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Even if you’re unfamiliar with the term “moneyline,” there’s a chance you understand what 2-to-1 odds mean.
Possibly because you first heard it (or said it) on an elementary school playground: “I’ll give you 2-to-1 odds that you can’t make that shot / win that race / catch that ball!”
Someone making such an offer is saying they’ll pay you $2 for every $1 you want to wager — that is, if you win the bet.
What you may not understand is how odds like 2-to-1 are expressed in what’s called the “moneyline,” one of the most popular forms of sports betting.
What follows is a guide that covers all facets of moneyline odds — what they mean, how to interpret them, how (and when) to place moneyline wagers and the differences between a moneyline and point spread.
What is a Moneyline Bet?
A moneyline bet is the most straightforward type of wager in sports betting. Put simply, it’s a bet on which team or player will win a game or contest, regardless of the final margin.
Unlike other types of bets, such as a point spread bet, a parlay or a teaser, moneyline bets keep it simple: if you place a straight bet on the winning side, you’ll cash your ticket.
While betting against the spread requires one side to win by a certain amount, the margin of victory is irrelevant in a traditional moneyline wager – if your side wins outright, you win your bet.
The catch: sportsbooks set the moneyline odds based on each team’s likelihood to win the contest even when the two sides aren’t fairly matched.
This can lead to some extreme pricing on a heavy favorite or a big underdog – and a huge potential payout if the underdog pulls off an upset.
Because of their simplicity, moneyline bets tend to be popular among beginners, though more experienced bettors regularly wager on the moneyline as well.
What Do Moneyline Odds Mean?
Whenever you visit a retail sportsbook or launch a betting app, what’s the first thing that catches your eye? Yep, numbers — lots and lots of numbers.
Within this vast numeric sea lies the moneyline, usually three-digit figures always preceded by a plus (+) or minus (-) sign.
From a wagering perspective, let’s look at what these numbers and symbols mean.
Favorites
The “favorite” in a game, tournament or event is the side viewed by the betting market as most likely to win.
Moneyline favorites are almost always denoted with a minus sign (we’ll explain the “almost” part later).
Moneylines are typically shown in American odds and are based on a $100 wager. The odds listed next to a favorite show how much you’d need to wager to win $100.
For instance, let’s say a moneyline favorite appears as -180 on the betting board.
So, a bettor looking to win $100 will risk $180, while a bettor looking to win $50 would wager $90.
Remember the amount you wager remains with the sportsbook if your side loses, while a winning bet returns your winnings and initial investment.
In the case of the $180 wager to win $100, a winning bet would pay out $280, while an $18 bet at -180 moneyline odds would pay out $28 — $8 for winning the bet and $10 back for your initial investment.
A real world example: In Super Bowl 58, the San Francisco 49ers were -130 favorites on the moneyline, meaning bettors would need to wager $130 to win $100 if the 49ers won. The Chiefs were +110 underdogs, so anyone who bet $100 on them would win $110 if they won.
While there might be some slight variation between sportsbooks, moneyline odds will stay fairly similar across different sportsbooks. So you wouldn’t find one team at +110 on the moneyline on FanDuel and then find them at +300 at DraftKings.
Underdogs
The underdog in a game, tournament or event is any side that is not the favorite and is viewed by the betting market as likely to lose.
Underdogs are always listed with a plus sign next to their odds, which indicates how much money you’d win on a $100 wager.
For example, let’s say an underdog in a baseball game is listed at +140. If you bet $100 on that team to win, you’d get back $240 if that team wins outright.
While an underdog with higher odds is typically more risky to win, it can also return a greater potential payout.
For instance, let’s say an athlete in boxing is listed as a +600 underdog. If you wager $100 on that underdog boxer and they pull off the upset, you’d collect $700 (your initial $100 bet, plus $600 in winnings).
What if you want to bet on that boxer at those same +600 odds and hope to win $100? You would wager $16.67, which has an actual payout of $100.02.
Pick’em (Even Money)
When a moneyline is priced as a pick‘em, also called even money, this is the same as a moneyline bet at +100 odds.
In these instances, oddsmakers are pricing that side as a 50-50 bet to win outright.
Whatever you wager at +100 odds is the same amount you stand to win: $50 to win $50, $2,000 to win $2,000, and so on.
You’ll also see pick‘ems (sometimes listed as PK) in point spread betting, as well, when bookmakers see a matchup as even on both sides.
You’ll rarely see both sides of the same matchup listed as a pick‘em on the moneyline because sportsbooks will almost always apply added “juice” (vigorish) to make a profit.
So when one side of a contest is listed at +100 moneyline odds, they are likely the underdog in the matchup.
