A moneyline bet is, by far, the most straightforward sports bet. Apart from explaining the basics of moneyline betting, we’ll cover the following:
- How moneyline bets compare to other bets.
- How to read moneyline odds.
- What you can expect as a payout from a winning moneyline bet.
- Provide live moneyline odds for all of today’s games from Maryland online sportsbooks.
Compare moneyline odds at Maryland online sportsbooks
If you want to find the best moneyline odds for the NFL, NBA, and other major sports, check our live odds feed. Use the drop-down menus to change your sport or see the point spreads and totals for the same games. Click on any odds to go directly to any of the Maryland online sportsbooks, claim a sport betting welcome bonus and place your bet.
What is a moneyline bet?
The moneyline is the most basic wager in sports betting. Essentially, there are two types of moneyline bets: a two-way moneyline and a three-way moneyline.
In a two-way moneyline, the goal is to pick the winning side, which could be a football game, a basketball game, a tennis match, etc. A three-way moneyline is for sports where the game can commonly end in a tie, for instance, soccer. Here, you will be picking whether the final outcome is a home team win, an away team win or a draw.
The total final score or winning margin doesn’t matter when betting on the moneyline; the only detail in play is the overall outcome. For example, let’s say the Los Angeles Lakers are playing the Washington Wizards. You place a bet on the Wizards, and they win the game. Your bet will be a winning one, regardless of whether the Wizards have won in regulation or overtime, or whether they won by a specific number of points.
Why bet the moneyline over point spread, totals or props?
Because of the simplicity, moneyline bets work well for beginning bettors. Of course, this is not to say that understanding point spreads, totals and propositional bets are all that difficult.
Also, moneyline bets may enable you to utilize your sports knowledge. The most important factor for any team or player is to win, regardless of the winning margin or the total number of points. That’s why bets like over/under wagers are sometimes more difficult to predict correctly as they are not the most essential game segment.
However, even though moneyline bets are the simplest, it is not always the best bet to place. In a scenario where one team is heavily favored to win, the outcome will be fairly obvious, and the moneyline bet won’t provide much value, so it may be best to turn to other markets, like a point spread, for example.
How to read moneyline odds
Each side of the moneyline bet will have dedicated odds reflecting that side’s chances of winning. There are several ways the odds will display, but you’ll most likely use American odds at US sportsbooks.
These odds appear as positive and negative numbers. The side with a positive number is the underdog, while the negative number is for the favorite. The bigger the numbers are, the more of an underdog or a favorite aside is. These numbers also show the amount of money you can win, which brings us to the next point.
How do moneyline bets pay out?
Here is an example to help explain the payouts for moneyline bets. In a game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Minnesota Twins, Caesars Online Sportsbook might set the underdog Orioles moneyline odds at +165, while the Twins with odds of -200.
The +165 means that you would make a $165 profit if you were to place a successful bet of $100 on the Orioles winning the game. Of course, you are allowed to bet more or less, as well, so a $10 bet would equal a $16.50 profit if correct, and a $200 wager would yield $330, etc.
If you were to bet on the Twins at odds of -200, that means you would need to wager $200 to make a $100 profit.
How much should you risk on a moneyline bet?
General advice for beginning bettors is to always start with small bets. Of course, the size of your bet will also depend on the size of your bankroll. Depending on the odds and your confidence in the outcome, you should bet between 1%-3% of your bankroll on a single wager.
Another tip is to avoid betting big on small odds. In other words, if the potential profit is only a small percentage of your wager, the bet is not worth the risk.
Let’s say that the PointsBet Maryland app has the odds on the Brooklyn Nets to win a game against the Detroit Pistons as -1000. That means that if you were to bet $100, you would end up with a $10 profit if you bet correctly. It’s still a profit, and the Nets are likely going to win. However, if the upset occurred, you would lose $100. Therefore, you would basically be hoping for a $10 profit while worrying about a $100 loss. In this case, it would be much better to find another moneyline bet or explore the point spread market.
Live in-game betting on the moneyline
Most people bet on the moneyline before the game. However, live moneyline wagers will be available after the game begins.
Every major US sportsbook offers live betting, where you can place bets on a game that’s in progress. Go to the sportsbook’s live or in-game section and find the games currently taking place. Select the one you’re interested in, and you’ll see the moneyline odds listed at the top.
Note that timing is of the essence here, as the odds will change in real-time, depending on what’s going on in the game. Because of this, in-game moneyline betting is best experienced via a betting app. A Maryland sportsbook app will allow you to place bets regardless of where you are, at any point in the game.
Biggest moneyline betting mistakes to avoid
Moneyline bets are attractive for beginners due to their simplicity. However, because they are simple, it doesn’t mean you can’t fall into a trap and make betting mistakes. Here are three to avoid if you’re considering betting on the moneyline:
- Betting based on emotion: Moneyline bets are popular among diehard fans of a given team. Fans will almost never bet against their squad, but that only works if their team wins most games, which is rarely the case. In other words, you can root for your teams and place a few bucks on them for fun, but never let your heart dictate how you approach moneyline betting.
- Getting carried away with parlays: Parlays can be interesting and create a potential for a sizable profit, but that profit potential could tempt you to add more “legs” to your betting slip than you should. Sure, if all 15 games you’ve wagered on go according to your prediction, you could win big, but the odds will be heavily stacked against you.
- Not shopping for odds: With so many legal sportsbooks to choose from, not shopping for the best possible odds on moneyline bets would be a huge mistake. A bet on the Wizards with odds of +150 might seem good; however, what if another sportsbook has them at +165 or +180? Even small margins can add up if you’re placing frequent bets, so try to always look for an edge.