The world of sports betting can be a tad overwhelming for a newcomer in the landscape. However, there’s one type of bet that is extremely easy to understand, is an extremely popular bet to place and should be a consideration in your betting process every time. Moneyline betting at the best Michigan sportsbooks might be the simplest and easiest way to attack betting on sports. In this type of wager, bettors simply pick the winning team or player in a head-to-head matchup. Bettors have no need to concern themselves with anything other than which side wins on the playing field. Factors such as margin of victory or number of points scored make no impact on the outcome of your moneyline bet. What is a moneyline bet? When it comes to sports betting, the moneyline is the simplest and most straightforward market to understand. A moneyline wager is a bet on a team (or individual athlete) to win. In moneyline betting, the only thing you are truly concerned about is winning the game or your athlete winning their event. Your interests are totally aligned with the team you are betting on. Just win - it’s that simple. Moneyline betting is one of the three traditional and most popular markets for sports bettors, alongside spread betting and the total. Both new bettors and experienced players alike can enjoy the simplicity that comes with betting on a moneyline. Most sports offer two sides to a moneyline bet, and in the case of a draw, all wagers on the moneyline are refunded. One of the lone exceptions is soccer moneyline betting, where bettors can also wager on a draw as one of three potential outcomes. On the moneyline, one team is determined to be more likely to win the matchup. This team is considered the “favorite” and they are represented by negative odds. The other team is labeled as the underdog. Oddsmakers give them a less than 50% chance of winning the game, and their odds are represented by a positive number. How to read moneyline odds If you know little to nothing about odds, it can take a while to get used to or understand completely what you’re dealing with. The most important thing you need to know when reading odds is that they vary and change based on the implied probability of a certain outcome. For example, in a tight MLB matchup between the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals, FanDuel Sportsbook might list Detroit as a -130 favorite. This implies that Detroit wins the game about 56.5% of the time. If you move to a sport with less variance, such as the NFL, the Detroit Lions might be -500 favorites against the Chicago Bears. There is less randomness involved in a sport like football than baseball, so favorites win at a higher rate. With -500 odds, it’s implied that Detroit wins the game over 83% of the time. Most commonly in Michigan, you will be dealing with the American odd style. These odds are shown as positive or negative numbers, with a base of 100. Favorites have negative numbers, while underdogs have positive numbers. The easiest way to remember how odds work is by remembering that everything comes back to a basis of 100. If a team is a -130 favorite, you’d need to risk $130 on their moneyline to win $100. If you’re looking to place a smaller bet and win just $20, you’d need to risk $26. Simple proportion math would guide you to that number. On the flip side, if you’re betting an underdog, they are represented by a positive number. You can look at that number as the amount you would profit off a $100 bet. For example, if Chicago is a +350 underdog against Detroit, a $100 wager would result in $350 in profit. A more responsible $10 wager would also return a healthy $35 in profit. If you’re elsewhere in the world, you might encounter decimal odds instead of American odds. These might also appear difficult at first, but are extremely easy to figure out once you know what you’re looking at. With decimal odds, lower numbers below 2.00 indicate the favorite while higher numbers above 2.00 indicate an underdog. Just multiply your wager amount by the decimal odds, and you will figure out your payout. For example, let’s say you bet $10 on a team at 1.75 odds. This team is a slight favorite, as their number is below 2.00 but not by much. Your bet would return $17.50, including your original stake, meaning you profited $7.50 on the bet. The American odds equivalent to this would be about -133. If a team has 5.00 decimal odds, they are a massive underdog. A $20 bet would result in a payout of $100, and a profit of $80. This is the equivalent of +400 in American odds. Moneyline betting terms to know When betting on the moneyline, there are certain terms you should certainly be aware of. Any seasoned bettor has this lingo in their vernacular, so you don’t want to get confused or lost when they start talking. Favorite: This is the team that oddsmakers have determined is more likely to win the game than their opponent. On moneyline odds, they are represented by a negative number. In order to win money betting on favorites, you need to risk more up front which sends some people in the opposite direction. It’s always good to remember that a team is a favorite for a reason, but