3-Way Lines / Draws
In contests with more than two fixed options, moneyline bets can include a third option in addition to an outright win or loss.
This is called a “three-way line” and is common in sports like soccer and boxing, where a “draw” can frequently occur.
In markets with a three-way line, it’s not uncommon to see both the favorite and the underdog dealing at plus-odds, and both sides can lose if the game results in a draw.
Three-way lines are also popular in sports where overtime is common, such as hockey, with the moneyline bet cashing based on the result at the end of regulation.
For example, let’s say two soccer teams are playing in a match where Team A is a heavy favorite over Team B.
Instead of Team A being listed as a -200 favorite, you may see Team A priced at -130, Team B dealing at +130 and “draw” listed at +300. If the game ends in a draw, bettors of Team A and Team B would both lose, while those who bet “draw” would receive a 3-to-1 payday.
In sports that can’t end in a tie, such as the NBA or MLB, all moneyline bets are listed as two-way action.
How to Calculate Moneyline Odds
While it may seem complicated at first glance to calculate your potential winnings on a moneyline bet, it’s relatively straightforward when you know the formulas.
Here is an easy way to calculate the potential payout for any moneyline bet:
Favorite
When betting on the moneyline for a favorite, the odds listed indicate how much you’d need to bet to win $100. For example, betting on a -200 favorite would require $200 to win $100.
To calculate the amount you’d win betting on a favorite, divide 100 by the odds for the favorite (ignoring the minus sign) and multiply that by your original wager.
If you wanted to bet $20 on a -200 favorite, you would win $20 x (100 / 200) = $10.
Here’s the formula to calculate how much you’d win betting on a favorite on the moneyline:
- (Wager amount) x (100 / odds)
Underdog
When betting on the moneyline for an underdog, the odds listed indicate how much you’d win with a $100 wager, which makes it even easier to calculate than betting on a favorite.
To calculate the amount you’d win betting on a favorite, divide the odds for the underdog by 100 and multiply that by your original wager.
If you wanted to bet $20 on a +200 favorite, you would win $20 x (200 / 100) = $40.
Here’s the formula to calculate how much you’d win betting on an underdog on the moneyline:
- (Wager amount) x (odds / 100)
Moneyline vs. Point Spread
Moneyline and point spread wagers differ in one significant way: moneyline bets are decided by the outright winner while point spread wagers consider the final margin of victory.
With the moneyline, you’re betting on a team or person to emerge victorious. If that team or person wins, you win your bet — simple as that.
However, point spread bets factor in what’s called a “handicap” to level the playing field and encourage bettors to place wagers on both sides.
To do this, oddsmakers determine a number (point spread) that indicates the margin by which the favorite needs to win to cash the bet.
The odds for a side on the moneyline and point spread are often correlated, and they’re listed similarly: favorites are usually designated with a minus (-) sign, while underdogs have a plus (+) symbol.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What does a +200 moneyline mean?
Remember how this article started by referencing “2-to-1 odds”? That’s precisely what +200 means: a 2-to-1 underdog. For every $1 you risk on a +200 bet, you could collect $2 –that is, assuming the underdog won.
The same math applies to all moneyline underdogs. For instance, a +750 moneyline would pay $750 for every $100 wagered (or $75 for every $10).
Do you have to bet $100 on the moneyline?
No, you don’t have to bet $100 on the moneyline or any sports betting wager. Moneyline odds are listed in American odds format based on the amount wagered or won on a $100 bet, but you can bet any amount on the moneyline as long as it follows the sportsbook’s rules and limits.
When should I bet on the moneyline?
The best time to bet on the moneyline is when you think a side will win outright — or when you think their odds are undervalued relative to their actual chances of winning outright.
This is true for both favorites and underdogs, as your bet should be based entirely on the likelihood of that team winning relative to their implied probability.
For example, if a team has -200 odds on the moneyline, they are usually more likely to win than not. That doesn’t mean you should bet them to win, however, unless you think their true chances of winning are better than -200 (roughly 67%).
Conversely, if a team is a +500 underdog on the moneyline, it’s more likely than not that team will lose.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t bet on them, though. If your analysis suggests the team has a better than 5-to-1 chance to win, you should bet them on the moneyline.
Is it better to bet the moneyline or point spread?
The answer to this question comes down to your confidence level and risk tolerance. If your analysis tells you a 6.5-point underdog stands a good chance of winning the game outright, bet the moneyline.
However, if you think that 6.5-point underdog will be competitive but likely not win, bet the point spread.
One common mistake for bettors is to view this as an either/or proposition.
Often, it can be advantageous to bet a team on the moneyline and the point spread, especially if you’re betting on the underdog.
