moneyline (home team win, away team win, or draw), moneyline odds are still a crucial component of soccer betting.
  • Combat Sports: In sports like boxing and MMA, moneyline odds determine the favorite and underdog, making it simple for bettors to predict the outright winner.

Moneyline betting is versatile, offering opportunities for both beginners and experienced bettors. Understanding how to interpret moneyline odds and incorporating effective strategies can enhance your sports betting experience and potentially lead to profitable outcomes.

Moneyline odds reflect the sportsbook’s assessment of the teams’ or participants’ chances of winning. Positive moneylines indicate underdogs, while negative moneylines denote favorites. This type of betting is prevalent in sports like baseball and hockey, where point spreads are less common.

 

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Eamonn KeenanEamonn Keenan
Eamonn Keenan, with a Digital Arts Degree from the University of Tampa, brings over a decade of sports betting experience to his role as Creative Director at BettingHero.com. Starting with Betting Hero in the Fall of 2020, Eamonn has been deeply involved in the industry, assisting customers with major sportsbook and casino operators like BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and others. A self-proclaimed sports fanatic, he has a keen interest in professional hockey, MMA, NFL, NCAAB, NCAAF, and MLB. Eamonn enjoys researching teams and players to predict game outcomes, highlighting his passion for sports betting.