Moneyline

A moneyline bet is the simplest wager in sports betting. No spreads, no totals—you just pick who wins the contest. If your pick wins, the bet pays. If it loses, you lose your stake. Margin of victory does not matter; the final score only decides the winner.

Moneyline odds read differently for favorites and underdogs. In American odds, a favorite shows a negative number (like -150), the amount you must stake to win $100. An underdog shows a positive number (like +130), the profit a $100 bet returns. Decimal and fractional formats follow the same rule: lower odds are favorites, higher odds are underdogs.

Example

Say the New York Yankees are -160 and the Boston Red Sox are +140 in a baseball game. Bet $160 on the Yankees and they win, you get $100 profit plus your $160 stake back. Bet $100 on the Red Sox at +140 and they pull the upset, you collect $140 profit plus your original $100 stake.

The payout gap between the two sides reflects the book’s read on each team’s chance of winning, plus the built-in commission (the vig or juice).

Key Points

• Simplicity: Pick the winner. No spreads, no totals—just the outright result.
• Payouts vary by probability: Favorites pay less per dollar because they win more often. Underdogs pay more because they win less often.
• Common in all major sports: Moneylines run across baseball, hockey, soccer, basketball, football, tennis, and nearly every sport with a clear winner.
• No ties in most markets: Many moneyline markets drop the draw. Where ties happen (such as soccer), a three-way moneyline adds the draw as its own outcome.
• Foundation for parlays: Moneyline picks are often stacked into parlays, where every leg must win for the bet to pay.