Line Betting Explained

  1. What Do Betting Odds Mean
  2. Goal Line Betting Explained
  3. How To Read Betting Lines
  4. Puck Line Betting Explained
  5. Football Betting Line Explained

Understanding the different types of betting options is crucial when you’re getting a start as a first-time sports bettor.

The Point Spread: Betting the spread

Moneyline Betting Odds - If The Money Line Has “Team A” at -150 Betting Odds Against The Colts, I Must Bet $150 To Win $100 And If Team A Wins, Then I Would Win My Bet.There are three forms of regular betting odds that you will see at every sportsbook that you visit, whether online or in person.

  • Betting 101: What is a money line bet in sports betting? The vast majority of point spread wagers are made on football and basketball because of the proliferation of points that are scored in comparison to sports like baseball and hockey, where 1-0 or 2-1 games aren’t that out of the question or out of the norm.
  • Mar 07, 2019 Sports betting involves staking on the outcome of sporting events. Bettors attempt to predict the result of an event in order to win their bet - and potentially profit. What are sports betting odds? Put simply betting odds are representations of probability.
  • Live sports betting odds give people a chance to place bets on point spreads, money lines, under/overs, and more while games are still going on. In-game betting has turned into one of the most exciting ways to bet on sports. Learn more about live odds and how you can use them to your advantage below. What Is Live Betting?
  • In the beginning we will explain how to read betting lines and then we will deal with different types of bets. Betting line usually shows current odds or moneyline, point spread (handicap) and total for a particular event. For example we can have a line like this.

For those new to sports betting, the point spread is the simplest, most straightforward approach to placing wagers.

Nfl betting line explained

Sports books set a predetermined margin of points on a game and a team must win – or not lose – by that set number. That’s why you’ll often hear people say the team won, but they “didn’t cover the spread” so their bet still came up short.

It’s not a matter of a team winning or losing like in a moneyline bet.

For a favorite: The favorite must win by more than the point spread.For an underdog: The underdog must outright win OR lose by fewer than the point spread.

What Do Betting Odds Mean

Sports books aren’t in the business of predicting who will win or lose games. Their goal is setting a pre-game point spread with the intention to generate an equal amount of betting action/volume on both sides of the ledger – as much total money being bet on the favorite as on the underdog.

The vast majority of point spread wagers are made on football and basketball because of the proliferation of points that are scored in comparison to sports like baseball and hockey, where 1-0 or 2-1 games aren’t that out of the question or out of the norm. There’s one every night.

For example, the New England Patriots are playing the New York Jets and New England is a 9½-point favorite. Bettors typically have to spend $110 or so to win $100 with sports books, known as “the house edge/advantage.” With a point spread bet, simply having a team win the game isn’t the key. The critical factor to betting a point spread is how much a team wins or loses by. If a wager is placed on New England – “laying” the 9½ points – the Patriots need to win the game by 10 or more points for that bet to pay off. If New England wins 28-20, those betting on the Jets plus 9½ points (points added to their final total) win the bet.

The same general rules apply for basketball and are quite easy to follow because of the inherent simplicity of the bet. When it comes to betting sports like baseball and hockey, the standard bets are made on the “money line” – an established number for both teams to win the game outright.

Betting

What makes point spread bets attractive are the fluid nature of each game – it’s a reality show that, when done right, is inexplicable. Games change on one play and momentum is a thing. But, when it comes to point spread betting, you know where you stand at every moment.

For those just starting out, the simplest form of gambling is betting the spread because it’s the easiest to explain and understand, which explains why it is the most popular form of sports wagering.

MLB Run Line Betting is fairly popular with MLB bettors, but is not nearly as popular as betting the MLB money line or the over/under line. Many beginner bettors may not be familiar with MLB Run Line betting or may not fully understand how it works, so below we will explain how exactly the MLB Run Line Betting option works.

First it is important to understand that with MLB Run Line Betting you will be choosing sides or teams like you do with money line betting. Run Line Betting in baseball almost mimics NFL Spread Betting exactly, which is the most popular type of football betting.

Goal Line Betting Explained

The line for baseball run lines is 1.5. With a 1.5 run line you will be able to place a wager on the favored team to win by 2 runs or more, or the underdog team to lose by 1 run or to win the game.

The line would be set on the favorites at -1.5, which essentially means the team must win by 2 or more runs, or “cover” the 1.5 run line. Within the same game the underdogs would be listed at +1.5, which means that the underdog team must either lose the game by 1 run or less, or win the game outright.

Although the MLB Run Line is always set at 1.5, some betting sites allow you to bet alternative lines of 2.5 or sometimes even 3.5 runs with varied odds of course.

Betting Site
BonusBet Now
1 up to €30 Free BetGo to Site
2
22Bet
100% up to €122Go to Site
3100% up to €200Go to Site
4
10Bet
100% up to €50Go to Site
5 100% up to €50Go to Site

How To Read Betting Lines

MLB Run Line Example:

Chicago White Sox +1.5 (-150)

@ Minnesota Twins -1.5 (+120)

In the MLB Run Line example above, you can see that the Twins are the favorites in the game, as the run line is set at -1.5 for them. The negative (-) sign indicates that the Twins are favored, and must cover the 1.5 runs (win by 2 or more) in order for a bet on them on the run line to win. The odds listed for the Twins to win by two runs or more in our example are +120.

You will also see that the White Sox are the underdogs. The +1.5 indicates that the White Sox must either win the game outright or lose by a single run in order for a run line bet placed on them to win. The odds listed for the White Sox on the run line in our example are -150.

MLB Run Line Betting Strategy

A lot of bettors overlook the difficulty of MLB Run Line Betting. Many bettors will get in the mindset that the team they think will win the game will probably do so by at least 2 runs, leading them to bet the run line over the money line because of the higher odds. Just about 30% of MLB games end up being one run games, which is a lot higher than most people would have expected, making it very tough to predict when a team will cover the 1.5 run spread on the run line.

Puck Line Betting Explained

Another thing that many casual bettors don’t take into consideration when betting the MLB Run Line is the disadvantage that the home team has. When the home team is favored they will need to win by two or more runs in order for a wager on them on the run line to win. Because the bottom of the ninth inning is not played out when the home team is winning, it leads to a lot of one run ball games finishing in the middle of the ninth inning. The home team gets one less at bat to score the extra runs that could have won you a run line wager.

Football Betting Line Explained

One of the best strategies when betting the MLB Run Line is to try and stay away from laying the 1.5 runs on the favored team. Taking the 1.5 runs on an underdog team is a more profitable long term strategy, and many of the sharp MLB bettors will be taking the run more often than laying the run. There will be some spots where you can even get money taking the 1.5 runs. In the end it is all about finding value with MLB Run Line betting, and if you can spots to bet it you can be profitable!