If the team wins outright, you’ll win both bets; if they lose outright but cover the spread, you’ll walk away a small winner (or small loser) while still taking a shot on an outright win.
When is it good to bet on a huge moneyline favorite?
There’s no perfect answer for this, as it depends entirely on your confidence and risk tolerance.
While beginners often view big moneyline favorites as “sure bets,” this couldn’t be further from the truth.
You’ve heard the cliché, “There’s no such thing as a sure thing”? It should be the first words sports bettors utter every morning.
That’s because big upsets do happen, and they frequently happen across all sports.
One of the most famous: In 1990, undefeated heavyweight champion Mike Tyson traveled to Japan to fight a total unknown named James “Buster” Douglas.
Douglas was a 42-to-1 underdog in Las Vegas (bet $100 to win $4,200). Multiple bettors placed six-figure wagers on Tyson hoping to make a quick, easy couple thousand bucks. It was the ultimate “sure thing.”
What happened? Tyson got knocked out.
Risking a lot of money to win a little is not typically a smart money-management strategy because one big upset is all it takes to obliterate a bankroll.
While some professional bettors will bet big moneyline favorites, they usually have the bankroll to afford the loss and a strong mathematical reason to bet it.
Can you include moneyline bets in parlays?
You can include moneyline bets in parlays with other moneyline bets or even point spread wagers.
It’s common for bettors, especially beginners, to parlay together multiple moneyline favorites to return a bet close to even money.
It’s also common for bettors to parlay together a handful of moneyline underdogs in hopes of a massive payday if each leg of the parlay cashes.
Remember though: there’s no sure bet in sports, and every additional wager in a parlay makes it that much harder to cash the ticket.
Some parlays, such as same-game parlays, will even reduce the odds if the events are correlated — leading to a high-risk ticket with worse odds than you might expect.
Why do moneyline odds change?
Oddsmakers usually shift the moneyline for the same reason they move a point spread: they’re trying to balance out the action on the books and limit their liability.
If a lot of money comes in on a -300 moneyline favorite, sportsbooks might push that number to -320 (or higher) while simultaneously boosting the underdog’s price (for instance, from +250 to +270).
The goal: Entice bettors to wager on the underdog at better odds and make it more costly / risky for bettors to wager on the favorite.
Bookmakers may also shift the moneyline odds in reaction to “sharp action,” i.e., a well-respected bettor placing a wager on one side.
If you see the moneyline (or point spread) shift dramatically without any obvious reason relating to the matchup itself, sharp money is the likely reason.
Sometimes, moneyline (and point spread) adjustments result from reasons entirely unrelated to betting action, such as injuries, player suspensions or weather.
Crucially, once you’ve placed a bet, the odds for your wager will not change. Your payout is locked in based on the odds at the time of your bet.
What happens to a moneyline bet in a tie?
It depends on the type of market you bet . If you place a bet on a two-way moneyline (such as the NFL) and the game ends in a tie, your bet is graded as a “push” and your initial wager will be refunded.
If you’re betting a three-way line, a tie (or draw) is typically one of the three betting options available.
So, if you bet on the favorite or underdog and the game results in a draw, you would lose your bet. Conversely, if you bet on a draw, you’d win your bet.
How do sportsbooks make money on moneyline bets?
Just like with any type of sports betting wager, bookmakers will incorporate an extra fee called the vigorish, into every moneyline bet to turn a profit. This is the case for every bet, aside from sportsbook promotional offers or a rare pricing mistake.
You’ve likely seen this in action on the point spread, as most spread bets are priced at -110 for each side.
This is a classic example of the “juice” — bookmakers charge an extra 10% on top of your original wager, even with both sides priced the same.
This happens in moneyline betting, too, although it’s not as obvious to see.
Consider a matchup with the favorite priced at -200 odds and the underdog priced at +180.
In a perfectly fair market, both sides would be priced at -180/+180 or -200/+200; the difference in pricing here is how sportsbooks make money on your moneyline bets.
What does “moneyline value” mean?
Whether placing a moneyline bet or a point spread bet, it’s essential that you get the best possible odds — known as “value.”
This requires checking the odds at multiple sportsbooks, either by driving around to different retail shops or opening betting accounts with various online books.
This time investment is well worth it, as it protects or preserves your bankroll.
Think of it this way: Would you pay $3.50 for a loaf of bread when you could get the same loaf of bread at another store for $2.50?
Then why would you play a -180 moneyline favorite when you can find -165 odds elsewhere?
If you were trying to win $1,000 on such a wager and that wager lost, you would lose $1,800 instead of $1,650.
Over time, value lost (and gained) adds up.
