How to play the Money Line
In this article you will find the basics for sports gambling money lines.
Money lines are generally used by American bookmakers and are very common in baseball and in hockey, but you will also find them in both football and basketball listed in addition to the normal point spreads.
Sports gambling money lines indicate the odds (line) for a team to win a match outright without including a point spread or tie. When betting money lines you are betting on a team to win the game outright.
The main difference between a sports gambling money line and a sports gambling point spreads is that there are no points involved. If you team wins, you collect. You also don’t have to bet an amount that is equal to the money line. You bet whatever amount you want and the payoff is according to the money line odds that are set.
The easiest way to understand a money line is to think of it as an indication of the amount you need to bet to win $100 or the amount you will win.
Money lines are expressed with a negative number, say -110, or a positive number, say 110. A negative money line number indicates what you must wager to win $100, and a positive money line number indicates what you will win if you wager $100.
If you bet $110 on a team with a money line of -110, and they win, you will win $100 (plus return of your original $110 bet).
If you bet $100 on a team with a money line of 110, and they win, you will win $110 (plus return of the original $100 bet). Unlike point spread bets, the teams do not have to win by any particular number of points.
Now, you do not have to bet an amount equal to the money line number. You can bet more or less and the payoff simply becomes a proportional amount. For example, if you bet $11 on a money line of -110, and your bet wins, you will win $10. If you bet $50 on a money line of 110, and win, you will win $55.
Here is an example from the NFL:
New England -240
San Francisco 200
If you like the Patriots you would risk $240 dollars for every $100 you wanted to win. Conversely, if you liked the 49ers you would be getting $200 back for every $100 you wagered. The 40-dollar difference is the vigorish and is what keeps sportsbooks in business.
Here is an example from the NBA:
Boston 180
New Jersey -220
In this case if you liked the Nets you would be risking $220 for every $100 you wanted to win. If you liked the Celtics you would get back $180 for every $100 wagered if Boston won.
In conclusion, when a bettor bets on the moneyline, he or she is betting on the result of a game. They are betting on who will win a game, irrespective of the spread.
Green Bay Packers 130
New York Giants -145
In the above example, the minus (-) sign in front of the price means that the New York Giants are the favorites. The -145 means that the bettor will win $100 for every $145 bet. If the Giants win the game, a bettor with a $10 bet gets a return of $16.90 that is the original $10 stake, and $6.90 profit.