It’s possible that you know what 2-to-1 odds means even if you’ve never heard the word “moneyline.”
Perhaps due to the fact that you first heard (or uttered) it on a playground in elementary school: “I’ll give you 2-to-1 odds that you can’t hit that shot / win that race / catch that ball”.
When someone makes such an offer, they are essentially offering to pay you $2 for each $1 you wish to stake, provided you win.
You might not be aware of how odds like 2-to-1 are stated in one of the most common types of sports betting, the “moneyline.”
This is a comprehensive guide covering all aspects of moneyline odds, including their meaning, interpretation, placement of moneyline wagers, and distinctions between moneyline and point spreads.
What exactly is a moneyline bet?
The simplest sort of wager in sports betting is a moneyline bet. To put it simply, it’s a wager on the player or team that will prevail in a match or competition, regardless of the ultimate score.
Moneyline bets are straightforward: if you place a straight bet on the winning side, you will cash your ticket. This is in contrast to other sorts of bets, such point spread bets, parlays, or teasers.
In a conventional moneyline wager, the margin of victory is meaningless; if your side wins hands-down, you win your bet. However, betting against the spread necessitates that one side win by a specific amount.
The problem is that, even in cases where the two teams aren’t evenly matched, sportsbooks still determine the moneyline odds by factoring in each team’s chances of winning.
This might result in some very aggressive pricing for a strong favorite or a significant underdog, with a sizable potential reward if the underdog manages to pull off an upset.
Moneyline bets are popular among novices due to their ease of use, but even more seasoned players frequently place bets on the moneyline.
What Is the Meaning of Moneyline Odds?
What catches your attention the first time you open a betting app or visit a physical sportsbook? Yes, a tonne of numbers.
The moneyline, which is typically three digits and is always followed by a plus (+) or minus (-) sign, is located inside this enormous sea of numbers.
Let’s examine the meaning of these numbers and symbols from the standpoint of wagering.
Underdogs
Any side that is not the favorite and is seen by the betting market as likely to lose is the underdog in a match, tournament, or event.
An asterisk (+) is always present next to an underdog’s odds, indicating how much money you would win on a $100 gamble.
Let’s take an example where the underdog in a baseball game is valued at +140. In the event that that team wins handily, your $100 bet would be returned.
Higher odds on the underdog make it riskier to win, but they can also increase the possible reward.
For example, suppose a boxer is labeled as a +600 underdog. You would receive $700 (your original $100 bet + $600 in winnings) if you bet $100 on that underdog boxer and they pull off the upset.
What if you wanted to place a wager with the same +600 odds on that fighter in the hopes of winning $100? With a $16.67 wager, you would actually receive a payoff of $100.02.
3-Way Lines / Draws
Moneyline bets allow for the inclusion of a third option to the win or loss total in contests featuring more than two fixed options.
In sports like boxing and soccer, where a “draw” might happen regularly, this is known as a “three-way line.”
It is typical to see both the favorite and the underdog trading at plus-odds in markets featuring a three-way line, and in the event of a draw, both sides could lose.
Three-way lines are also frequent in sports like hockey where overtime is typical; the moneyline wager pays out based on the outcome at the conclusion of regulation.
Let’s take an example where two soccer teams are playing, and Team A is significantly favored over Team B.
You can see Team A priced at -130, Team B dealt at +130, and “draw” listed at +300 instead of Team A being labeled as a -200 favorite. Both Team A and Team B bettors would lose if the game ended in a draw, but the “draw” wagerer would win three to one.
In sports like MLB or NBA where ties are not allowed, all moneyline wagers are marked as two-way action.
Favorites
The team that the betting market believes has the best chance of winning is the “favorite” in a match, competition, or event.
Favorites on moneylines are nearly always indicated with a minus sign (we’ll get into the details of the “almost” bit later).
Moneylines are based on a $100 stake and are usually displayed in American odds. The odds next to a favorite indicate how much you would have to bet in order to win $100.
Let’s take an example where a moneyline favorite is listed on the betting board at -180.
Consequently, a bettor hoping to win $100 will stake $180, but a bettor hoping to win $50 will stake $90.
Recall that if your side loses, the money you wagered stays with the sportsbook; if you win, you get your money back plus your initial investment.
Whereas a $18 bet at -180 moneyline odds would pay out $28 — $8 for winning the bet and $10 back for your initial investment — a successful bet on the $180 wager to win $100 would pay out $280.
An actual example would be the San Francisco 49ers, who were -130 favorites in Super Bowl 58 according to the moneyline. This meant that wagerers would have to wager $130 in order to gain $100 should the 49ers win. Given that the Chiefs were +110 favorites, a $100 wager would yield a $110 profit in the event of a victory.
How To Calculate Moneyline Odds
When you know the formulas, calculating your possible wins on a moneyline bet may be really simple, even though it may appear difficult at first.
Here’s a quick method to figure out how much any moneyline bet could win:
Favorite
The odds provided show how much you would have to bet in order to win $100 when placing a bet on a favorite at the moneyline. For instance, it would need $200 to earn $100 when betting on a -200 favorite.
Divide 100 by the favorite’s odds (without including the minus sign) to find how much you would win if you were to bet on them, then multiply the result by your initial stake.
You would win $20 x (100 / 200) = $10 if you wished to wager $20 on a -200 favorite.
The following method can be used to determine your winnings when placing a moneyline wager on a favorite:
(Amount staked) x (100 / odds)
Underdog
It’s much simpler to compute the moneyline odds for an underdog than it is for a favorite because they show how much you would win with a $100 stake.
The amount you would win if you bet on a favorite is determined by multiplying your initial wager by 100 and dividing the odds for the underdog.
$20 x (200 / 100) = $40 would be your winnings if you were to wager $20 on a +200 favorite.
Here’s how to figure out how much money you could win if you bet on an underdog at the moneyline:
(Amount staked) x (odds / 100)
