- Sports Betting Line Meaning Line
- Money Line Meanings Sports Betting
- Sports Betting Line Meaning Definitions
“Wait, why does this NFL team have a -235 next to its name? What’s with New England Patriots (-15) vs. Miami Dolphins (+15)? Help! HEEEELPPPP!”
If that sounds like you, we’re here to assist you. If you’ve stared at a board at a sportsbook or just seen spreads and moneylines on the Internet and been utterly confused, don’t worry. It’s not just you. Those numbers can be confounding.
But hopefully, once you’re done reading this, you’ll completely understand how they work. As you prepare to dive into the world of sports betting, here’s a breakdown of how the lines work, starting with …
One of the most popular ways to bet on sports is the moneyline. This common betting option is used by new, recreational and experienced bettors and it’s one of the simplest ways to make a sports bet because you’re wagering only on which team will win or lose. What is a Betting Line? A betting line is a form of betting whereby the bookmaker handicaps a team/player to effectively make the contest 50/50. This handicap is set by creating a margin (line) between the two teams, in a contest where there are only two outcomes possible. An Example of How Betting Lines Work.
Spreads
- What Do the + and – Mean in Sports Betting? The – and + on a sports betting line indicates both your prospective payout and whether you’re betting on the favorite or the underdog. Negative numbers signify the favorite on the betting line. The negative number indicates how much you’d need to bet to win $100.
- Betting websites may change their odds as information comes to light. For example, when a team line-up is published before a game and the star players aren’t making an appearance, or perhaps news of injuries or training issues come out. These will all have an effect on the betting odds offered.
It would be really easy to bet on a game if you could put money on a heavy favorite to win.
That’s where point spreads come in. Let’s look at an example:
Philadelphia Eagles (-4.5)
New York Giants (+4.5)
In this case, you can bet on either two outcomes: you can put money on the Eagles to win the game by 4.5 points OR MORE, which makes them the favorites. Or you can bet that the Giants will either win or lose by LESS THAN 4.5 points. They’re the underdogs.
Now, sometimes the spread “moves” during the days leading up to the game. Perhaps the Eagles’ spread ends up being -3.5 (in which they must win by 3.5 points or more to give you a victory in your bet). Your bet all depends on whichever spread you bet on, whether it was when the Eagles were favored by 4.5 or 3.5 points.
Sports Betting Line Meaning Line
If you ever see “PK” or “pick” next to a team, it means there’s no spread and you can bet on who will win, no matter what the score is.
Moneylines
Let’s take that same example above but use moneylines:
Philadelphia Eagles (-200)
New York Giants (+150)
The team with a minus symbol is the favorite, and the number is how much money you would need to bet to win $100. In this case, you would have to bet $200 on the Eagles in order to win an additional $100.
The Giants are the underdogs. If they’re +150, that means you could bet $100 to win $150.
Note that you can bet any amount you want, but those numbers are always calculated and posted the same way, either in how much money you would need to wager to win $100 or how much money you could win by wagering $100.
Odds
If you’re betting on something like the team who will win the Super Bowl in the future, you might see it look like this:
New England Patriots — 3/1
Baltimore Ravens — 5/1
Kansas City Chiefs — 8/1
If you were betting on the Patriots and their 3/1 odds, you would win $3 for every $1 you spend. So if you bet $50 on the Pats and they ended up winning the Super Bowl, you’d win $150 (plus your original wager) back.
Good luck!
We’ve all been in a situation before where we tried to buy something but the price just wasn’t right. There are always two options when facing this issue and they are walking away and finding a lower price somewhere else, or trying to negotiate a bit on the price if possible. In a negotiation, the first person who says a number generally loses. The opening number is always the starting point and you can almost always determine whether or not it will go lower or higher based on what that initial number is. It is no different in sports betting, even if you can’t negotiate on the opening number. Sportsbooks set opening lines as feelers for how the betting public is going to react and then adjust accordingly.
What Does Opening Line Mean?
When you hear someone mention the term “opening line” they are referring to the very first set of odds or lines that is listed for a particular game or event. The opening line is essentially the first chance for the betting public to see what the linemakers think of a game.
When Do Opening Lines Come Out?
The availability of opening lines differs from sport to sport. For sports that are less popular to bet on and take place on a daily schedule, the opening lines typically don’t come out until the morning of the game or event itself.
For football, the opening line is vital in how a bettor goes about handicapping the card. Typically, the opening line for college football and the NFL comes out on Sunday evening for the following week. This is important to know since you can follow the line movement throughout the week in order to get an idea of who the big money is coming in on.
How to Handle the Opening Line?
Opening lines are the very first chance bettors get to place a wager on a particular game. Sharp bettors are usually the quickest to jump on these lines as they feel that “opening lines” represent the sportsbooks honest view of how the game may play out. The general betting public typically pay no attention to these lines, as they would prefer to wait until just before kick off to place their bets in case there is any absurd incidents that might affect the game. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the general public gets left betting into a terrible line – sometimes one or two points off the original line.
Opening Lines versus Closing Lines
The important think to know here is that when you look at opening lines, you are unlikely to see that number when you look at the closing line for a particular game. Linemakers change lines based on the action they receive once the opening lines have been set and made available for betting. The line movement is dictated by the amount of action one side of a bet sees compared to the other. Sportsbooks’ main goal is to create equal action on both sides of the line thus ensuring a profit. If the opening line is quickly changed or moves more than one or two points, this gives you a clear sense of how bettors are betting on that game.
Money Line Meanings Sports Betting
Should You Bet the Opening Line?
There is no right or wrong answers to this question, but the general consensus around the opening line is that it is the truest representation of what a linemaker thinks of the game. Unfortunately for bettors, the opening line is very rarely available for too long before it is moved in reaction to the action against it. From experience, betting the opening line could prove profitable if you are well prepared and have an idea of what it could be. I wouldn’t just bet the opening line without doing my due diligence to find out if the game has any significant advantages to exploit. I’d much rather be better prepared and take on a skewed line instead of rushing into betting the first number I see.
Sports Betting Line Meaning Definitions
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