What Does Moneyline Mean? Moneyline Betting Explained

What Is a Moneyline Bet?

The moneyline is the simplest bet in sports betting. You pick who wins the game, and if they win, you win your bet. The score doesn't matter. A one-point win pays the same as a 30-point blowout.

Every game on a sportsbook has a moneyline. It looks something like this:

The Bills are the favorite at -175 and the Dolphins are the underdog at +150. That's it. Pick the winner.

What makes moneyline betting different from spread betting is simplicity. There's no handicap, no points to cover, and no math to figure out whether your team "covered." They either win or they don't.

How Moneyline Odds Work

Moneyline odds are expressed using positive and negative numbers anchored to $100. The sign tells you whether the team is favored or not, and the number tells you the payout ratio.

Negative Odds (Favorites)

A negative number shows how much you need to bet to win $100 in profit.

• -150 means you bet $150 to win $100 profit (total return: $250)
• -200 means you bet $200 to win $100 profit (total return: $300)
• -110 means you bet $110 to win $100 profit (total return: $210)

The larger the negative number, the bigger the favorite. A team at -400 is a much heavier favorite than a team at -120.

Why do you need to risk more to win less? Because the favorite wins more often. The odds reflect that higher probability, so the payout is lower.

Positive Odds (Underdogs)

A positive number shows how much profit you win on a $100 bet.

• +150 means you win $150 profit on a $100 bet (total return: $250)
• +200 means you win $200 profit on a $100 bet (total return: $300)
• +500 means you win $500 profit on a $100 bet (total return: $600)

The larger the positive number, the bigger the underdog. A team at +800 is a heavy longshot, while a team at +110 is close to a toss-up.

Underdogs pay more because they win less often. You're being compensated for taking on more risk.

Even Money (+100)

When a game is a true pick'em with no clear favorite, both sides are priced at or near +100 (also called "even money"). Bet $100, win $100. Some books may price it at -105/-105 or -110/+100, depending on how they build in their margin.

You don't see +100 on both sides very often because sportsbooks charge a vig (juice) on every bet. But it does happen, particularly in closely matched games.

Moneyline Payout Examples

Here's a reference table showing what you'd win at different moneyline odds on a $100 bet:

To calculate payouts for a specific stake, use our odds converter calculator.

What Does +200 Moneyline Mean?

A +200 moneyline means the team is an underdog and you win $200 in profit for every $100 you bet. If you place a $50 bet at +200, you win $100 profit and receive $150 back total (your $50 stake plus $100 profit).

Here's what +200 looks like in practice:

Example: The New York Knicks are +200 underdogs against the Boston Celtics. You bet $100 on the Knicks. If the Knicks win the game by any score, you collect $300 total ($100 stake + $200 profit). If the Celtics win, you lose your $100.

The implied probability at +200 is 33.3%, meaning the sportsbook estimates the team has roughly a one-in-three chance of winning. If you believe the team actually wins more than 33.3% of the time, that's a value bet.

What Does -150 Moneyline Mean?

A -150 moneyline means the team is favored and you need to bet $150 to win $100 in profit. If you bet $75 at -150, you win $50 profit and receive $125 back total.

Example: The Philadelphia Eagles are -150 favorites against the Dallas Cowboys. You bet $150 on the Eagles. If Philly wins by any margin, you collect $250 total ($150 stake + $100 profit). If the Cowboys win, you lose your $150.

The implied probability at -150 is 60%, meaning the sportsbook prices this team as winning roughly 6 out of every 10 games. You need to decide whether you think that probability is accurate, too high, or too low.

Moneyline vs Spread: What's the Difference?

Both are available on almost every game, but they work very differently.

Example of the same game:

If you bet the Chiefs moneyline at -200, they just need to win. If you bet them at -4.5, they need to win by 5 or more points. The spread bet is cheaper ($110 to win $100) but harder to win.

If you bet the Bengals at +170 moneyline, they need to win outright. At +4.5, they can lose by up to 4 points and you still cash. The spread bet is easier to win but pays less.

For a deeper breakdown, read our full guide on moneyline vs spread betting.

Does Moneyline Include Overtime?

Yes. In the NFL, NBA, NHL, and most American sports, moneyline bets include overtime (and any other extra periods). If your team wins in overtime, your moneyline bet wins. If they lose in overtime, your bet loses.

Here's how it works by sport:

The soccer exception: In soccer, the standard moneyline (called a three-way or 1X2 market) covers 90 minutes plus stoppage time only. If a match goes to extra time or penalties (in cup competitions), the 90-minute result stands for betting purposes. Some sportsbooks offer a separate "to qualify" or "to advance" market that includes extra time and penalties.

