For the newcomer to sports betting, reading the odds on an online sportsbook site at first might seem as daunting as trying to decipher ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. The confusion and the initial hesitation are entirely understandable.
There are a lot of numbers and symbols all over the page. It sort of feels like you’re back in high school algebra, and let’s face it, no one wants to go back to that place again.
We’re here to tell you that such a level of intimidation isn’t at all warranted when it comes to reading the odds. Understanding odds is fundamental to both enjoying and capitalizing on the sports-gambling industry.
The following guide on how to read the odds will quickly teach you to feel at ease when reading the odds. Whether you’re a betting novice or a seasoned sharp, it’s never a bad idea to go over what the odds mean in sports betting.
How odds work
Odds tell you how likely something is to happen and how much you stand to win. Understanding the odds is the foundation of smart betting.
Types of betting odds
There are three styles of betting odds that are in use in the online sports betting industry. The most commonly used odds in the North American market are known as American odds.
With American odds, the betting lines are based on a hypothetical $100 wager. The favorite in a game is assigned a negative number, while the underdog is given a positive number. So a line on an NFL game could read Philadelphia Eagles -135 and New York Giants +115.
In this instance, the Eagles are favored. You would need to bet $135 to realize a profit of $100 on a winning wager. At +115, that means if you bet $100 on the underdog Giants and they won the game, you would pocket a $115 profit margin.
Decimal odds are occasionally seen at online sports betting sites, though they are most popular in Europe. Decimal odds are actually the easiest for deciphering how much you will win on your bet. If the Los Angeles Dodgers were 1.50 to win a game and you bet $100 on them, your return on a winning wager would be $150.
Fractional odds are most frequently utilized in horse racing. The first number is the profit on your win, and the second number is your stake. If a horse goes off at 5/1, that means for every dollar you bet, you would win $5.
What are the most common betting odds?
When you are wagering on a sports event, you will be given three options for betting on that game. There is the moneyline, the point spread, and the over/under, also referred to as the total. Our full-fledged betting guide covers even more ins and outs, including different gambling strategies, but we’ll be covering the following odds types:
These three types of odds form the basis for just about every bet you will ever place on a sports outcome. Let's take a more in-depth look at how to read each of these betting lines and exactly what they mean.
What are moneyline bets?
Anytime you're betting the moneyline, you're wagering on the winner of a game or competition. That's actually it. It's a simple straight bet. The team or player you pick needs to walk away with a victory; otherwise, your bet won't hit.
How do moneyline odds work?
Moneyline odds are broken into two categories: the favorite and the underdog.
Favorites are identified by the minus sign (−) situated in front of their odds. As we noted earlier in our breakdown of how American odds work, the number indicates how much you'll need to bet to realize a $100 profit. The underdog is indicated by a plus sign (+) before the odds reading. Again, this is how much you'll win on a successful $100 bet.
Suppose the Green Bay Packers are -125 facing the Detroit Lions at +185. This tells you that the Packers are favored. Bet $125 on Green Bay, and you will win a $100 profit. Go instead with the underdog Lions. Bet $100 on Detroit and earn a $185 profit for a Lions victory.
Moneyline futures
The moneyline is the true staple of sports betting oddsmaking. You will find these odds to be the standard bearer of all future book betting lines.
This could be an odds to win the Super Bowl betting market that has the Kansas City Chiefs at +330. Perhaps it's a line on the Buffalo Bills to win the AFC East at -125. It could also be an awards play on the NFL MVP in which Bills QB Josh Allen is set at +225.
You read these odds in the same manner as you would the moneyline on a game. Of course, with a futures bet, you are wagering on something that's not going to be finalized for months down the road. Due to that, the betting lines tend to be a bit better than on one or another game outcome. However, since you have more options to bet, your chances of winning will be reduced. That's why the odds on future bets tend to be longer.
The point spread
What is the point spread?
Similar to the moneyline, the point spread offers odds on favorites and underdogs, albeit with a twist. Instead of a straight win or lose proposition, when you bet on the point spread, you are either laying points or getting points.
Let's start by looking at what a typical betting line on the spread might look like
New England Patriots -6 (-115)
Tennessee Titans +6 (-105)
How do point spreads work?
What do those numbers mean? Glad you asked.
Again, similar to the moneyline, the favorite is indicated by the minus sign (-), while the underdog is assigned the plus sign (+).
Here's where the paths deviate between the moneyline and the point spread. If you bet on New England, it isn't enough that the Patriots win the game for you to cash a winning bet. The -6 next to the Patriots means that they are six-point favorites. New England must win the game by no less than seven points for your point spread bet to be a winner. This is what's meant in the betting industry by laying points.
