Understanding the Moneyline

Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned bettor, it’s highly probable that you have already engaged in moneyline betting at some stage in your life. This form of sports betting is considered the most straightforward.

Moneyline bettors simply focus on the outcome of the game, disregarding the margin of victory or the total points scored. Regardless of the number of points or the final score, the objective in moneyline betting is to correctly predict the winning team, participant, or event. When your chosen team succeeds, you also win. It’s as straightforward as that.

Imagine it as the classic wagers you would place with your pals, whether you’re arguing about which team reigns supreme at the bar, in the workplace, or in the group chat.

Let’s say, a peer who is excessively self-assured boldly asserts that their squad is unrivaled in the entire land. Coincidentally, this weekend, their team is scheduled to play against your team. (If this situation doesn’t result in a wager of sorts, it might be worth seeking out more captivating individuals to associate with.) In light of this, you decide to propose a bet regarding the outcome of the game. The loser will be obliged to contribute a sum of money, treat the winner to lunch, or subject themselves to some form of humiliation.

Moneyline betting is essentially the act of selecting a clear winner without considering the point spread.

It’s slightly more complex, but not significantly.

Shall we delve deeper into this topic?

How to Identify the Moneyline

Where can the moneyline be found? The sportsbook or online platform usually provide three main categories for placing wagers. On the left side, the point spread of the game is typically displayed, while the over/under point total is shown on the far right.

The moneyline numbers are positioned in the center, typically indicating the favorite with a negative number and the underdog with a positive number. These numbers may slightly vary before the event commences.

Betting the Moneyline Favorite

If you’re a newcomer to the expanding sports industry, you might believe that sports betting is a breeze. Just pick the winning team, receive payment, and why not bet on every favorite to become wealthy and leave your job?

I wish it were that simple.

In simple terms, opting for this strategy means risking a substantial amount in order to gain a relatively small reward. Although it appears highly likely that a specific team will emerge victorious, unexpected upsets can occur. This is precisely why we find entertainment in watching games, as it would become monotonous if the favored teams always came out on top.

When deciding to bet on the favorite in a moneyline play, sports bettors must weigh the possibility of financial loss against the relatively low payout. Is this gamble really worth taking?

Betting the Moneyline Underdog

However, if you choose to bet on the underdog, there is an opportunity to win a significant amount with just a small wager, creating an exhilarating betting experience.

Do you anticipate a major and surprising turn of events that could astonish the sports world? Place your bet on the underdog’s moneyline, secure a significant win, and proudly boast about it to your friends.

Alternatively, if you come across a team that is considered a slight underdog but has a good chance of not only covering the spread but also winning the game, consider placing a bet on the moneyline to maximize your potential winnings.

In order to safeguard their bets, certain bettors choose to wager on the underdog to win outright, while also selecting the same team to cover the spread. This approach ensures a level of protection in case one of the bets is successful while the other does not yield desired results.

Moneyline Parlays

Some bettors choose to employ a sports betting strategy known as parlaying moneyline plays. By combining two or more moneyline outcomes in a single wager, you can potentially earn a higher payout if all outcomes turn out as expected. However, it is important to remember that if even just one team loses, the entire bet is lost.

Conversely, by placing bets on several underdogs to win outright and achieving success, the initial small wager has the potential to yield a substantial payout.

Moneyline Examples

After acquiring the fundamentals, it’s time to delve into a few practical instances.

How to bet the moneyline in NFL

Example 1

Consider the monumental showdown of the previous season: Super Bowl 54, featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers.

The Chiefs were considered slight favorites and had a -130 moneyline, according to the WestGate SuperBook in Las Vegas. On the other hand, the 49ers entered the game as small underdogs with a +110 moneyline.

Sportsbooks clearly predicted a tight game as both numbers were extremely close to 100 in either direction.

To simplify mental calculations, consider this approach. If you place a $130 bet on the favored Chiefs with odds of -130, you will receive $100 in return. Conversely, if you wager $100 on the underdog 49ers with odds of +110, your payout will amount to $110.

Have you been wondering about the difference in payout between the Chiefs and the 49ers? Let’s dive into the calculations and find out.

• Placing a bet of $100 on the Chiefs will result in a payout of $76.92.
• If you bet $100 on the 49ers, you will receive a $110 payout.

