Arguably the most accessible form of betting, money line is what most regular bettors use as well as the preferred choice for newcomers. Below you’ll learn the fundamentals of money line betting.

Looking to bet on sports? This guide teaches everything needed to make money betting on sports whether you're wagering online or in-person. A burst of sports betting-associated bills in state legislatures followed the 2018 court ruling. As any skilled sports bettor knows, it is very essential. Moneylines used in sports betting differ from point spreads and are usually used in sports where scoring is low, like baseball and boxing.

Overview
Of all types of betting, money line is perhaps the most straightforward: to win you must bet on the competitor that will win the contest. Unlike point spread betting, money lines doesn’t add or subtract any points from the outcome of the game. The final result is all that matters.

Money line is used for all manner of sporting events, which either rely or don’t rely on a point-based scoring system. Basketball, football, and handball are examples of team-based games in which results are presented as a score. Note that money line is frequently used as an alternative to point spread for these games.

Rules
The following money lines rules are by far the most commonly encountered.
Bookmakers use the signs “+” and “-” to denote how the betting is carried out. In order to win $100, the bettor must make a bet that matches the figure which comes right after the “-” sign. To win the amount shown after the “+” sign (which is more than $100) you must bet at least $100.
To win, your the competitor or team you’ve chosen must win the game.
Usually bookmakers declare contests that end in a tie as no action.
Point spread bets and money line bets cannot be used at the same time on the same team or competitor. On the other hand, totals bets and money line bets can be combined.

Example
The first example is about a supposed tennis match, say a Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. The bookmaker advertises the following bet: Nadal (-140) to beat Federer (+120). Under these circumstances, you must bet $140 to win $100 if Nadal beats Federer. On the other hand, you must bet $100 to win $120 if Federer wins the game.

The second example is about a supposed Champions League encounter between F.C. Barcelona and Real Madrid, where the bookmaker features the following bet: F.C. Barcelona (-160) to beat Real Madrid (+160). In this case you must place a bet of $160 to win $100 if F.C. Barcelona wins. Alternatively, you must bet $100 to win $160 if Real Madrid wins.
Note that “$100” is given as a reference by bookmakers. The sum you can bet and your possible winnings are scalable. For example, you can bet $10 on Real Madrid and win $16.

Notes
As it has been made clear above, money line is entirely about who wins the game – the difference in the final score doesn’t matter. The way money lines works puts emphasis on the underdog, and bookmakers tend to earn substantially only when the underdog wins. Therefore, they have to take far greater risks with money lines than with point spread. This is the reason why the winnings that come with money line, though undoubtedly attractive, tend generally to be somewhat lower when compared to those of point spread betting.

You must do your homework and bet selectively.
Winning 60-65% of your sports bets is a realistic target.

Winning sports bets is all about skill. The challenge is to gather and analyze as much information as you can about a game, weigh the probabilities of each team winning, and subsequently compare your opinion to the oddsmaker's.

While luck may be a deciding factor in the outcome of any single game, and will inevitably go against the bettor on occasion, it will balance out in the long run.

Being a consistent winner in sports betting is not about luck but whether the bettor is prepared to invest the time and effort to become knowledgeable about the sports he bets on, whether he can weigh all the factors in a cool, objective fashion, and whether he adopts a consistent, disciplined, long-term approach to betting.

The bookmaker is simply a middle-man who operates on a small profit margin and, ideally likes to see half the money wagered on one team and half on the other, assuring a profit.

If too much of the money goes on one team, the bookmaker will move the line or point spread to encourage bets on the other team in an effort to balance his book.

The person the bettor is attempting to beat is the oddsmaker, and the oddsmaker's views on each team's chances.

Just by flipping a coin, bettors will be right 50% of the time. At odds of 10/11, only 52.4% of the bettor's bets have to win for him to overcome the bookmaker's profit and break even, so he only needs a very small edge to become a winner.

So bettors must do their homework and bet selectively.

Winning 55% of your bets is definitely achievable, and 60-65% is a realistic target. At those levels, the sports bettor will have an extremely profitable and enjoyable hobby.

NBA MONEY LINES

Betting On Sports Money Line

How To Bet On A Money Line

NCAAM MONEY LINES

A Point Spread is the number of points added to or subtracted from a team's actual score for betting purposes.

The favorite is indicated by the minus sign '-' and the underdog is indicated by the plus sign '+'. To determine the winner for betting purposes, the Point Spread is added to the final score of the team you bet on. Point Spread rules are as follows:

• To win a point spread bet, the team the bettor wagered on must win by the given Point Spread.

• On certain events you can adjust the point spread by buying points.

• Games that tie when taking the point spread into consideration are no action which means the original bet amount will be refunded.

• The odds are $1.10 to win $1.00 (-110) unless otherwise indicated.

• The bettor cannot place a Point Spread bet on opposing teams.

• The bettor cannot place a Money Line and a Point Spread bet on the same team.

• The bettor can place a Point Spread bet on one team and a Money Line bet on the opposing team.

• The bettor can combine a Point Spread bet with a Totals bet.

• The Point Spread may change between the time the bettor places his bet and the time the event starts; regardless, his bet is subject to the point spread displayed at the time he placed his bet.

For example, the bettor wagers on Miami -7 to beat Buffalo +7. The following table shows possible wager results on three final scores.

Explain Sports Betting Money Line