On the other hand, when you take the underdog Titans at +6, you are getting six points. In this instance, if you bet on Tennessee, you win if they win. However, as long as the Titans lose the game by five points or fewer, your bet is also a winner because New England failed to cover the point spread.
Let's look at it via simple math. If New England wins 31-24, the Patriots cover the six-point spread. But if the game ends 31-28 in favor of the Pats, those who backed the Titans are winners, since New England didn't cover as six-point favorites.
Returns on these wagers are not extravagant. They’re typically around −110 on both sides, though you might occasionally see −105 or −115 depending on the sportsbook. Many bettors don’t have a problem with this, since it offers close to 1-to-1 odds for every transaction, even if certain moneylines can be more lucrative.
It's much easier to bet on an underdog via the point spread because you don't necessarily need the team to win for you to win your bet.
The run line
In baseball, the spread takes a bit of a divergent path. Called the run line, it's almost always set at either +1.5 or -1.5. Here's a sample of what they might look like:
Milwaukee Brewers +1.5
Cincinnati Reds -1.5
As the favorites in this game, the Reds are giving the Brewers 1.5 runs. So if Cincinnati won 3-1, the Reds could cover the run line. But if it wound up as a 3-2 Reds final, the Brewers would be the winning wager, since Cinci didn't win by more than 1.5 runs.
The puck line
Hockey also operates on a spread identical to baseball, only with a different name. The puck line is also almost always set at 1.5. Hockey bettors like to say you are either getting a puck and a half or giving a puck and a half. So an NHL betting puck line reads like this:
New York Rangers +1.5
New Jersey Devils -1.5
In this game, to cover the Devils would have to win by two goals. The Rangers would be the winning bet if they win or lose by only one goal. The unique aspect of the empty-net goal, a factor that only affects hockey outcomes, makes it somewhat challenging to bet the puck line.
Point spread futures?
There's no need to get caught up in how point spreads apply to future bets. They are not part of the futures' equation. However, our next type of wager is...
Over/under odds
Also referred to in sports betting circles as the total, when this wager is placed on a game, it is unique in that whichever team wins or loses the game has no bearing on the outcome of the bet.
What are over/under bets?
Over/unders are the simplest of betting plays. It's a completely different wager from moneylines and point spreads. You're not trying to pick a winner. Oddsmakers assign a total to every game, something like this:
Over 57.5 (-105)
Under 57.5 (-110)
You're betting on the combined score total of the two participating teams in the game. Do you expect that the teams will go over or under the established total?
How do over/under odds work?
Over/under odds are the easiest of all betting lines to read. There is no picking a favorite or rolling with the underdog. You don't have to mess with any plus/minus calculations.
You simply look at the number for the total and choose whether to go high or low.
Let's suppose the above 57.5 total was set on an NFL game between the New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons. If you choose to bet the over, all that matters for you to win the bet is that the teams combine to score at least 58 points.
It doesn't matter how they get to that total. Atlanta could win 38-20. New Orleans could win 45-14. As long as the two teams combine to exceed 57.5 points, your over play cashes as a winner.
As you can see from the assigned betting odds in our hypothetical total play, along the lines of point spread bets, these wagers do not promise monster returns. They are generally -110 across the board—so, you need to bet $110 to win $100—although you might see the occasional -105, +105, or something along those lines.
It's also worth noting that the size of the over/under varies by sport. Basketball games will have higher over/under lines because teams routinely score in the triple digits. Baseball, hockey, and soccer, among other sports, will have lower combined projections since they're not considered high-scoring sports.
Over/under futures
While most futures bets will be placed against moneylines, the over/under is also used. This applies to win-total situations for teams. It can also be utilized in baseball on a player's season home run totals, or in hockey for a player's overall goals total through a season.
The size of these over/under lines will again vary. They depend entirely on the length of a season. Consider these hypothetical win totals for an NFL season:
- Kansas City Chiefs: 11.5
- New England Patriots: 10.5
- Seattle Seahawks: 9.5
- New Orleans Saints: 9.5
- Dallas Cowboys: 8.5
These lines work the same way as a single-game over/under. For instance, if you want to take the over on the New Orleans Saints' win total, you need them to finish the season with 10 or more victories. On the flip side, if you want to roll with the under on the Dallas Cowboys, you'll need them to finish their schedule with eight or fewer victories for a successful wager.
What is a "push"?
In baseball, a tie goes to the runner. In sports betting, a tie means everything goes back to where you started.
Say you bet New England at -6 in the spread on that hypothetical wager we outlined earlier. Now suppose New England beats Tennessee 20-14. The Pats won by exactly six points, meaning neither team covered the spread.
That's a push, and when that happens, the sportsbook refunds the bettor's stake.
To avoid this outcome occurring with frequency, betting sites will often add a half point to the spread and total wagers. Since no team can gain a half point, it assures that there won't be a push on the bet.
