What Is Point Spread And Moneyline?

June 25, 2021, by Toby Banks

Point Spread Versus Moneyline

Moneyline and point spread are two very popular markets in sports betting, especially in American sports such as baseball. Each of them has its advantages depending on the sport in which you are going to bet. In these markets, the favorite side and the underdog are differentiated. To do this, in front of the favorite team, odds there will be a plus sign (+), and in front of the underdog odds, you will see a minus sign (-). Read on, and you'll see what you need to know to decide when to bet on the moneyline and when to bet on the spread.

The Moneyline

Moneyline bets are those in which you predict which team or player will win a match. So, the only thing to think about is which side is most likely to win. Additionally, we could find value in underdogs under certain conditions. For example, an underdog playing at home could have a good chance of beating the favorite. Underdog's odds usually range from 2.0 to 4.0. They can even be higher. Thus, if you analyze your bets well and find value, you can be profitable betting on underdogs even with a hitting percentage lower than 50%.

Likewise, moneyline bets increase the chances of hitting a parlay bet if you bet on favorites. Since the favorite teams will only have to win without covering a point margin, the winning chances are higher. On the other hand, when there is a big favorite in a match, the moneyline odds are no longer attractive to bettors. Betting on the big favorite would yield very small winnings if it finally wins, which does not justify the risk involved in betting.

The Point Spread

As mentioned before, many bettors prefer to bet on the point spread in matches with a clear favorite. If you bet on the favorite, you must win by a certain number of advantage points to win your bet. On the contrary, betting on the underdog must win or may even lose by several points less than a set amount. These margins are known as the point spread. It is a way of compensating for the favoritism of one team over another. Typically, when you bet using the point spread, the worst odds you get are -110 or -120. So, this means that you will have a net profit of $ 90 if you bet $ 100 at odds of -110. If, instead of betting on the spread, you did it on the moneyline, you would have to bet much more money to get the same profit.

The point spread disadvantage is that the team you choose must cover the spread for the bet to win. If you bet on a point spread of -3, it means that the team must win by more than three points. If they win by exactly three points, the bookie will return the money wagered. A similar principle applies to underdogs. If you bet on a spread of +3, your team must win, or else they must not lose by more than three points. If you lose by three points exactly, the bookie will return your money too. These are the main differences between moneyline bets and point spread bets. Each of them requires different betting techniques. However, knowing how to take advantage of them can lead you to be very profitable.

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