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Quick answer: a moneyline bet is a bet on who wins. A minus number shows the favourite: -150 means you stake $150 to win $100. A plus number shows the underdog: +130 means a $100 stake wins $130. A point spread asks a team to win by more than the line (or lose by less), and an over/under (a total) is a bet on whether the combined score goes over or under a number. Spread and total bets are usually priced at -110 on both sides, which is how the sportsbook makes its money.
What does the moneyline mean?
The moneyline is the simplest bet in sports: you pick the team (or player) to win the game, and the margin does not matter. The number next to each side tells you two things at once: who is expected to win, and how much you get paid.
- Minus odds (the favourite): the amount you must stake to win $100. At -150 you stake $150 to make $100 profit.
- Plus odds (the underdog): the profit a $100 stake makes. At +130, $100 makes $130 profit.
- +100 (even money): you win the same amount you stake.
You do not have to bet $100. The odds scale to any stake, and when you win you get your stake back on top of the profit.
Moneyline bet examples, worked out
We worked out each line below ourselves. “Implied chance” is the win probability the odds suggest before you take the bookmaker’s cut out.
| Odds | Stake | Profit if it wins | Total back | Implied chance | Decimal odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -200 | $20 | $10.00 | $30.00 | 66.67% | 1.50 |
| -150 | $30 | $20.00 | $50.00 | 60.00% | 1.67 |
| -110 | $10 | $9.09 | $19.09 | 52.38% | 1.91 |
| +100 | $10 | $10.00 | $20.00 | 50.00% | 2.00 |
| +130 | $10 | $13.00 | $23.00 | 43.48% | 2.30 |
| +175 | $20 | $35.00 | $55.00 | 36.36% | 2.75 |
The sums behind the table are short:
- Minus odds: profit = stake × 100 ÷ the odds. For -150 and $30: 30 × 100 ÷ 150 = $20.
- Plus odds: profit = stake × the odds ÷ 100. For +130 and $10: 10 × 130 ÷ 100 = $13.
- Implied chance: for -150 it is 150 ÷ (150 + 100) = 60%; for +130 it is 100 ÷ (130 + 100) = 43.48%.
These plus and minus numbers are American odds, the format used in the US. Decimal odds are the usual format across Europe, and fractional odds are traditional in the UK and Ireland. To turn any American line into decimal or fractional odds, or into a percentage, use our odds calculator.
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How does a point spread bet work?
A point spread evens out a mismatch. The favourite gets a minus number and has to win by more than that many points. The underdog gets the same number as a plus, and its bet wins if it loses by less than the spread or wins outright.
Say Team A is -3.5 and Team B is +3.5, both at -110:
- Team A wins 24-20 (by 4): Team A -3.5 wins.
- Team A wins 23-20 (by 3): Team B +3.5 wins, even though Team B lost the game.
- Team B wins: Team B +3.5 wins.
A $110 bet at -110 wins $100 profit, and a $10 bet wins $9.09.
What is a push, and why spreads end in .5
If the spread is a whole number and the favourite wins by exactly that number, the bet is a push: nobody wins and stakes are refunded. With Team A -3, a 23-20 result is a push. Sportsbooks often add half a point (bettors call it “the hook”), such as -3.5, because no game can end with a half-point margin, so there is always a winner.
Run line and puck line
Baseball and hockey are low-scoring, so their spreads are almost always set at 1.5. In baseball it is called the run line and in hockey the puck line. Instead of moving the number, the sportsbook changes the price on each side.
Key numbers in American football
NFL games are won by 3 and 7 points more often than any other margin, because of field goals and converted touchdowns. Across several studies of past seasons, about 14% to 15% of NFL games ended with a margin of exactly 3 points and roughly 7% to 10% with a margin of exactly 7. That is why moving a spread across 3 or 7 matters much more than moving it across 5.
What is over/under betting?
An over/under, also called a total, is a bet on the combined score of both teams, not on who wins. The sportsbook sets a number and you bet on the final total landing over or under it.
With a total of 47.5, a 27-21 final adds up to 48, so the over wins. A 24-20 final adds up to 44, so the under wins. If the total is a whole number, such as 44, and the game lands exactly on it, the bet is a push and stakes are refunded. Like spreads, totals are usually priced at -110 on each side.
