If you are relatively new to the exciting world of online sports betting, all the numbers posted on a sportsbook’s betting board can sometimes be fairly confusing and a bit intimidating to someone that is not use to reading and understanding sports betting odds.
The easiest way to break things down when it comes to reading and understanding the betting odds posted is on a sport by sport basis. Football and basketball are by far the two biggest betting sports in the online sports betting industry today, and they both happen to use the same two basic betting odds; the pointspead and the total line.
The pointspread in any football or basketball game is basically designed to handicap a particular matchup between a team that is set as a favorite against a team that is designated as an underdog. Contrary to popular belief, the pointspread is not the predicted margin of victory in a game; rather it is designed by the sportsbooks as a way to attract an even amount of money bet on either side.
For example, if Dallas is favored by a touchdown at home against Washington, the betting odds for this game at a typical online sportsbook may look as follows:
Washington Redskins +7 (-110)
Dallas Cowboys -7 (-110)
The minus sign in front of the pointspread designates the favorite ‘giving points’. The plus sign in front of the pointspread designates the underdog ‘getting points’. The road team is normally listed above the home team and the (-110) next to both teams refers to the 10 percent commission that a sportsbooks charges to book a bet.
If you bet $100 on Dallas and they do win this game by more than seven points, you would win $100. If Dallas wins by fewer than seven points or loses the game outright, you would actually owe $110 on that losing bet. If the game ended with the Cowboys’ winning by exactly seven points, the bet would be considered a PUSH and no money would exchange hands.
The total line for the example above may look as follows in that same listing:
Washington Redskins Over 50 (-110)
Dallas Cowboys Under 50 (-110)
The betting odds for the total are based on the final combined score of both teams. If you bet $100 on the OVER and the final score was 28-24 you would win $100. If the final score was 27-21 regardless of which team actually won, you would owe $110 on the losing bet. If the actual combined final score exactly matches the total line, that bet would also be a PUSH with no money exchanging hands.
Many times you will see a ½ point added to a pointspread or total line. This would ensure that no matter what happens with the actual outcome in terms of a pointspread or total line, the results would not end in a PUSH.
Shifting over to sports such as baseball and hockey, the primary way you bet on these games would be through the use of a moneyline. It works the same way as a pointspread when it comes to designating which team is favored, but the outcome is based strictly on the ‘straight-up’ final score. The following is what a MLB listing may look like at a typical online sportsbook.
Boston Red Sox +125
New York Yankees -135
In this particular matchup, Boston is an underdog on the road and if you bet $100 on the Red Sox to win and they do, you would collect $125. If the Red Sox go onto to lose this game, you would only owe the $100. The Yankees are home favorites, so if you wish to make that same $100 bet that they win this game and they do, you would collect $100. If you make that same $100 bet and New York loses the game, you would actually owe $135.
Always remember that just like a pointspread, a plus mark in front of a moneyline designates the betting odds for the underdog, and the minus sign designates the odds for the favorite.
