What do plus and minus odds mean

The driver with the better finish in the race wins the matchup. Both drivers must start for action. For example, a matchup may pit Dale Jarrett minus against Bobby Labonte plus To bet on baseball, tell the ticket writer the bet number of the team you wish to bet and the amount you wish to wager.

If your team wins the game, you win. The payout varies according to the odds posted. Baseball odds are shown using a "Money Line. A "minus" - preceding the number indicates the team is a favorite. On Today's Line we use a different format, the idea is the same. You will not find the odds for the Underdog. The Underdog's odds are based on what the casino has for its line.

Most use a "Dime Line" or something close to that. Here are two more examples of a dime line and a cent line. See whether you can tell them apart. You can arrive at the underdog's price by looking at the favorite's line. Dime lines are slowly disappearing as sports books look to make a larger profit during what is traditionally the slowest betting season.

Several books still offer dime lines. Money lines change constantly. The listed money line the time you make your bet may be different from the money line when the game starts. The listed line on your ticket is your official odds, unless starting pitcher is changed. This is explained later. You may wager that the total score of the game will be more or less than the number listed. It makes no difference which team wins. Simply add the final scores of each team.

If either doesn't happen, the bet is refunded. A favorite must win by 2 runs or more, or the underdog must either: a Win the game. The payout varies according to the money line odds assigned to each outcome. Note: Same rules apply to run line bets as totals. Baseball parlays are figured out by calculating the payout for the first game, based on the money line, then applying that amount to the next game, and so-forth. If a game is postponed for any reason, the parlay reduces by one team.

The bet is treated as if the postponed game were never included in the parlay. Simply ask the betting attendant at your favorite sports book what your payout would be before placing the bet. When making a baseball bet, you are betting team vs. You have the option to specify that either or both listed pitchers must start the game.

Since baseball odds are determined on starting pitchers, any late pitching changes often force an adjustment in the odds. This will increase or decrease the payout on a winning ticket. However, if you list starting pitchers, and your pitcher doesn't start, then the bet is refunded. To bet on basketball, tell the ticket writer the bet number of the team you wish to bet, with the point spread, and the amount you wish to wager.

The Point Spread: When betting on basketball, the team you bet on must "cover the spread. The point spread is always placed to the immediate right of the team that is favored. In this example, if you bet the Bulls, the Bulls must win by 4 points for you to win your bet. If you bet the Lakers, any of the following will declare you a winner. If the Bulls win by exactly 3 points then the wager is declared a push and all money is refunded.

Point spreads change constantly. The listed point spread the time you make your bet may be different from the point spread when the game starts. The point spread that is listed on your ticket is your official spread.

It makes no difference which team covers the spread. Simply add the final score of each team. You may combine several teams into one wager. Odds and the number of teams vary from casino to casino. The following are approximate odds:. Any game that results in a push reduces the parlay one team. A two-team parlay would become a straight bet. This increases the probability of winning your bet but decreases the odds of the parlay.

Odds and the number of points available to "tease" vary from casino to casino. To bet on boxing, tell the ticket writer the bet number of the boxer you wish to bet and the amount you wish to wager. Boxing odds are shown using a "Money Line.

A "minus" - preceding the number indicates a favorite. Tyson is favored to win the bout. Boxing matches often feature money line proposition wagers on knockouts, draws, rounds and the duration of the fight. Still, the oddsmakers have to choose which party is the underdog, and which is the favorite.

The moneyline odds for Super Bowl 54 at BookMaker sportsbook looked like this:. In this example, the 49ers carried the plus sign and were, therefore, the underdog.

The Chiefs took the minus sign and were, hence, the favorite. Since both numbers behind the plus and minus signs were close to , you could tell that both teams were a close match for each other. With odds like this, you could have expected a game full of fireworks.

Once you understand the meaning of the signs that you see a lot across the sports betting landscape, it's time to dive into practical matters.

It should be clear that with the American odds, you can make way more bets than simply the moneyline bets. We want to show a few of the most popular examples and point out how to calculate your potential payout. The kind of bets you can start wagering on today are:. We slightly went into the moneyline bets already, but we want to provide a deeper understanding of this type of bet.

To calculate your payout for a moneyline bet, you should know that the holy number is dollars. Let's imagine Bill from Las Vegas wants to place a bet on this match. The odds are as follows:. In this example, the Los Angeles Lakers are the favorite, while the Warriors are the underdog. In moneyline betting, two terms are prevalent: a bet can be straight up, or you can make a straight bet.

Straight bets are types of betting wagers on a single sporting event that carries a point spread, the final score of a game, moneyline, run line or puck line. You might wonder, doesn't that cover basically all games? The difference here is that a bet is only straight up when it regards a single sporting event -- the bet should not cross multiple games. This term is very common across moneyline bets as they always regard a single game. The point spread bet is there to give bettors the possibility to bet on any kind of match, no matter the skill difference between the two teams.

You bet on the difference in the number of points between the two teams. Sportsbook Bonuses. Sports Betting Calculators. How to Bet On Sports. Betting Education. Casino Gaming. Top Stories.

Point Spread Definition. Point Spread Examples, How it Works.