What is a Moneyline Bet in Sports Betting?

What is a Moneyline Bet

Even if you are not familiar with what is a moneyline bet, there is still a chance to learn it. Possibly because you have heard it (or said it) on an elementary school playground, “I will give you 2-to-1 odds that you can’t make that shot, or win that race, or catch that ball!

Someone making such an offer is assuming they will pay you MYR 20 for every MYR 10 you want to bet if you win the game. What you might not know is how odds like 2-to-1 works in what is called the “moneyline”, one of the most popular terms in sports betting. 

What is a Moneyline Bet in Sports Betting?

To answer the question what is a moneyline bet, it the simplest type of bet in sports betting. In other words, it is a bet on which team or player will win a game or events, regardless of the final margin. 

Unlike other betting types like parlay or over under betting, the moneyline bets keep it simple. If you place a straight bet on the winning side, then you can cash your ticket. 

While betting against the spread needs one side to win by a specific amount, the margin of winning is irrelevant in a traditional moneyline bet (if your side wins outright, you will win the bet). 

The catch: sportsbook will set the moneyline odds according to each team’s likelihood to win the game even when the two sides are fairly matched. It can lean to some extreme pricing on a big underdog, and a big potential payout if the underdog pulls off an upset. 

Because of the simplicity, the moneyline bet tends to be more popular among new players, but more experienced players often bet on the moneyline as well. That what is a moneyline bet you should know. 

How Can You Bet on the Moneyline?

After knowing what is a moneyline bet, you must be wondering how you can bet in this form. Every sportsbook offers this type of bet for just about every matchup imaginable, thus it will not be hard to find a place to bet. 

You may want to shoot at a few sportsbooks, but because the odds can be different based on the book. For instance, you can find a favorite at -150 at one book and -160 at another. Moreover, you can also find an underdog at +200 at one book instead of +195 at another. 

So, when is the moneyline the better option than the point spread in sports betting? 

To help you understand more about what is a moneyline bet, there can be a number of conditions in which this type of bet is more a value play. It is when an underdog is getting only 1.5 points on the point spread, why not simply take the moneyline for a bigger payout? 

No matter the point spread, whenever you feel good about an underdog winning outright, then you may bet on the moneyline to get a bigger payout. 

At the same time, if you think good about a favorite winning outright but are afraid about them covering the spread, then the moneyline can once again be a good option.

Whatever you play, just like with any industry, be sure to do research on team and players information, head-to-head history of a certain matchup and everything else that will help you make more informed decisions.

How to Calculate the Moneyline Odds?

To give you more understanding about what is a moneyline bet, it is generally presented in American format (using the “+” and “-” system), as opposed to decimal or fraction format. 

For instance, if a favorite is -160, you will have to bet MYR 160 to win MYR 100. That is a similar ratio as betting MYR 50 to win MYR 30, then the fraction form for a -160 bet will be 3/5.

Moreover, the decimal format will ve 1.6, as a MYR 100 bet will return a total of MYR 160, as your first MYR 100 stake plus the MYR 60 winning. Even though about what is a moneyline bet are presented in American format, it is easy to calculate what those numbers equate to as decimals and fractions. 

Remember that a favorite is minus money (-), while an underdog is commonly plus money (+). There are some cases in which the two sides are considered by the books to be even and given the similar opportunity to win, in which case they will both be something like -110 or -115. 

Moneyline vs Point Spread

After figuring out what is a moneyline bet, you must be also curious what is the difference between both this type of bet with point spread. A point spread bet is considered not only which team will win, but also how much. In this sort of bet, the favorite needs to win by a set amount of points or more. 

In comparison, the underdog team doesn’t need to win. It only has to lose by less than the spread actually. To manage the risk, the bookmakers use point spreads to evenly distribute gamblers on both sides of a bet. 

Furthermore, the moneyline and point spreads use the similar information when they are accumulated, and both of their payouts are tied to the odds of a team winning or losing. Well, both try to account for the relative strength of every team. 

However, they do this in a different approach. Moneyline will change the amount charged for bets on a team, while the point spreads will change the team scores that will count as a win. And now, we bet you got a complete idea about what is a moneyline bet. 

Final Words

In conclusion about what is a moneyline bet, it is one of the most straightforward kinds of bets to place. It allows gamblers to choose who they think the winner will be in a competition. How much any specific bet will win depends on the odds of the team or competitor winning, that is represented by the numbers next to the name.