you must also remember that favorites lose all the time. Underdog: The side that oddsmakers are expecting to lose the game or match. In American odds, they are represented by a positive number on the moneyline. The underdog is always an appealing bet for two reasons: the payouts are higher and everyone loves a feel good story. Underdogs do win, so it’s good to sprinkle some in. However, before you get too trigger happy, remember, there’s a reason they’re an underdog. Vig (Juice): The vigorish (or juice) is the commission sportsbooks charge when taking a wager. If a matchup is dead even, the moneylines are set at -110/-110 rather than +100/+100. This ensures that the operator takes about a 10% cut of the wagering pool. Sportsbooks are a business and taking a commission is one reason why the casinos in Las Vegas are as stunning as they are. Implied Probability: Each set of odds comes with an implied probability resulting from those odds. For example, at -200 on the moneyline, it’s implied that a team wins the game 66.67% of the time. In order to be a good sports bettor, not only do you need to know the sport you are betting on, but you have to understand the odds. If you’re betting a team at -200 odds, you should in theory think the team wins around 70% of the time for it to be a good bet. If you think a team only wins 60% of the time, then you are making a bad bet at -200 odds. How to bet the moneyline We’ve thrown a lot of information and words at you in this article, so let’s take a look at a visual example to make sure you understand how to bet the moneyline. In this NFL example, the Detroit Lions are favorites over the Chicago Bears. In this above example, the Detroit Lions are rather sizable favorites over the Bears. It makes sense; Detroit went 15-2 last season while Chicago failed to make the playoffs. The implied probability of these odds has Detroit winning this matchup 75% of the time. We know Detroit is a favorite because they have a negative number listed under their American moneyline odds. Chicago is the underdog because their odds are represented by a positive number. At -300 odds for Detroit, bettors would need to risk $300 in order to make a profit of $100. More responsible bettors might bet $30 to win $10. It’s hardly an attractive proposition for most, but it comes with a lot less risk than betting the Lions against the spread. If you wanted to win $50 betting on the Lions moneyline, you’d need to risk $150. If you fancy Chicago to pull off the upset, a $100 wager would return $240 in profit. A $20 bet would return $48 in profit plus your original stake. If you wanted to win $50 on Chicago‘s moneyline, you would only need to risk $20.84. These odds are much more appealing, but bettors need to keep in mind that Chicago is a massive underdog for a reason. When betting moneylines, only the winner of the game matters. If you bet Detroit on the moneyline, it doesn’t matter if they blow Chicago out by three scores or win the game on a last-second field goal. Your bet wins either way. How to win a moneyline bet The strategy to win a moneyline bet is quite simple: Pick the team (or individual athlete) who will win the matchup. Obviously easier said than done. The best way to win a moneyline bet is to have a collection of information and data at your disposal, and knowing which information is most relevant for the sport you’re betting. For example, weather can be a major concern in baseball or football, but if you’re using the weather in your NHL or NBA handicaps, you’re wasting a lot of time considering their games are indoors. Here’s a list of some factors to consider when betting the moneyline to make sure you’re placing your best wagers: Injuries: Keep up to date with the injury report. Nothing worse than betting the Pistons and realizing Cade Cunningham is out that night. Recent form: Slumps and hot streaks are real. Teams and players get in a groove while others enter a funk. Travel/rest: For those sports that play single games multiple times a week, there could be a real advantage found when analyzing the travel and rest schedule of teams. One NBA team could be playing their third road game in four nights, while the other team is sitting at home waiting for them for three days. Matchup/head-to-head: Previous matchups are a great data point to use. Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. At the same time, realize it’s a small sample size and rosters turn over quickly, so it’s not fool proof. Analytics: Analytics are taking every sport by storm, and smart bettors and sportsbooks are using them. If terms such as Expected Points Added (EPA), expected goals, and hard-hit rate are foreign to you, you have some studying to do. Motivation: This applies more towards the end of seasons, but certain college teams need wins to secure playoff spots, seedings, or bowl games. Players need to break certain benchmarks to receive incentive bonuses. These factors are important, but can be overblown. Just because Sam LaPorta needs four touchdowns in Week 18 to earn $100,000 doesn’t mean he’s going to do it. Which sports use moneyline betting? Almost every sport uses moneyline