With the Chiefs emerging victorious in the Super Bowl, their moneyline bettors were left content and satisfied with a respectable payout, thus concluding the NFL season on a high note.

Example 2

We discussed Super Bowl 54, which was anticipated to be a closely contested match. However, what if we had expected a one-sided victory instead?

In week 2 of the 2019 NFL season, the New England Patriots faced off against the Miami Dolphins. The Patriots had their eyes set on reaching the Super Bowl, while the Dolphins aimed for securing the No. 1 overall draft pick.

Despite both plans failing to succeed, the divergent paths taken by the franchises created an imbalanced anticipation among oddsmakers.

DraftKings Sports Betting reveals that the Patriots were given a -2000 moneyline, while the Dolphins had a +1200 moneyline. The significant difference between both figures indicates a strong likelihood of a one-sided game or blowout.

Although it is uncommon for NFL games to have such high numbers, this serves as an extreme example. Here are the payouts for bettors in this scenario.

• If you place a $100 bet on the Patriots, you will receive a $5 payout.
• If you bet $100 on the Dolphins, you will receive a payout of $1,200.

If you had wagered $100 on the Patriots defeating the Dolphins in this game last season, you would have only won five dollars. The decision to take that chance, considering the possibility of an unexpected outcome, ultimately rests with the bettor.

The Patriots emerged victorious in this game, with a final score of 43-0.

How to Bet the Moneyline on College Basketball

The majority of college basketball betting scenarios align with those of the NFL, but what about a specific situation? To illustrate, let’s consider a hypothetical scenario: the impending national title game featuring Gonzaga and Kansas.

This game holds immense potential, with both teams displaying equal strength. For the sake of this discussion, let’s assume that the two teams are so closely matched that even the experts cannot predict the outcome, leaving it completely uncertain and up for grabs.

These are the potential moneyline numbers:

• Gonzaga -110
• Kansas -110

It is a rare occurrence, but sometimes teams are so closely matched that they both have identical negative moneyline numbers.

If either team wins in this situation, a $100 moneyline bet would result in a $90.91 payout.

How to Bet the Moneyline on UFC Events

Moneyline betting is the primary focus of UFC, an individual sport like UFC, unlike traditional team sports that offer various categories and betting options.

If you have a strong belief about the outcome, place a bet on the fighter you think will emerge victorious in the fight.

While UFC betting does provide extra betting opportunities, moneyline wagers undoubtedly take center stage.

For our example, we can head to UFC 249 in Jacksonville where Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje faced off. Tony Ferguson, favored to win, had moneyline odds of -200 on DraftKings. On the other hand, Justin Gaethje, deemed the underdog, had moneyline odds of +168.

If you had placed a bet on either fighter, here’s how the payout would have been.

• If you bet $100 on Tony Ferguson, you will receive a payout of $50.
• If you bet $100 on Justin Gaethje, you can expect a payout of $168.

Gaethje, being the underdog, emerged victorious in the fight, giving his bettors an exciting beginning to the comeback of live sports.

How to Bet the Moneyline on Soccer

While the previous sports are relatively easy to comprehend and have straightforward moneyline systems, soccer has a slightly distinct approach.

Unlike most sports, soccer offers three options on the moneyline due to the frequent occurrence of draws. Therefore, bettors have the choice of selecting whether one team wins, the other team wins, or the match ends in a draw.

To illustrate our point, let’s revisit the 2018 World Cup final featuring France and Croatia.

France was favored to win the match with a moneyline of -110, while Croatia was considered the underdog with a moneyline of +350.

Instead of selecting a team, bettors had the option to bet on a draw (+230) if they believed the teams were evenly matched, allowing them to determine the winner in that manner.

Below is a breakdown of the 2018 World Cup payouts:

• A $100 bet on France will result in a payout of $90.91.
• By betting $100 on Croatia, a payout of $350 can be achieved.
• A $100 bet on a draw will result in a $230 payout.

The favorite emerged victorious as France secured a 4-2 win.

Key Takeaways on the Moneyline

What is the lesson we learned today?

• To place a moneyline bet, you simply select the team you believe will emerge victorious.
• Placing a bet on the moneyline favorite yields a lower payout.
• Placing a bet on the underdog in the moneyline offers a higher payout.
• There are three moneyline options available for soccer.