How Do You Win A Moneyline Bet
The Bottom Line on Moneyline Betting. Moneyline bets are straight forward wagers in which you are simply deciding which side you think will win. For each game on the docket, oddsmakers will designate a favorite and underdog. Which side is which will be reflected in the odds. Favorites will have negative odds, while the underdog will have positive odds. Moneyline betting is also called straight-up betting. This is the most basic way to bet because you are simply picking a team to win. When you visit your sportsbook of choice, you’ll see NFL moneyline betting odds that look something like this: In this case Atlanta is the favorite and New Orleans is the underdog. The following simple equation is used to calculate the potential profit of a wager with positive moneyline odds. Potential Profit = Stake x (Odds/100) Since you also get your stake back with a winning wager, this needs to be taken into account when calculating your total payout. Let’s use a couple of examples to illustrate how this works.
In the world of sports betting, a money line bet is simply betting on which team you expect to win. It doesn’t have anything to do with a spread. You may also see a money line bet listed as “Money Line” or “ML” in different spaces.
Money lines are represented in negative and positive values.
Negative money line: -145, -220, or anything similar
How Do You Win A Moneyline Bet Payout
When you see a minus (-) sign in front of a price, it shows you that team is the favorite to win the game.
That number also indicates how much money you need to bet/spend in order to win $100.
For example, a -220 money line means you need to bet $220 in order to win $100 provided the team you bet on actually does win.
Heavy favorites are known in sports betting as a “chalk” pick. A heavy favorite usually has a number pushing +300 or more. Here, you’re wagering a lot on the favorite to win a little. Don’t assume that a heavy favorite, or chalk pick, is a guaranteed winner…
Positive money line: +145, +220, or anything similar
When you see a plus (+) sign in front of a price, it shows you that team is the underdog. Higher numbers like +400, +500, +5000, etc. represent how much of an underdog the team is in the game. The higher the number the more likely the team is expected to lose in the eyes of the oddsmakers.
The number also indicates how much money would win in comparison to every $100 you wager.
For example, a +150 money line means you would win $150 for each $100 wager you place should that team win the game.
Money line examples:
Lets use an NFL example here:
New England Patriots -240
Miami Dolphins +220
To bet the New England Patriots to win on the money line, you would need to spend $240 on the bet for a chance to win $100 if the Patriots beat the Dolphins. Your return would be $340 – the original $240 stake (bet) and the $100 bet profit.
To bet the Miami Dolphins to win on the money line, you would spend $100 on the bet for a chance to win $220 if the Dolphins, as the underdog, beat the Patriots. Your return would be $320 – the original $100 stake (bet) and the $220 profit.
How To Win A Moneyline Bet
In both situations, it doesn’t matter if the team you bet on wins by one point or 100 points. You’re purely betting on the team you believe will win the game. As Al Davis said, “Just win, baby.” That’s exactly what you’d be looking for out of your selection. It doesn’t have to be pretty, it just has to happen or your original stake is lost.