{"id":202524,"date":"2022-02-23T11:40:40","date_gmt":"2022-02-23T19:40:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=202524"},"modified":"2022-06-17T10:41:48","modified_gmt":"2022-06-17T17:41:48","slug":"sports-betting-guide-understanding-moneylines-point-spread-and-odds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sports-betting-guide-understanding-moneylines-point-spread-and-odds\/","title":{"rendered":"Sports Betting Guide — Understanding Moneylines, Point Spread and Odds"},"content":{"rendered":"

It may very well be the year of the sports bet. So far, states across the nation have smashed wagering revenue records. But when it comes to sports gambling language, it can seem as if it\u2019s a completely different language. Here’s what you need to know:<\/p>\n

\"sports
Mobile phones display three of the biggest sports betting apps, above. This year is poised to be the biggest year yet for sports betting. (Image: AP<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since 2018, states have begun legalizing sports betting. Currently over half of US states have sports betting operations up and running. And 2021 brought in a record total of wagers. In its first five weeks of operations, New York has brought in $1.2B in wagers. Pennsylvania, one of the biggest markets in 2021, brought in $393M in total revenue in January alone.<\/p>\n

With sports betting only gaining steam, it seems everyone wants a piece of the pie, including bettors.\u00a0 Words like chalk, hook, and juice are commonly used. But what does it all mean?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re just jumping into the world of sports betting, there are four keywords you need to understand right from the start. Those four words are \u201cmoneylines,\u201d \u201cpoint spreads,\u201d \u201cfavorites,\u201d and \u201cunderdogs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moneylines<\/h2>\n

\u201cMoneylines\u201d are the simplest bet to understand. You are picking a team to win. If they win, your bet pays out. If they lose, then you lose, too. However, \u201cpoint spreads,\u201d which are more popular in basketball and football, tend to offer better value. Now let\u2019s look at examples of \u201cmoneyline\u201d and \u201cpoint spreads.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Let\u2019s pretend for this \u201cmoneyline\u201d example that the Detroit Tigers were playing the Chicago White Sox in Major League Baseball. The \u201cmoneyline\u201d on the game is Detroit -140 and Chicago is +110. In this case, Detroit is the \u201cfavorite\u201d as they have a \u201c-\u201c sign beside the -140. Chicago is the \u201cunderdog\u201d because they have a \u201c+\u201d beside the +110. The \u201c-\u201c sign represents what you need to risk to profit $100. The \u201c+\u201d represents what you would win if you bet $100.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In this situation, you would have to bet $140 to win $100 on Detroit, and you would risk $100 to win $110 on Chicago. Or, in dollars, for every $1.40 you risk on the Tigers in this game, you would win $1. For every $1 risked on Chicago, you would win $1.10.<\/p>\n

Point Spread<\/h2>\n

Once you feel comfortable with what the numbers mean, you will also notice that most sports have a \u201cpoint spread\u201d that can be bet on for each game. Betting against the \u201cpoint spread\u201d is the most popular form of betting in the United States. \u201cPoint spreads\u201d were created because sportsbooks want to even out the number of bets they take on each team. Most people don\u2019t want to bet on a team to lose, so the \u201cpoint spread\u201d makes a team need to win by a certain margin to \u201ccover\u201d the \u201cpoint spread.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

The \u201cpoint spread\u201d evens the \u201codds\u201d by making it possible to bet on an \u201cunderdog\u201d and win, even if they don\u2019t win the game. The bookmaker will assign a number to each game known as the \u201cpoint spread,\u201d and it\u2019s shown beside both teams. The favorite will have a \u201c-\u201c beside the spread and the underdog will have a \u201c+.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

For a bet on a favorite to payout, the team needs to win the game by more than the \u201cpoint spread.\u201d But, a bet on the \u201cunderdog\u201d would win if they win the game or lose by less than the \u201cpoint spread.\u201d<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s use the most recent Super Bowl as an example of a \u201cpoint spread.\u201d The L.A. Rams were -4 point favorites against the Cincinnati Bengals. This means if you bet on L.A., they had to win by more than 4 points for you to win. If you picked Cincinnati, they could win the game or lose by less than 4. If the game ended with LA winning by exactly 4 then that would be a \u201cpush,\u201d and the bettor would get their money back.<\/p>\n

What happened, in the end, was a perfect example of a team winning the game, but not \u201ccovering\u201d on a \u201cpoint spread.\u201d The Rams won 23-20, meaning they won by 3 points and therefore did not \u201ccover\u201d the -4 \u201cpoint spread.\u201d Cincinnati bettors would have won on the \u201cpoint spread,\u201d as they were getting +4 points.<\/p>\n

Now, hopefully, the next time you walk into a sportsbook and see all the numbers, you will have a better understanding of what it all means.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It may very well be the year of the sports bet. So far, states across the nation have smashed wagering revenue records. But when it comes to sports gambling language, it can seem as if it\u2019s a completely different language. Here’s what you need to know: Since 2018, states have begun legalizing sports betting. Currently […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":202547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81896,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSports Betting Guide -- Understanding Moneylines, Point Spread and Odds - Casino.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It may very well be the year of the sports bet. So far, states across the nation have smashed wagering revenue records. 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