How Do Betting Odds Work?
As a bettor who has already bet on the Celtics at -1, this new line gives you a prime opportunity to bet the Lakers at +7 and “middle” the game with a chance to win two bets. Now that you have both Celtics -1 and Lakers +7 tickets, you can win both bets if the Celtics win by anywhere from 2 to 6 points, netting $200 profit. If the Celtics win by 1 or 7 points, you win one bet, and push the other, netting you $100 profit. And in the worst case scenario, you win one bet and lose the other, forfeiting a mere $10 in total bankroll.
He holds a BA in economics and writes about Game Theory, poker, and all things gambling and sports betting. Blue Jays9-1.5XNY Yankees7+1.5In the above example, subtracting 1.5 runs from Toronto gives you a score of 2.5 – 2. As with our other example, if we add 1.5 runs on a Yankee outcome we end up with a score of 3.5 – 4, meaning your Yankees bet loses.
Likewise, if more money is being placed on the Steelers the spread will increase to 5 or 5.5. The shift is because the sportsbooks need to balance out the money wagered between the two sides. There are no limits or restrictions on how often a line can move. Lines can also move in both directions as sportsbooks might change the Bills, +5.5, and Steelers, -5.5. That movement could entice Bills bettors and with enough money bet on the Bills the line could return to +4.5 and -4.5 respectably. TeamsMoneylineNew York Jets+240New England Patriots-280A favorite (e.g. Patriots -280) on the money line works just like our bet price example above.
If they get smaller, then the majority is going on the underdog. Here, the Maple Leafs are the favorite – you need to bet $135 on them to win $100. The Bruins are dogs – if you bet $100 on them you stand to win $125. So, we know that sometimes line movement is orchestrated by sportsbooks to entice people to bet on a specific side of the bet, generally to balance the house’s action.
This is a simple wager on which team will win a particular game. Odds compilers will weigh up the relative strengths and weaknesses of each team, factoring in head-to-head records, injuries, fatigue, motivation levels, home advantage and so on. They will then assign a set of sports betting odds to each team. The most popular sports bets are based on the point spread. The point spread represents the margin of points in which the favored team must win the game by to “cover the spread.” Bets on the point spread are usually offered at 11 to 10 odds.
If the other side of the bet wins, the math is going to work out exactly the same. Because they were able to get the right amount of money on each side of the bet they were able to secure a win for the sportsbook no matter which side of the bet won. You may be asking yourself how the sportsbook makes their money here if they’re just taking the loser’s money to pay the winners. Well, if things were completely fair , they wouldn’t be +120 and -130. That difference there is the juice that the casino is taking off the top as their profit.