What is a Moneyline Bet? - Moneyline Betting Explained, Examples & Tips
Moneyline wagers are arguably the most popular bets you can place in sports betting. But what exactly is a moneyline bet, and how does it work in practice?
Here we explain everything you need to know about this popular sports wager to help you make winning selections throughout the sports season at Stake Sportsbook.
What is a Moneyline Bet?
In a moneyline bet, you place a wager on one of three outcomes on a sporting event – a win, a tie, or a loss. You can decide which team to back and select which outcome you think is most likely. As a result, a moneyline wager is one of the simplest bets you can place when betting on sports.
How Does Moneyline Betting Work?
When considering moneyline odds, you need to be able to identify the favourite (the team most likely to win) and the underdog (the team most likely to lose). Of course, upsets are possible in all sports, but the favourite will have shorter odds in the betting line due to their anticipated victory.
Here, the Packers are favourites to beat the Browns, shown by their negative odds. We know the Browns are the underdog team because of their positive odds.
Now, in the American odds format, the +150 indicates how much you stand to win from a 100.00 bet on the Browns (underdogs). For example, a $100 wager on the Cleveland Browns would win $150 (not including the original wager).
Whilst the –135 indicates how much you would need to bet on the Packers (favourites) to win 100.00. For example, a $135 bet would win $100 (not including the original bet).
Wagering on the sports betting favourite means you need to bet more money than the potential profit you'll win - this is often known as layering money and is often a successful betting strategy used on popular sporting events.
While we’ve used the NFL as an example, you can place moneyline wagers on various upcoming sporting events and fixtures.
Outcome of Moneyline Bets
There are two or three potential outcomes in moneyline betting:
Win: You bet on a specific team or player to defeat the other.
Loss: You bet on a specific team or player to lose the fixture.
Draw/Tie: You bet on the fixture to end as a tie. Not all sporting contests can finish in a tie, so this third option will not always be open to sports bettors.
Types of Moneyline Bets
There are a few different types of moneyline bets to be aware of:
Two-way Moneyline: A two-way moneyline allows you to bet on two outcomes – the win or loss. If the teams tie, you'll get your original wager back (also called a push).
Three-way Moneyline: A three-way moneyline offers three betting options – win, loss, or tie. This is also more commonly known as a 1x2 bet. You can read more about how 1x2 betting works in our detailed guide.
Parlay Moneyline: Where available, parlay moneylines offer 2+ fixtures and enable you to lengthen your odds.
Are Moneyline Bets Good Bets?
There's no doubt that moneyline bets can offer a decent potential payout, particularly if you can identify good value in the betting markets. But perhaps the best thing about a moneyline wager is its simplicity – you're simply betting on which team or player you think will win or lose, taking all of the complexity out of online sports betting.
Moneyline vs Spread Betting
Spread betting (also known as the point spread) differs slightly from moneyline betting. Simply, a point spread bet is a wager on a team after a handicap has been applied. If you back the favourite, they will have to win by a designated number of points for your bet to be successful. If you support the underdog, provided that they don’t lose by a specific number of points, you will still win your wager.
Can you Parlay Moneyline Bets?
Yes, you can parlay moneyline bets. Building a parlay bet is a great way to improve your odds if you’re keen to back the heavy favourites in a moneyline. Rather than betting on each team or player individually, you can include multiple selections in the same slip to boost the potential return you receive.
Pros & Cons of Moneyline Betting
Ask any experienced bettors, and they will tell you that, while moneyline wagers are one of the most popular options for sports betting beginners and professionals alike, there are pros and cons to consider, as with all forms of bets. We’ve broken down some of the main positives and negatives to keep in mind when choosing moneyline in sports betting:
Pros:
Simplicity: This is one of the simplest types of bets around. It’s a straightforward wager where all you have to do is consider what you see as the most likely outcome. Additionally, understanding the odds is easy compared to many other bets.
Available on many sports: Moneyline odds are offered for almost every sport, competition, and fixture you can imagine. Whether you’re placing bets on darts or college football, or even staking on Esports like League of Legends, you will find moneyline options.
Flexible bet type: Possibly one of the best parts of moneyline betting is how easily you can fold them into things like parlays to get more value out of your odds. You can even use our expected value guide to help assess your bet.
Cons:
Choice at a minimum: Because moneyline bets are so simple, there’s not a lot of variation. Unlike proposition betting, where you have much more choice, moneyline is very cut and dry.
Need to work hard for value: Because moneyline odds are often quite tight, with either a heavy favourite on small odds or two evenly-matched sides keeping them low, you have to work to get value by creating a parlay.
Live Betting with Moneylines
As well as pre-match parlays, you can place live moneyline wagers when the action is underway. This is perfect if you haven’t yet placed a bet during game time. Just be mindful that moneyline wagers are much more likely to change in live markets because the odds respond to the action taking place.
There are a lot of different sports that you can place moneyline wagers on. Any sport that has definitive outcomes at the end of a fixture - win, lose, or tie - is a good choice for placing this sort of bet.
Moneyline odds are simple to understand due to the nature of this kind of betting. As you are simply choosing what you think the most likely outcome is, there isn’t a lot of variance in the odds.
You can choose from the American odds format, the decimal format, or fractional, and use our guide to major odds formats to help you identify the favorites and where the value is and how to calculate your potential payout. In most cases, this will be your stake amount multiplied by the odds you have chosen, plus your stake back. However, the calculation will differ based on your selected odds format.
Odds can change leading up to a game, and even in-game, because they are determined by lots of different variants, such as form, player availability, and even weather. Because of this, you need to make sure you keep up to date on what’s happening in the sport, and you can use our sports betting guide for help with all the basics of placing your moneyline bet.
So, how do you make the most of moneyline betting to walk away with a decent profit? Here are some moneyline betting tips to make the most of at Stake.com:
Always consider form and injuries before placing a moneyline bet, as these both influence a team’s chances of winning.
Don’t just pick the favourite and hope for the best – it's vital to research the circumstances around a match to get a good idea of how likely a team is to win.
We recommend developing a sports betting strategy that works best for you! Check out our guides to some of the most popular wagering systems and strategies, including the Martingale system, the Labouchere system and the 1-3-2-6 betting system.
Sports Promotions, Stake VIP Club & Responsible Gambling
We wish you luck as you place your moneyline wagers at Stake's online sportsbook. Be sure to read through our terms and conditions to fully understand everything you need to know. Additionally, if you feel like your gaming is no longer fun, our responsible gambling guides and resources can help, including our Stake Smart initiative.
