Betting Lines
There are two most common types of betting lines: money lines and over/under lines. Money line betting, also known as straight betting, is the most common type of wagering. Money lines are used in practically all types of sports, including soccer, football, boxing, golf, etc. even on proposition betting. In money lines you are basically wagering on who will win the match. It does not matter what the score is – it only matters what side wins.
Over/under betting is the second most common types of betting lines after money lines. With over/under wagers, you are betting whether the total score is going to be over or under a certain number posted by an online sportsbook. If it is lower than the posted number, then the under wins; if it is higher, then the over wins; simple.
There are three types of betting lines: Fractional Odds, Decimal Odds, and American Odds. Fractional odds are presented in fractions like ¼ and ½. They are mostly used in racetracks and racebooks. Decimal odds are presented in a decimal format like 1.5, 2.3, etc. Decimal odds are mostly popular in Europe and parts of Canada. As for American odds, they are presented in a whole number format such as 100, 200, etc. They are primarily used in the United States and parts of Canada. Many sportsbooks will offer a scroll-down menu above their money lines, showing the odds in one of the three formats. For the most part though, American odds are the most popular type of format used in sports, so we will use American odds to demonstrate how betting lines work.
For a money line example, let us say Red Sox’s are playing against Philadelphia Phillies in the MLB. The money lines are shown as:
- Red Sox’s -200
- Philadelphia Phillies +170
The favorites, Red Sox’s, are represented with a (-) sign, which means that if you bet on the Red Sox’s, you will win less than what you would wager on it; Thus, if you are betting $100 on the Red Sox’s, then you will win $50 as they as the favorite to bet on. The underdogs, Philadelphia Phillies, are represented with a (+) sign. It means that if you bet on them, you will win more money than what you would wager on them. Thus, if you are betting $100 on the Phillies, then you will win $170.
The reason behind having different money lines for favorites and for underdogs is to provide an incentive for bettors to place wagers on the underdogs. Without adjusted money lines, most players will just bet on the favorites since they are more likely to win. Thus, a more advantageous line is given for underdogs, enticing players to bet on them. The risk of losing might be higher but the rewards are proportionally bigger.
For an over/under line example, let us say New Orleans Hornets are playing against Miami Heat. An online sportsbook predicts the total score between the teams will be 190. The lines are listed as:
185.5
Over (-110)
Under (+110)
Thus, if you are betting $100 that the score of the two teams will be over 185.5 points (i.e. 110 for Lakers and 90 points for Hornets or vice versa), then you can win $110. If you are betting that the total score of the two teams will be exactly or under 185 points, then you can win $91. Similarly to money lines, a favorite and an underdog outcome can occur in regards to the over/under betting. It should be noted though that a lot of the times you will not see (-) or (+) signs with the over/under betting. They will simply show up as (110) for both.
When you are betting on money lines or over/under lines, you have to know what you are doing. Just because these types of betting lines are easy to understand, it does not mean you should just take any bet that you see. You should research the teams that you are betting on and look for information that might provide you with the most educated decisions. If you are betting on money lines, look into how they stack up against each other historically. How they play at home versus as guests? If you are betting on over/under lines, look at how the teams play against each other. Are they aggressive and score a lot of points, or are they more defensive and do not score as much?
Once you get the idea of the betting lines, you are ready to join our recommended online sportsbooks and make your betting lines bets now!
