What is a moneyline bet?

A moneyline bet is a bet on who wins the game, with no point spread. The favorite has a minus price, like -150, and the underdog a plus price, like +130.

Favorite and underdog

A favorite at -150: risk $150 to win $100. An underdog at +130: risk $100 to win $130. The favorite wins more often, so it pays less.

The chance behind each price

-150 implies 150 ÷ 250 = 60%. +130 implies 100 ÷ 230 = 43.5%. Add them: 103.5%. The extra 3.5% is the book’s cut. See the full math.

When it is a good bet

When your estimate of the win chance is higher than the chance in the price. If our model says the underdog wins 48% of the time and the price implies 43.5%, that is an edge. Read about it in what +EV means.

Moneyline or spread?

The moneyline asks only who wins. The spread asks by how much. Heavy favorites are cheaper to back on the spread; close games are simple on the moneyline.

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