If you’re new to sports betting, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the many sorts of betting odds you’ll encounter. There are a variety of betting alternatives available, whether you’re seeking for NFL odds, NBA odds, NCAA Basketball chances, or odds for any other event.
There are many different places that you can place bets including on an app on your phone, an online casino, or even at your local sportsbook. We’ve highlighted two of the most common types of betting below to provide you a background on how to understand the odds and on how to get started:
How to Bet on the Moneyline
The most basic sort of wager is the moneyline. A moneyline wager is one in which the stakes are solely on who will win the game. There are no point spreads or winning margins in this game. This type of betting odds focuses just on who will win the race outright. Let’s look at an illustration. The odds for Team A are -150, while the odds for Team B are +130.
The plus and minus signs in front of the number are the first thing to notice. The underdog—in this case, Team B—is the team with a plus sign in front of the odds. Because of this, they may be able to win a larger prize if they win. Depending on whether it has a positive or negative sign in front of it, the number in the odds indicates something slightly different. With odds of 130 to one, Team B pays out $130 for every $100 wagered. So, if someone bets on Team B and the team wins, that person will win $130.
The presence of a negative sign at the start of the odds indicates that the team is favored to win. The figure represents the amount of money that would have to be wagered in order to win $100. So, if a $150 wager was placed in favor of Team A, and Team A won the game, the bettor would gain $100. If that person had instead staked $300 and Team A had won, they would have won $200.
How to Bet on the Point Spread
Another type of betting odds that is similar to a moneyline bet is the point spread. The point spread differs in that it includes a margin of victory in addition to projecting who will win the game. In some sports, such as college basketball and football, there is a significant talent gap between the two teams competing.
In certain situations, betting the moneyline is too evident because one team is clearly going to win. The point spread enters the picture at this juncture, as the oddsmakers will set a line with a win margin.
Consider the following scenario: two teams, Team A and Team B, are battling each other. Team A’s odds might be 22.5, while Team B’s are -22.5. Team B is the favorite to win in this scenario. The negative sign before the number, much like in a moneyline bet, indicates who is predicted to win. The figure shows the projected victory margin.
To cover your bet if you bet on Team B, they must win by a margin of more than 22.5 points. That implies they’ll have to win by at least 23 points. If you bet on Team A, they can lose by 22 points or win by 22 points and you will still win your bet. It’s a strategy for leveling the playing field, even when one team is heavily favored to win.
If the margin of victory during the game falls exactly on the spread, it is called a push or a tie, and no one wins the bet. This doesn’t happen too often but some sportsbooks will put the line as a common number at times to make it tough to decide.
Moneyline odds will be connected to point spreads. This number, like the payout on a moneyline bet, represents how much you’ll get if you win. For example, Team B’s spread and odds might be (-22.5, -120). This means that Team B has a 22.5-point advantage over Team A. If you placed this wager and Team B won by 23 points or more, and you wagered $120 on the game, you would gain $100.