All you need to know about: Moneyline Betting
Diving into sports betting? Then you'll hear about "moneyline betting" straight away. It's the most common way to wager on sports, and simple to grasp. But there are still nuances to consider, and this guide breaks them down for Irish punters.
Understanding moneyline bets is crucial because you'll find them offered on virtually every sport you can bet on. So, whether you're backing the Boys in Green or fancy a flutter on the horses, knowing your moneylines is a must.
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What is Moneyline Betting?
Moneyline Betting Explained
Moneyline betting is the most straightforward wager in any sports event. Essentially, you're just picking which team or athlete you believe will win. If it's a team sport, like football, basketball, or hurling, you simply select the team you want to back. For Irish bettors, this is a familiar concept.
For individual events such as tennis or boxing, you bet on a specific athlete to emerge victorious. Some sportsbooks also offer moneyline betting on events with multiple competitors, like Formula 1, track and field, or swimming.
What is Moneyline Betting Good For?
As mentioned, moneyline betting is the most straightforward way to place a wager. Online sportsbooks present a wide array of betting options, some requiring more in-depth knowledge. Betting on spreads, totals, individual totals, quarters, halftimes, or over/under bets demand specific expertise. In contrast, moneyline betting is easily grasped by most sports enthusiasts.
With online moneyline betting, all you need to do is pick your team or athlete, settle in, and enjoy the event while cheering for your chosen contender.
If you find watching sports events enjoyable, a moneyline bet can significantly amp up the excitement. Getting together with mates who share your passion for sports betting in Ireland and watching a game with your wagers in play adds an extra layer of fun, especially if you're backing opposing teams.
Why Do Bettors Choose Moneyline Betting?
Most bettors, particularly newcomers to sports betting, opt for moneyline wagers due to the fundamental assumption that every team or athlete is driven to win the current match or event. It's a simple, intuitive approach for Irish punters.
Another appeal of moneyline betting is its time efficiency. You can quickly visit the best online betting website, check the schedule, and place your bets. You can wager on a single game or combine multiple selections into a parlay bet.
Many sportsbooks allow you to combine bets from various sports into a single wager. While some platforms have no limit on the number of games you can include, others may cap it, typically around 20.
How Do Moneyline Bets Work?
Possible Outcomes in Moneyline Betting
Depending on the sport, there are usually two or three potential outcomes. For basketball, baseball, ice hockey, or tennis, a moneyline bet typically involves two options: a win or loss for a specific team or player. For sports like football or boxing, a draw (tie) is also a possibility.
Most online bookies provide moneyline options tailored to the rules of each sport. This means you can often bet on a draw outcome even in sports like basketball or ice hockey.
For such a bet to win, the basketball or ice hockey game must conclude in a draw within regulation time (e.g., 40 or 48 minutes for basketball, 60 minutes for ice hockey). If this happens, your bet wins regardless of any overtime outcomes.
Moneyline Betting Odds Explained
The key element of moneyline betting is the given odds for each of the options in which a certain sporting event can finish. The betting odds or wagers vary depending on the perceived possibility a certain team or athlete will win a given sporting event.
When looking at potential betting options and the perceived possibility a certain team or athlete will win, there are three components of a moneyline odds or wagers: the favorite, the underdog and even.
The Favorite
A favorite is a team or an athlete who is most likely to win. The likeliness of the winning is based on quality, recent form, competition, home court advantage, injuries, head-to-head matchups, the importance of the game and many other factors that influence the odds.
For example, if you want to place a bet on a basketball game between the United States and China, the options for each team to win will have way different odds simply because the United States are widely considered as the best basketball team in the world for decades while China has a limited quality.
The odds for the favorites are most of the time starting with a minus (-).
The Underdog
The underdog is the team or the athlete who is less likely to win. Placing a bet on an underdog gives you an opportunity to win much more than what your bet is, which even is less likely, sometimes really pays off.
The best moneyline bettors know how to sense a possible upset and when those teams or athletes win, the amount they get from their bet is a couple of times bigger than the placed amount.
Each NCAA basketball tournament brings many upsets and whoever places the right bets would say that he has had a good season.
The odds for the underdogs are most of the time starting with plus (+).
The Even
An ‘even’ games are the ones where either team or player has similar chances to win. For example, if you want to place a bet on a game between France and Argentina in the FIFA World Cup, the odds for a win of each of the teams will be really close which makes the pick more difficult but the possible win much higher than when you bet on the favorite.
How and why do moneyline odds change?
The moneyline odds for a given sporting event are changeable from the moment they are posted until the game starts. You can see them going up and down and being different at different online bookmakers.
The reasons for that can be different. Usually, the odds change if a certain player or multiple players are ruled out of a game with injuries or other personal reasons. Another reason for the odds to go up or down is the amount of money a certain bookmaker has received on certain betting options.
For example, if there is more money than usual or expected placed on the Boston Celtics defeating the Los Angeles Lakers, the odds for the Celtics’ win will drop.
If the odds changing will affect the betting really comes up to the player himself. Roster changes or the number of bets placed on a certain option may or may not have a valuable impact on the game itself and is up to the player if he will take them into consideration.
Should you bet on the moneyline?
If you as a sports fan want to add some excitement to watching a game or show loyalty and belief to your favorite team or player, moneyline is the right choice for you. Having a bet placed on a win of a certain team or a player gives you an additional feeling that you are a part of the game which can be real fun if the game goes according to your expectations.
Another reason why you should pick moneyline betting is that it is the easiest to follow. Whether you are watching the game or you are only following the score, all it requires is one look and the screen and you know where your bet stands at the moment.
Tips and tricks on moneyline betting
There are multiple factors you need to pay attention to if you decide to place your bet using moneyline betting especially if you are serious about it.
You will need to get all the info on the current roster and injury report on a certain team, recent form, how busy their schedule is, the time spent traveling by the team, team record, the history of the head-to-head games and the importance of the game for both teams.
All these factors make even more of a difference when it comes to individual sports such as tennis or boxing.
If you take sports betting more seriously, you definitely need to build a short or long term strategy. You need to choose if you are going to place single bets or parlay bets if you are going to stick to a certain team or a sport or if you will mix all of these. As deeper you go, it will require more time but whatever you choose you will need luck.
FAQs
What is the difference between moneyline and spread?
Moneyline betting is choosing which team or a player will win the game while a spread is placing a bet with a given handicap that makes the chances for both outcomes of the game even.
Do moneyline odds differ from one sportsbook to another?
If you compare the odds for a specific game given by multiple bookmakers, there will definitely be differences. These differences will not be large but if you are placing a single bet and you involve a decent amount of money, picking the best odds makes a difference.
Can moneyline odds changes affect my bet after I have placed it?
No. Once you place your bet on certain odds, those odds are relevant no matter how much and in which direction they will change after your have placed you bet.
On which sports I can bet using moneyline betting?
Moneyline betting is the basic betting game and is offered by every bookmaker. Therefore, you can use moneyline betting in any given sport by the bookmakers.