What does -110 mean, and where the sportsbook makes its money
-110 means you stake $110 to win $100. If both sides of a spread are -110, a fair coin-flip would pay +100 on each, so the gap is the sportsbook’s cut, often called the vig or juice. The sums:
- Each -110 side implies a 52.38% chance (110 ÷ 210).
- Both sides add up to 104.76% instead of 100%.
- That leaves the sportsbook a margin of about 4.55% of all money bet, if bets are balanced.
- To break even at -110 over many bets, you need to win 52.38% of them.
Moneylines carry the same cut, just hidden in uneven numbers. A -150 / +130 game implies 60% + 43.48% = 103.48%. Take the margin out and the fair chances are about 58% and 42%. Our no-vig calculator does this for any pair of odds.
Moneyline vs spread vs over/under
| Bet | You win if | Usual price | Push on an exact number? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moneyline | Your pick wins the game | Different on each side, such as -150 / +130 | No: there is no number to land on |
| Point spread | Your pick covers the spread | Usually -110 on both sides | Yes, on a whole-number spread |
| Over/under | The combined score lands on your side of the total | Usually -110 on both sides | Yes, on a whole-number total |
A moneyline on a heavy favourite pays little: at -200 you risk $20 to win $10. The spread lets you back the same favourite at around -110, but it now has to win by a set margin. Neither is better in itself; they price the same game in different ways. You can see all three in action on our Super Bowl betting guide, and the gambling terms glossary explains other words you will see on a betting slip.
Soccer: 3-way moneyline and draw no bet
Football (soccer) matches can end in a draw, so the main market has three outcomes: home win, draw and away win (often shown as 1, X and 2). If you back a team and the match is drawn, your bet loses. These bets are settled on the result after 90 minutes plus stoppage time. Extra time and penalties in a cup tie do not count.
Draw no bet removes the draw: if the match is drawn your stake is refunded. The price is shorter than the 3-way moneyline because you are covered against the draw.
Does overtime count?
In American football, basketball and hockey, full-game moneyline, spread and total bets include overtime unless the market says otherwise, for example “regulation time only” or a 3-way line. Soccer is the exception: standard bets are settled after 90 minutes plus stoppage time, as explained above. Each sportsbook publishes its own house rules, so check them for the sport you bet on.
Betting Odds FAQ
What does +200 mean in betting?
+200 means a $100 stake wins $200 profit, so you get $300 back in total. The odds imply a 33.33% chance of winning.
What does -200 mean in betting?
-200 means you stake $200 to win $100 profit. A $20 bet wins $10. The odds imply a 66.67% chance of winning.
Is a moneyline bet the same as a straight bet?
A moneyline is one kind of straight bet: a single bet on one outcome. A single spread or total bet is a straight bet too. Several bets combined into one are a parlay; our parlay calculator shows how those payouts multiply.
What happens if a spread bet lands exactly on the number?
It is a push and your stake is refunded. That can only happen on a whole-number spread or total, which is why many lines end in .5.
What does PK or pick’em mean?
PK, or pick’em, means neither team is favoured. The point spread is zero, so you simply pick the winner.
Why do I need to win more than half my bets to make money?
Because of the sportsbook’s cut. At the standard -110 you need to win 52.38% of your bets just to break even. Treat betting as paid entertainment, set a limit first with our gambling budget calculator, and never chase losses.
Sports betting is only legal in some places and for adults. Always check your local laws before you bet.
How we checked this
- Moneyline odds and even money: FanDuel Research, Covers and Sporting Life.
- Point spreads, pushes and half points: FanDuel Research and Covers. Pick’em: Action Network and Casino.org.
- -110 and the 52.38% break-even: Fox Sports and Action Network.
- Totals: Fox Sports and RotoWire. Overtime rules: Action Network and Legal Sports Report.
- Soccer 3-way and draw no bet: Action Network, Covers, BettingPros and BetMGM.
- Run line and puck line: Sports Illustrated, BettingUSA and The Hockey News.
- NFL key numbers: Action Network, Covers and Doc’s Sports; the studies cover different seasons, so we give a range.
- Odds formats by region: Sporting Life, BetMGM and Wikipedia.
- Every payout, implied chance and margin on this page is our own sum, worked out with the same maths as our odds calculator.
Last checked: 8 November 2026, when we worked out every example payout ourselves and checked each betting rule against at least two independent sources.
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