Moneyline Nba Betting Explained
A moneyline bet is a sports betting wager on which team or person will win a game or sporting contest.
- How a Moneyline Works in Sports Betting (Moneyline Betting Explained) is the latest episode of our “Sports Betting 101 (Sports Betting Explained – Sports Betting How To) Series for the recreational sports bettor from Las Vegas.
- There are a variety of ways to bet on most sporting contests, from something as simple.
The NBA is a league where the best teams are much stronger than the weak ones and this is why NBA spread betting is more popular than money line betting. With NBA money line betting a wager on the favorites will payout very little and a wager on the underdog will almost never win. With spread betting NBA bettors can almost double their money betting on either the favorites or the underdogs. NBA spread betting is very easy to understand and this page will explain it to you in detail.
For spread betting the oddsmakers set a number of points in which one team is favored by. NBA bettors then have two options. They can choose to wager on the favored team winning by more than the set number of points (aka covering the spread) or the underdog either winning or losing by fewer points than the spread (aka beating the spread). For example, if the spread is set at 5.5 points then the favorite must win by 6 or more for a spread bet on the favorite to payout, while the underdog must either win straight up or lose by 5 or fewer points for a spread bet on the underdog to payout.
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What Is Moneyline
NBA Spread Betting Example
Los Angeles Lakers -6.5 (-110)
Houston Rockets +6.5 (-110)
In this game the (-) sign beside the spread amount indicates that the Lakers are the favorite. A bet on the favorite would win if the Lakers win the game by more than 6.5 points (7 or more). The (+) sign indicates that the Rockets are underdogs by 6.5 points. Houston must either win the game outright or lose by fewer than 6.5 points (6 or less) for a wager on the Rockets to payout.
Other NBA Spread Betting Information
In the NBA the spreads still have betting odds attached to them. The most common odds associated with each side of the spread will be -110, which means a $110 wager would win $100. In some cases the odds associated with the spreads may differ. For example, the Lakers to win by more than 6.5 could have +100 odds attached, while the Rockets odds to beat a 6.5 spread could be -120.
The spread amounts can either be half numbers (6.5) or whole numbers (7.0). When the spread amounts are whole numbers there is always the possibility that the favorite will win by the exact spread amount. If this occurs any spread bets on that game are pushed. This means the bets are refunded with no winnings awarded.
Everyone makes moneyline bets without even knowing it. Even non-gamblers make moneyline bets. Betting the moneyline for a game is possibly the most simple way to wager on sports. Bettors just choose a player or team to win. If the bettor chooses the winning side, the sportsbook will pay the amount due. It’s really that simple.
There’s no point spread with a moneyline bet. Bettors are just picking the winning side. While placing a wager is simple, trying to understand how the moneyline pays might be a bit complicated. Both sides of each moneyline wager are paid on a different schedule and that could make this kind of bet confusing.
The favorite team or player on the moneyline is the team that’s expected to win. This side of the bet usually listed with a minus (-) sign. The underdog team or player on the moneyline is the team that’s expected to lose. This side of the moneyline is usually listed with a plus (+) sign. These signs signify how either side of the wager will pay. The minus side will pay less than original wager while the plus side will pay more than the original wager.
Example of a moneyline wager
Low scoring sports like baseball, soccer, and hockey are usually bet on using a moneyline. But they are also popular in football. The best way to explain how moneyline bets are paid is with an actual example. Let’s use this past Super Bowl between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs as an example.
The easiest way to understand moneyline wagers is by using a $100 bet. Using the above example, the moneyline on the underdog Buccaneers was +136. At +136 odds, a $100 wager would pay $136 in profit if the Buccaneers won the game (for a total payout of $236). Bettors often like picking underdogs because they are usually “plus” money. This side of the moneyline bet pays out more money per unit than a wager on the favorite.
In this example, the moneyline on the favorite Chiefs was -156. At -156 odds, a bettor would need to wager $156 to win $100. Since the favorite is considered the team with the better chance to win, a winning wager will usually pay out less than the original amount wagered.
Looking deeper into moneyline wagers
The two sides of each moneyline wager are essentially the opposite of each other. When wagering on the favorite it’s easiest to work from the dollar amount that will return a win of $100. When wagering on an underdog it’s easiest to understand how the moneyline pays based on how much a $100 wager will pay.
Understanding how a moneyline wager pays isn’t simple but it’s not very complicated. That said, it might take running through a few examples before fully grasping the payouts. Moneylines for football and basketball games are often tied to the point spread. When a game has a large point spread it usually has a large moneyline. Both are separate bets but are shown together in a sports wagering app screen and in a brick and mortar sportsbook.
Moneyline Nba Betting Explained Odds
As seen above, lines and odds may be different at various sportsbooks so consider this just an example of point spread line and a moneyline.
Moneyline Betting Calculator
Moneyline parlays
Moneyline parlays are growing in popularity. A parlay is a single wager that is comprised of multiple results. The payout for a parlay is greater than an individual wager on each player or game. Underdog moneyline parlays are becoming popular because the payouts can be very large. Moneyline parlays are becoming popular because of the perceived ease of choosing multiple favorites to win. Choosing one winner is difficult and multiple winners at the same time is even more difficult.