This is an important distinction. If you bet the moneyline on a Champions League knockout match and your team is tied after 90 minutes, your three-way moneyline bet on either team loses (the draw wins). You'd need the "to qualify" market to cover extra time.

Moneyline Betting by Sport

Moneyline odds look very different depending on the sport. Scoring frequency, parity between teams, and the possibility of draws all affect how books price the moneyline.

NFL Moneyline

NFL games are relatively low-scoring and competitive. Most regular season games have moneyline odds in the -150 to +130 range, making moneyline bets reasonable on both favorites and underdogs.

Typical pricing:

• Close game: Chiefs -130 / Chargers +110
• Moderate favorite: 49ers -200 / Cardinals +170
• Heavy favorite: Ravens -350 / Panthers +280

NFL moneyline bets include overtime. Underdogs win roughly 35% of NFL games outright, which is why you'll often see value on the moneyline in football.

NBA Moneyline

NBA moneylines tend to be wider than football. Better teams win more consistently in basketball, and the higher scoring volume means fewer fluky outcomes.

Typical pricing:

• Close game: Celtics -140 / Bucks +120
• Moderate favorite: Nuggets -250 / Wizards +210
• Heavy favorite: Thunder -500 / Trail Blazers +400

Be cautious with heavy NBA favorites on the moneyline. Laying -400 or worse means risking $400 to win $100, and NBA upsets happen more often than those odds suggest.

MLB Moneyline

Baseball is the moneyline sport. Because runs are scarce and a single swing can change everything, MLB games rarely have massive moneyline gaps. Most games are priced between -200 and +180.

Typical pricing:

• Close game: Dodgers -130 / Padres +110
• Moderate favorite: Yankees -180 / Royals +155
• Heavy favorite: Braves -220 / Rockies +185

Point spreads exist in baseball (called the "run line" at 1.5 runs), but the moneyline is the dominant way to bet MLB. More than 70% of baseball bets are moneyline wagers.

Soccer Moneyline (Three-Way)

Soccer works differently because draws happen all the time. The standard soccer moneyline is a three-way market: Home Win, Draw, or Away Win.

Typical pricing:

• Liverpool -150 / Draw +240 / Arsenal +350

Because there are three outcomes instead of two, each individual outcome has a lower probability, which means higher payouts across the board. A -150 favorite in soccer has a very different implied probability than a -150 favorite in the NFL because draws soak up a chunk of the probability.

Remember: soccer moneylines cover 90 minutes plus stoppage time. Extra time and penalties are not included.

How to Calculate Moneyline Payouts

You won't pull out a calculator before every bet, but knowing the formulas makes it easier to spot good and bad prices.

For negative odds (favorites):

Profit = Stake x (100 / |Odds|)

Example: $75 bet at -150

Profit = $75 x (100 / 150) = $50
Total return = $75 + $50 = $125

For positive odds (underdogs):

Profit = Stake x (Odds / 100)

Example: $75 bet at +200

Profit = $75 x (200 / 100) = $150
Total return = $75 + $150 = $225

Converting to implied probability:

For negative odds:

Implied probability = |Odds| / (|Odds| + 100)

For positive odds:

Implied probability = 100 / (Odds + 100)

Example: -150 → 150 / (150 + 100) = 60%. +200 → 100 / (200 + 100) = 33.3%.

For more on odds formats and conversions, see our guide on how to read betting odds. Or skip the math entirely and use our odds converter.

When to Bet the Moneyline vs the Spread

The right choice depends on the matchup and how confident you are in the outcome.

Bet the moneyline when:

• Small favorites (-110 to -150). The cost difference between the moneyline and spread is small, and you eliminate the risk of winning by too narrow a margin.
• You like an underdog to win outright. If you think the Bengals will actually beat the Chiefs (not just keep it close), the moneyline payout is significantly better than the spread.
• Low-scoring sports. In baseball and hockey, games are often decided by one or two runs/goals. The moneyline avoids the risk of covering a spread in a sport where margins are thin.
• You want simplicity. No need to worry about half-points, pushes, or backdoor covers.

Bet the spread when:

• Heavy favorites (-250 and beyond). Laying -250 on the moneyline means risking $250 to win $100. The spread gives you a much better price, usually near -110, though the team must win by a certain margin.
• You think a team will keep it close but lose. The spread lets you back an underdog without needing them to win. At +6.5, they can lose by a touchdown and you still cash.
• High-scoring sports with large margins. In the NBA, where blowouts are common, the spread gives favorites a better risk-to-reward ratio than the moneyline.

What Does +350 Moneyline Mean?

A +350 moneyline means you win $350 in profit for every $100 wagered. The implied probability is 22.2%, so the sportsbook is pricing this team as a clear underdog. If you bet $50 at +350, you win $175 profit and receive $225 back total.