The sports betting jargon and terminology can be overwhelming for an inexperienced bettor. Parlays, teasers, and round robins are only a couple of the many ways to bet on sporting events. There is, however, one concept that breaks down sports betting to its simplest form: the moneyline.
Table of content:
- What’s the Moneyline Bet?
- Understanding the Moneyline Bet Maths
- How To Place Moneyline Wager
- How To Make A Bet For Parlay
- What’s A Parlay Bet?
- What’s The Math Behind The Parlay Bet?
- How Do I Place a Parlay Bet?
What’s the Moneyline Bet?
A moneyline bet is as basic as it can be. The bettor has only one thing to do: select the winning side. Whether it’s a game, a two-team match, or a two-to-one competition, moneylines are always presented. If you put a moneyline bet on a team or person who goes on to win, you’re going to win your moneyline bet.
Understanding the Moneyline Bet Maths
While the idea of a moneyline bet is quite simple, the math involved in this bet can get somewhat complicated. There are often matches where one team is much superior to the other. However, oddsmakers are likely to place very steep odds on a major favorite, reducing the winning bet’s possible benefit. Here is an example from the NFL season 2019:
Week 2: Los Angeles Rams (-2500) vs. Carolina Panthers (+950)
In Week 2, the Los Angeles Rams were one of Carolina Panthers’ biggest moneyline favorites of the entire season. After the Ravens defeated the Panthers 59-10 in Week 1, many fans were convinced that there was no way the Panthers could beat the Rams.
OK, here’s what the moneyline numbers next to each team implies. Bettors would have had to bet $2,500 on the Rams to earn just $100. Based on the same ratio, if the bettors were to bet $100 on the Rams to win, they would have earned just $4 in returns. For many, that wouldn’t seem to be a worthwhile investment.
Given the uncertainty that the Panthers will win, their +950 moneyline would definitely appeal to more bettors. That’s because +950 means winning $950 for every $100 a bettor waged on the Panthers. As a result, the bettor will make 9.5 times whatever their initial wager was in returns.
How To Place Moneyline Wager
Once you’ve been acquainted with the concept and, more pertinently, the math behind the moneyline wager, making such a bet is pretty easy. Here are the following steps:
Placing a Moneyline Bet in person at a Sportsbook
- Walk up to the betting window and tell the betting cashier the team’s name and the name of the sports league (if necessary).
- Inform the cashier that you’d like to bet that team on the moneyline.
- Inform the cashier of the amount you are betting.
- Confirm the odds and possible payouts are satisfactory to you when they show up on the screen.
- Give your money to the cashier and collect your betting ticket in return.
Betting online on the moneyline is just as convenient. The moneyline bets will appear on the sportsbook website or app in the same area as the over/under or game spread. Find the moneyline column and then click on the moneyline for your favourite or underdog. Then enter your bet and review the payouts before clicking “confirm the bet.”
How To Make A Bet For Parlay
Every bettor, particularly sports bettors, has a good day and a bad day. The trick to betting is always to reduce losses on your bad days while getting full returns on your best days.
How many times did you predict the outcome of several games and get them all right? If you bet on all the games individually, called “straight bets,” your winnings will be good. However, if you bet all the games together as part of a single bet, called a “parlay bet,” the returns could be exponential.
Let’s break down the basics of a parlay bet and how to make such a bet at a sportsbook.
What’s A Parlay Bet?
A parlay bet is a bet involving two or more games. Games or events may come from a variety of sports. However, to win a parlay bet, one must be correct for every parlay bet. If one game or “leg” of the parlay is incorrect, the whole bet would be lost. Because these types of bets are more difficult to foresee, the payouts are much higher.
What’s The Math Behind The Parlay Bet?
You will get a really good idea of the incredible profits on a parlay bet using a parlay calculator. Here are some examples of how the parlay will work by betting on spreads against moneylines.
4-team parlay with spreads
- Leg1: Alabama Crimson Tide -6.5
- Leg2: Notre Dame Fighting Irish -24.5
- Leg3: Kansas City Chiefs +7.5
- Leg4: New York Giants -8
This is an example of how a parlay can be created by integrating college football games with the NFL. Again, for this parlay to profit, all four teams have to cover their respective spreads.
As this parlay works with spreads, check out the Fixed Odds Parlay Table on the parlay calculator. You’ll find out that this parlay is going to pay out at around 10/1 odds.
Why is it advantageous? Let’s say you’re betting $100 on this parlay. If parlay cash out, you’d make a profit of around $1000. But what if you made 4-0 bets on each of these games individually? Sportsbooks typically take a 10percent vig when you bet. As a result, every correct $100 bet on each game will net around $90. Therefore, going 4-0 by making individual bets or “straight bets” will only net a bettor of $360.
5-team parlay with moneylines
- Leg-1: Gonzaga Bulldogs -1000
- Leg-2: Duke Blue Devils -2500
- Leg-3: Milwaukee Bucks -350
- Leg-4: Michigan Wolverines -600
- Leg-5: Los Angeles Lakers -420
This form of a parlay is one of the most widely used parlays. Bettors are drawn to this form of parlay when all five teams are major favorites to win their games. Since this parlay includes moneylines, these five teams will actually have to win to get the parlay to cash out.
To find out what this parlay will pay off, go to the True Odds Parlay Calculator. After entering all the moneylines, it was discovered that a $100 parlay would yield $112.46. That’s not bad given how big of the favorites some of these teams are.
Now let’s see if a bettor has placed a $100 bet on every single favorite. Their payouts will be $10, $28.57, $4, $16.66 and $23.80 for a total of $83.03. As a result, bettors can prefer a profit of almost $30 more despite the risk of having to hit every leg of the parlay to win.
How Do I Place a Parlay Bet?
Tap on the bet you want to make when you make a sports bet on a mobile device. When you click on the bet, a screen pops up asking you how much you want to bet. For parlay bets, disregard this screen that pops up because you need to bet on several games. Just keep clicking on all the bets you want to make as part of your parlay.
Once you’ve got all the bets you need, go to your bet slip. Many sportsbooks will also show your betslip in two parts: what your bet will appear like as a parlay and all your bets as straight bets. Check the odds you’re going to get under the parlay section. If you like it, place your bet there.
Parlay bets are a bit less complicated to make at a sportsbook in-person. When you reach the cashier, the first thing you can tell them is that you “wish to make a parlay bet.” By doing this, they’re already beginning the process of structuring your bet as a parlay. Just list all the bets you’d want to make for your parlay and how much you’d like to bet. The cashier will show you all your bets and what the expected returns are for you to check. Make sure all bets are correct before confirming the transaction by handing your money to the cashier.
