Moneyline Bets Overview
When you bet on the Moneyline in sports betting, most of the time you are risking a little to win a lot. Of course, if you are going to pick the big favorites, you are wagering a little to win, a lot less. When you bet the Moneyline, you are betting on a team to win the game straight up. This is different than point spread betting. With point spread betting, you are betting a team to win, or lose, by a certain amount of points (or runs, goals).
If you pick a certain team in Moneyline betting, and they win - you win. If they lose - you lose. There is no middle ground. Now I am sure you are thinking, well sure, I should have retired off the 90's Chicago Bulls teams. It's not that easy. If you are betting a favorite, you will have to put more money down to win more. For example, let's say the 1997 Chicago Bulls are playing against a horrible Los Angeles Clippers team. The Moneyline for a game like this may be set at (-550). What this means, if you are going to choose the Chicago Bulls to win this game, you are not going to win much, compared to what you bet.
For a bet that is listed at -550, you would have to bet $550, to win $100. That's why it may not be worth it to pick the big favorites. On the other side, the poor Clippers team we are talking about may see a Moneyline of +550. What this does for us is if you simply wagered $100, and the Clippers were able to pull off the win, you would win a whopping $550. Conversely, a simple bet of $10, would win you $55 if you bet the Clippers.
Okay, so in saying all of that, what can Moneyline betting do for you, the bettor? Well, if you can find a way to pick underdogs successfully, you can see profit.
Some Moneyline examples:
- MLB: St. Louis Cardinals (-180) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates. Again, to win $100 on the Cardinals, you would have to risk $180. For Pittsburgh, $100 bet would win $180 in profit on the Pirates
- NBA: Chicago Bulls (-550) v. Los Angeles Clippers. Like we stated earlier in the example, if you pick the big favorite - Chicago, you would have to risk $550 to win $100. For the Clippers, a $1 bet would win you $55.
- NFL: Indianapolis Colts (-150) vs. Houston Texans. The Colts are the favored and would pay $100 for a $150 bet. Houston would reward you $150 for $100 bet.
If you are looking for a way to make profit on sports betting, consider Moneyline bets. In this, it takes less wins to be profitable due to a large payout of an underdog winning. But, as we know, the top teams a lot of times come out on the winning side, so it's always difficult to wager against some of the best teams.
