How does moneyline work

This is particularly important when betting on NCAA football. Player: This is a term that refers to any person that puts down a bet on any given sports event.

Point Spread: This is a number of points given to the underdog by the Linemaker in order to handicap the favorite.

It can also be thought of in terms of the scoring differential between the two teams. The point spread is used to even the playing field. Proposition Bet or Props: This is a bet placed on a specific aspect of the game, such as who will score first or how long the longest touch down pass will be.

Soft line: This refers to a line that has been adjusted because of the result of an action. It is not the true posted line. Underlay: This is a term that refers to odds that lower than they should be. These odds favor the house and not the bettor. A FREE click is all it takes to help any or all ten of these good causes. Betting on sports, and college football specifically, is illegal. Congress banned sports betting in while allowing it in four states -- Nevada, Delaware, Montana and Oregon -- that had already been offering it.

Las Vegas is the most popular destination if you want to make a bet on college football, where the number of 'sports books' is many. That said, if you're planning to visit a state where gambling is legal, and intend to bet, you should at least be armed with some information.

First, however, a word of caution: Sports betting can be a fun and profitable venture. However, like most good things in life there are pitfalls to be aware of. You should be able to enjoy many positive experiences as long as you bet in moderation and under control. If you or someone you know shows signs of compulsive gambling, one place to find help is Gamblers Anonymous.

Below is a mini-tutorial on sports betting, the types of football bets and football betting terms. Straight bet - Amid all the fancy and lucrative-looking bets that are available, never lose sight of the value in a standard straight bet. You probably should learn and practice this bet often before learning any others, and it should be noted that people who bet for a living or a large portion of their income place straight bets almost exclusively. Say the Bears are a six-point favorite over the Lions and the total is To bet the Bears, you must "lay the points," meaning they must win by seven or more to cover and give you the win.

Betting the underdog Lions, you are "taking" six points, and they can lose by five or fewer, or win the game outright, and you have a winning bet. If the Bears win by exactly six, both sides "push" and all bets are returned.

It's also a push if the final score equals 42, otherwise the over or under will win. Money line bet - If you are not interested in betting the point spread - although you should be, because it presents the best long-term value - another option available is the money line, in which you lay or take odds relative to the dollar with respect to your team winning or losing.

If you like favorites, you're going to be betting a lot to win a little. The money line will always be listed to the right of the point spread on the odds board in a sports book. Parlays - these might be the most popular bets out there, especially among novice and amateur bettors, perhaps because of the lure of betting a small amount for a potentially big payoff.

But they are fool's gold at best. Parlays involve wagering on two or more games on the same bet following the casino's pre-determined payout scale. Each game on a parlay must win for the bet to be a winner.

This is how the sportsbooks make a lot of their money. For instance, let's say you want to bet a two-team parlay. However, the sportsbook is only going to pay you 2. The house vigorish - and your chances of winning - get worse with the more teams you add. So while some sportsbooks will let you place a teamer with astronomical odds, you probably have a better chance of being struck by lighting - twice - before winning one.

You are much better off sticking to two-team parlays exclusively, if you insist on taking poor odds and placing parlay wagers. Teaser bets - The teaser is so named because it, too, looks tempting, but if you allow yourself to get too seduced, you'll usually end up on the losing end. The teaser bet gives or takes away extra points from the team you back.

However, there are some good values with teaser bets if you know how and where to find them. For instance, the six-point teaser is an especially effective bet in the NFL, where most games are tightly contested and six points can make a world of difference. For instance, in our previous example, the Bears would go from laying six points to simply needing to win if you put them on a teaser bet. Conversely, Detroit backers could get 12 points instead of the starting six. Source: Doc's Sports Service.

All Moneylines listed represent a current expectation or result of an event. Determining this probability is a simple mathematical equation. To calculate the negative odds, simply take the number and divide it by the number plus To determine positive odds, divide by the number plus In any two teams, there will be a gap between the numbers. Leafs example. The difference between these two numbers is referred to as the vigorish also known as the vig or juice.

The vig is what a bookmarker will charge you for placing the bet. Determining the percentage given to the bookkeeper on any vig simply involves dividing the implied probability of the line by the total implied probabilities of all options in the market. When a market-setting sportsbook opens a line, Moneylines begin. As information flows into the market, the moneyline is prone to change.

This information can include weather, player injuries, performance, and other variables. Moneyline bets are among the most popular in sports betting , and anyone new to the space should familiarize themselves with this wager type. A moneyline bet is when you to simply pick the winner of the game or event. Moneylines will be formatted in American odds at a sportsbook like FanDuel. You can use our odds calculator to make non-round, more difficult conversions.

And sportsbooks will always calculate the payouts for you. Making a moneyline bet at a sportsbook like FanDuel is easy, and no different than making a point spread bet. Sportsbooks will always make the calculations for you. In low-scoring sports like baseball and hockey , the moneyline is the most popular bet.

In higher-scoring sports like football and basketball , the point spread is the most popular. Moneylines also apply to any futures markets, like betting the Super Bowl winner before the season. All 32 teams have a moneyline that corresponds with their likelihood of winning the Super Bowl. Juice is the cut a sportsbook takes on each bet, and there is juice on moneylines.

Take this hypothetical Duke — Kentucky college basketball game in which Duke is a 2.