The world of sports betting and Sportsbooks can seem complicated for beginners. Numbers and terms are constantly being thrown around. Just as you think you’ve understood one, you’re introduced to a new phrase.
Today, we are going to talk you through one of the most important terms in Sports betting – The Moneyline.
What is the Moneyline
You have probably been playing Moneyline bets for a long time without even knowing it.
A Moneyline bet is the simple choice of picking if a team is going to win, lose, or draw in their next match.
When placing a bet you will be given a choice – to bet on team A to win, to bet on team B to win, or to bet on a draw. That is a Moneyline bet. If the correct result is picked then the Sportsbook will pay out the winnings to the gambler.
Some sports do not have draws so they will have no option to bet on draws. But there may be a ‘no bet’ option. This comes into play when there has been no draw but no winner or loser has been announced. This could be if the game is canceled for it started, or stopped part way through.
The Moneyline is the most simple bet out there – all you have to do is choose a winner and a loser.
Elements of Moneyline classification
When Sportsbooks are putting together the odds for a Moneyline bet, they will give the teams one of three classifications. The terminology varies from site to site, but the concepts remain the same.
These classifications dictate the way the odds are formed.
Favorite
The favorites will have the shorter odds. This is the team that the bookie thinks will win. They will usually have negative odds to reflect this.
It is not uncommon to see favorites coming in at -150 or even -175. If you were to bet on a team that was at -150 then you would win $0.50 for every $1 you spent. If you bet $100 you would walk away with $150.
Underdog
The underdogs are who the sportsbook thinks is going to lose. They will have long odds (that can be very tempting to bet on). They will have positive odds most of the time.
Teams like the Detroit Lions are often at +35,000 to win the Superbowl. In this situation, you would win $35,000 for every $100 you bet. So if you won on this bet and had put down $100, you would be leaving with $35,100 in your pocket.
Evens
Having teams called in at ‘even’ is very rare. This means that the Sportbook doesn’t want to predict either way or who is going to win.
In this situation, both teams will be listed as +100. This means you will have your bet refunded to you.
Moneyline outcomes
As we mentioned above, there are three possible outcomes for a Moneyline bet.
This really is the most simple type of bet, and most people place Moneyline bets without realizing that those types of bets have a name.
Win
In this situation, the gambler has made the right call and they have won their bet.
They will be paid out their winnings based on the odds that were offered by the Sportsbook. If they have bet on the underdog then they will win a larger sum of money than they would have if they had bet on the favorite.
Loss
In this situation, the gambler has made the wrong call, and no money is won. The money that they bet is kept by the Sportsbook.
Draw or no bet
If the gambler has put money on their being a draw or no result being called then they will be refunded their full bet.
They will not win any money, but in this situation, they will not be losing any money either.
As there are no draws in the NFL, the money will only be paid back to the gambler if the match is called off without a winner being declared.
As you can guess, this very rarely happens.
In summary…
In summary, a Moneyline in the NFL bet is when a gambler bets on the results of the match. More specifically, they are betting on whether they think a team will win or lose, or that the game will be called off with no winner.
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