- What are money line bets?
- How does moneyline betting work?
- Money line betting strategy
Moneyline bets are the most common form of betting. Thanks to their simple format, they are a popular choice among novice bettors. However, more advanced bettors also turn to this market to find value. What are money line bets? How do moneyline bets work? Read on to find out.
What are money line bets?
Moneyline bets are one of the simplest and most common forms of betting. In general, they consist of two options within the same market and all you have to do is bet on who you think will be the winner. The simplest way to describe these types of bets is to think of them as “match-winning” bets.
If we place a money-line bet on a team or player that eventually wins, the bet will also be a winner. If, on the other hand, this team or player loses, so will the bet. To calculate the possible winnings of money line bets, we simply multiply the amount wagered by the decimal odds of the option we choose.
How do moneyline bets work?
Moneyline bets are most common in sports such as baseball, tennis, and UFC. This type of betting is also popular in the NBA and NFL. However, in sports such as basketball and soccer, where by nature high scores are generated, other types of bets (such as the total score and handicap markets) are used more.
Sports betting explained: how to bet on sports
While money line bets are most common on sporting events that consist of two teams or players whose outcome cannot be a tie, bettors also turn to this market to place bets on soccer or other sports where a tie is possible.
In this case, it would be a triple-money-line bet (to include the tie). However, these types of treble bets are more commonly known as 1X2 markets (the 1 represents the home team or player, the X represents the draw and the 2 represents the away team or player). In soccer, there is also a double money line betting market in which the odds are adjusted to eliminate the tie option and simply refund (“push”) the amount wagered in the event of a non-winner.
Unlike other markets such as over/under (total results) or handicap, money line bets are placed solely on the outcome of a match, so they are not affected by winning margins or the number of points scored. The odds offered will reflect who is more likely to win (the favorite) and who is more likely to lose (the underdog).
While the money line market is different from the handicap market, there is a clear relationship between the two. The higher the handicap of the favorite, the more likely he/she is to win. This means that the higher the handicap, the lower the money line odds for the favorite (so the odds for the underdog will go up).
Handicap betting is a popular alternative to moneyline betting when there is a very large disparity between the quality of the teams or competitors involved in a match. If we are confident enough that a team will win and exceed a specific margin, this is a case where it would make more sense to place a handicap bet, as it would allow us to make more money on the amount wagered (predicting that a team will win by more than a specific amount of points is more difficult than simply indicating that a team will win by any margin).
What is the difference between the Moneyline market and the 1X2?
As I mentioned previously, the difference between the Moneyline market and the 1X2 may seem minimal, but it has a big impact on the odds and the outcome you bet on.
The main difference between these two markets is the option to add the draw. Traditionally, the money line market offers two options: team or player A as the winner and team or player B as the winner. However, the 1X2 market (especially in soccer) offers both options and adds the tie.
Some believe that the difference is limited to preference in terminology, which is why it is so important to know what we are betting on when talking about a money line with a possible tie as the outcome. It is important to determine if there is another way to refer to the 1X2 market (triple money line) or the traditional money line market where the tie is not included. If we bet on the 1X2 market and we believe it is a traditional money line bet, we will be surprised when we are not refunded the amount wagered if the result is a tie.
Example of a money line bet
While the concept of a money line is easy to understand, seeing an example may be helpful for those new to betting. The following is an example of a moneyline market at Pinnacle for an NFL game.