What is a money line in sports betting?

What is a money line in sports betting?

when people bet the money line are they betting just the outcome with no odds having to be met? For example say if it was between the lakers and the heat.

Lakers -10
Heat +10

What if i bet the money line instead of the spread line. Would the lakers just have to win in order for me to win? What kind of bet is that called when you just bet on the winner with no spread line involved?

Answer

A money line bet is a type of sports bet where you are wagering on the outcome of a game based on the team’s straight-up victory or defeat, without any spread or margin of victory involved. In essence, you are simply betting on which team will win the game.

Using the example you provided, if you were to bet on the Lakers’ money line, you would simply need the Lakers to win the game in order to win your bet. The odds for each team in a money line bet will be expressed in a positive or negative number. The team that is favored to win will have a negative number next to their name, while the underdog will have a positive number.

In your example, the Lakers are favored to win, so they would have a negative money line. Let’s say the money line odds for the Lakers are -200. This means that you would need to bet $200 on the Lakers to win $100 in profit. On the other hand, the Heat would be considered the underdog, so they would have a positive money line. If the money line odds for the Heat were +150, you would win $150 in profit for a $100 bet on the Heat if they were to win the game.

Overall, a money line bet is a straightforward way to bet on a team’s outright victory without having to worry about the point spread. However, since the odds for money line bets can vary widely based on the perceived strength of each team, it’s important to do your research and make informed bets in order to maximize your chances of winning.