If you are looking to get into betting, you might want to have a look at moneyline betting, for it is the most basic type of betting. A beginner can get a hang of it in just a day. In this article, we cover all the basics required for getting into betting, especially moneyline betting. We would also discuss American odds, the most used type of odds in moneyline betting, and some moneyline strategies for beginners. At the end of this article, any beginner would be ready to start betting on moneyline.
What is a Moneyline Betting?
Moneyline bet is one of the simplest betting types out there. You bet on one of the two teams to win, no catch or anything. Just that simple. Every team or player in the squad is assigned numerical values called “odds”. These odds are presented by the bookmaker and vary for each player/team depending on the strength of the team playing. The higher the moneyline odds, the more profit you get for your wager.
In short, the odds represent the amount of profit you receive for your wager if you win. We will get into payouts and profits topic later in this article. There are three major types of odds namely, Decimal odds, Fractional Odds, and American Odds. Today we would be focusing on American Odds for Moneyline betting.
What do Minus(-) and Plus(+) Odds Mean?
The (+) and (-)signs are used extensively in American odds. For a beginner, American Odds are nothing but the odds displayed in large whole numbers accompanied with a (+) or (-) sign. American Odds are one of the most used forms of moneyline odds by various bookmakers when displaying moneyline betting. The (+) sign is always given to the underdog team, which states the amount of profit you will be receiving for every $100 you wager. The (-) sign on the other hand is given to the favorites team and states the amount you need to bet in order to win $100.
Let us see an example of Barcelona vs Almeria.
Here we can clearly see that Barcelona is the favorite and Almeria is the underdog. Hence the American odds assigned by the bookmaker would be something like this:
Barcelona: -200
Almeria: +300
Here, what it means is, if you bet $200 on Barcelona to win, and if you win the wager, you receive a profit of $100. Hence your total payout would be $100(your profit) + $200(your initial betting amount) = $300.
Now if you bet $100 for Almeria to win, and if you win the wager, you receive a profit of $300. Hence your total payout would be $300()your profit) + $100(your initial betting amount) = $400
Let us take another example of a tennis match between Nadal and Dominic Theim.
Nadal is clearly the favorite to win on clay, making Goffin the underdog. Hence the American odds would be:
Nadal: -175
Theim: +200
Here if you would need to bet $175 on Nadal to win a profit of $100, thus making your total payout to be $275 ($175 + $100).
But if you bet $100 on Theim to win, then your profit would be $200, hence making your total payout to be $300 ($100 + $200).
You might wonder, why do I have to risk on the underdog when the total payout is just a difference of $25 in the above case? What you have to know here is, in the case of Nadal you will lose $175 if Nadal loses the match, and even if he wins, your profit would be just $100. But for Theim, you will be losing a lot less and the profit, if Theim wins, is also double that of Nadal. Also, there are many instants where the favorites were absolutely trashed by the underdogs, you just have to analyze and pick the right match to bet on the underdog.
Handicap Moneyline Bets:
Handicap Moneyline betting is similar to traditional handicap betting. It is where the bookmaker gives pre-determined conditions for teams to make the betting more interesting.
For Example, when Barcelona and Almeria play, almost everyone would bet on Barcelona to win, making the bet boring. But what if the bookmaker adds a condition where a minimum number of goals are needed for Barcelona to score for the bettors to win the bet. Like, for the bettors who bet on Barcelona to win, to get their profits, Barcelona must score at least 3 goals again Almeria. The betting gets more interesting and some people might even change their bet for Almeria to win.
Popular Sports with Moneyline Bets:
Some of the most popular sports with moneyline betting are as follows:
- Soccer
- NBA
- NFL
- UFC
- Cricket
- Tennis
In all these sports, the (+) sign is always assigned to the underdog, and the (-) sign is always assigned to the favorites.
Other Factors to Consider:
If you are into moneyline betting on online betting sites, here are some of the factors to consider and keep in mind:
- Look for the best lines: Every sportsbook has different rules and regulations for moneyline betting. Pick the bookmaker that suits your needs.
- Point Spread Betting: If you are into moneyline wager, you might want to take a look at points spread betting too.
- Keep an eye on your budget: Bookmakers create odds that bettors bet for and each bet requires you to pay a fee to the bookmaker.
Moneyline betting Strategies:
Here are some of the moneyline strategies, that beginners can you to avoid some common mistakes:
1. Research: Before stepping your foot into betting, research a lot. Have some knowledge of the sport that you are betting on. It is better to start with just one sport, be it the sport you love to watch or know about. Break down, the matchups, odds, and advantages each team has over the other.
2. Watch the match: The thing with moneyline betting is, you can even bet on the team to win halfway into the game. The reason to watch the match is that having a look at the gameplay can give you an idea of who might win the match.
3. Look for better odds: Higher the odds, the higher the profits. But that doesn’t mean you should you must always choose the highest odds. The bookmakers present the odds in a way that the higher the odds, the less probable that event is going to occur. In the case of football, you dig deep in some matches, the odds of a substitute scoring a hat-trick are way higher than any of the playing eleven, and such events occurring in football are very rare. Hence choose better odds than higher odds.
4. Keep an eye on the budget: Moneyline betting, especially handicaps can be fun and interesting to bet on. And so, you would have spent all the money even before you know. Hence, we recommend you have a budget and stick to it.
5. Start small and slow: When starting out, don’t bet on all the matches you think that you might win. Start with one match a day. You don’t want to lose all the money on the first day itself.
