money line

the ‘money line’ can be used with all traditional sports and just about anything else you can wager on (football, basketball, baseball, hockey, boxing, tennis, golf, nascar, soccer, etc.). in a ‘money line’ there is no point spread. the money line determines the amount of money laid and the amount of money won when wagering on either the favorite or the underdog. the highest negative money line determines the favorite team, and the lowest negative money line and all positive money lines determine the underdog. the most common case is the favorite with a negative line and the underdog with a positive one.
dodgers +110
astros -120
in this example the astros are favored by -120 and the dodgers are the underdog +110. when wagering on the favorite (astros), you have to lay $120 for every $100 you want to win. and, when wagering on the underdog (dodgers), for every $100 wagered you would win $110. notice that on a negative money line you must lay more to win less and on a positive money line you lay less to win more.
the money line used in this example is called a ‘dime line’, termed so because of the 10-cent difference between the favorite and the underdog.
money lines are used most often in baseball season. the typical baseball format includes both a money line for the side and a money line for the total. if you wish to wager on the over, you have to lay $120 for every $100 you want to win. if you wish to wager on the under, it is an even money wager (ev) and for every $100 you lay, you win $100.
mets -240 7 -120
astros +220 ev
the line in the above example would read: “mets favorite minus two-forty, total seven, over minus one-twenty.”
on the side:
for every $240 you wager on the mets (favorite), you will win $100.
for every $100 you wager on the astros (underdog), you will win $220.
on the total:
for every $120 you wager on the over, you will win $100.
for every $100 you wager on the under, you will win $100.
get it?