What Moneyline means
A moneyline bet is a wager purely on which side wins the game outright, with no point margin attached at all. Favorites carry negative odds (risk more to win $100), underdogs carry positive odds (win more than $100 on a $100 bet), and the gap between the two prices reflects both the perceived talent gap and the vig. Moneylines are the simplest bet type to understand conceptually, which is why they're usually the first market recommended to brand-new bettors, even though favorites-heavy moneyline betting can actually be a slower, lower-value way to grow a bankroll compared to well-shopped spread betting.
Key points
- A moneyline bet is a wager purely on which side wins the game outright, with no point margin attached at all.
- Favorites carry negative odds (risk more to win $100), underdogs carry positive odds (win more than $100 on a $100 bet), and the gap between the two prices reflects both the perceived talent gap and the vig.
- Moneylines are the simplest bet type to understand conceptually, which is why they're usually the first market recommended to brand-new bettors, even though favorites-heavy moneyline betting can actually be a slower, lower-value way to grow a bankroll compared to well-shopped spread betting.
Example and context
Favorites carry negative odds (risk more to win $100), underdogs carry positive odds (win more than $100 on a $100 bet), and the gap between the two prices reflects both the perceived talent gap and the vig.
Related glossary terms
These terms sit in the same part of the betting vocabulary and are useful to read next.
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