Best Moneyline Betting Strategy: Odds Review in the US

Published: Jul 15, 2022 Updated: Oct 31, 2022

Moneyline BetsAny retail sportsbook devoted to sports wagering has moneyline betting, which is one of the most popular and profitable forms of the activity. If you’re new to betting on sports online, you need to become familiar with all of the terminology associated with it. Here’s a helpful guide that will help you in your new betting and wagering adventures.

Understanding What Exactly Is A Moneyline Bet

The top sports betting sites always have this on offer. This is one of the simplest and most profitable types of sports wagers, making it the ideal choice for most newcomers. To win it, you have to predict the winner of the match.

Understand How To Bet Moneyline With An Example

The best way to understand how it works is with the help of a moneyline bet example. For example, consider a MLB match between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Here is an example of the sportsbook odds that you might see on the best moneyline betting sites.

TeamsOdds
New York Yankees-180
Los Angeles Dodgers+150

This example was for a classic MLB game. The same kind of odds table would be used for NFL, NHL, as well as NBA games.

How To Read Moneyline Odds

Moneyline Betting StrategyThese are American odds, and most of the sports betting platforms in the US use them. The signs have a special significance here. A ‘-’ sign indicates the favorite and the ‘+’ sign indicates the underdog. ‘-180’ means that you have to place $180 to win a profit of $100 in total.

On the other hand, ‘+150’ means that you stand a chance to win $150 for every $100 you stake. If you wager on the Yankees, you’ll need to wager $180 to win $100. If you want to wager on the Dodgers, you stand a chance to win $150 if you wager $100. This is basically all the info you need.

Moneyline Calculator For Payout

At online sports betting sites, you won’t have to do any calculating on your own. The app or website will show you all the figures on its own. However, it’s a good idea to know how the system works. Using the previous example, here’s the easiest way to calculate the payout from a standard moneyline.

It’s a good idea to think about it in $1 increments. To win $1 by placing on the Yankees, you need to risk $1.80, and if you wager $1 on the Dodgers, you stand to win $1.50. Take a look at this modified table to understand this principle.

TeamsOddsWagerWinnings
New York Yankees-180$1.80$1
Los Angeles Dodgers+150$1$1.50

Using the unitary method, it is very easy to calculate the moneyline bet payout that you stand to gain. If you wager $50 on the Yankees, you stand to make a profit of $27.78. Similarly, if you wager $50 on the Dodgers, you’ll stand to make a whopping profit of $75.

What Are The Odds Of Winning A Moneyline Bet?

Moneyline Bet WinningSince there are no point spreads involved here, the odds of winning a moneyline wager are roughly 50-50. However, there are small inconsistencies in this probability, because the two teams that are matched are never equal in strength. There is no sureshot winning moneyline system that you’ll be able to exploit.

Cost Of A Moneyline Bet

The cost is typically the amount of money that you decide to stake on the outcome of a game. Most sportsbooks and real money betting sites will ask you to pay them a commission out of the bet amount. This commission cut is known as the “vig”, the “margin” or the “juice”.

Final Thoughts

For sports fans and newcomers to sports betting, the moneyline wager is one of the easiest and best wagers that you can try out. It will let you earn a pretty good profit, even if you make a small initial bet. It is also easy to understand, and is a great form of in-play sports betting.

Want to know more about other types of bets to use in the US? Find everything you need in our guides:

FAQs

Is it legal to bet on sports online?

The answer to this question depends on where you live. If you live in states like Hawaii, Alaska, or Alabama, then you won’t find any legal sites available.

Where can I bet on sports?

There are many mobile sports betting sites and sportsbook apps that you can use to make bets on sports events. Platforms like FanDuel, DraftKings, etc. are very popular online sportsbooks in the US.

Where can I check sports odds for moneyline bets?

If you want to make the best moneyline bets this week, you can find all of the American, Decimal, etc. odd types listed on the sportsbook of your choice.

What is the most winning type of bet for sports betting?

The moneyline, the point spread, and the over/under bet are the most popular and winning types in the world of sports wagering.

Can I bet on sports events that happen outside the USA?

This will depend on the local laws in the place you live in. Most US sportsbooks allow betting on special overseas events like Roland-Garros, FIFA World Cup, Olympics, etc.

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