betting, though it isn’t the most popular form of betting in every sport. Hockey and baseball are considered the two main “moneyline” sports, because there’s a high variance and scores are lower, making games more random. There are moneylines in sports like football or basketball, but spread betting helps even teams out and make them more appealing to bet on in terms of odds. NBA moneyline betting Here’s an example of odds at BetMGM Sportsbook for a Detroit Pistons matchup against the New York Knicks. In this example, you can bet Detroit to win the game on the moneyline, but you’d need to risk $21 to profit $10. A lot of bettors don’t want to lay that kind of money down, so they pivot to the spread. There, they can only risk $11 to win $10, but they need Detroit to win the game by at least six points. NHL moneyline betting Now, we’ll take a look at the odds at DraftKings Sportsbook for a Detroit Red Wings game against the Minnesota Wild. In this example, oddsmakers are expecting a really close game that will likely be decided by only a goal or two. Here, bettors need to risk $10 to win $11 in profit on Detroit. If they prefer the Wild, they need to risk only $13. Moneylines are much more manageable in sports like hockey, making them the most popular way to bet on the sport. MLB moneyline betting Similar to hockey, moneyline is the preferred way to bet on baseball. Again, games are lower scoring and the margin of victory is often just a run or two. Here are some odds from bet365 for a Detroit Tigers matchup against Cleveland. In this example, Detroit is a slight -140 favorite over the Guardians. Tigers bettors need to risk $28 to win $20, while underdog bettors who prefer the Guardians can win $24 in profit off a $20 bet. NFL moneyline betting The Detroit Lions are amongst the best teams in football, so they are bound to be massive favorites in certain matchups. Let’s take a look at these odds from Caesars Sportsbook for a meeting with the Carolina Panthers. Obviously, the Lions are massive favorites in this one. You’d need to risk $90 to win $10 if you bet Detroit to win the game outright. That’s risking a fancy dinner for two with a potential prize of a fast-food burger. Most don’t have the appetite for that kind of risk. That’s why football bettors are more likely to look towards the spread. Moneyline parlays Moneyline parlays are a way to combine multiple wagers into one singular wager, with the potential reward of a much higher payout. Unfortunately, the risk is that every single wager in your parlay must win or else the bet is graded as a loser. When betting favorites on the moneyline, one main concern of bettors is they don’t want to risk so much money when the profit isn’t going to be anything crazy. By combining multiple favorites on the moneyline into a parlay, you increase the potential payout. Take this table for example: Based on these evolving payouts, you can certainly see the appeal of parlays. However, note that every leg you add to your parlay adds to your risk. You can win four legs of a five parlay bet, and win $0.00. Meanwhile, if you bet all five of those legs as separate bets, you would profit $16.68 off a 4-1 record. Moneyline betting FAQs What is a moneyline bet in sports betting? Moneyline betting is one of the simplest ways to bet on sports. When you place a moneyline wager, you are simply picking a team or athlete to win a head-to-head event. There are no point spreads or total points to worry about. How do moneyline odds work and how are odds calculated? With moneyline odds, there is a favorite and an underdog. The favorite is deemed as more likely to win the matchup and they are represented by a negative number. The underdog is less likely to win and is represented by a positive number. Odds are based on what oddsmakers believe will attractive equal amounts of money on each side, then fluctuate based on betting trends. What is the difference between a two-way and three-way moneyline bet? Most sports only offer two options when placing a moneyline wager. The most notable exception to this rule is soccer, which offers a three-way moneyline. In soccer, you can bet on a draw and if the game does end in a draw, the other two sides lose. In most other sports, you cannot bet on a draw and if the game ends in a draw, wagers are refunded. Why might someone choose a moneyline bet over a spread bet? If you’re betting on a favorite, users might prefer the moneyline over the spread because it increases their chances of winning and lowers the risk of their wager. Of course, it comes with a lower payout than a spread bet would. If you’re betting on an underdog, the moneyline offers a higher payout if they win than a spread bet would. Of course, you don’t have the benefit of the added points you would get with a spread bet. Are moneyline bets a reliable strategy for consistent profit? If you manage your bankroll properly, betting strictly moneylines could definitely be a profitable endeavor. You would need to find moneyline bets with potential value and pick-and-choose spots rather than blindly betting them, but there’s certainly profitable bettors who stick to moneyline wagering.