The magic number in sports betting is -110 because it defines the amount required by a sportsbook to earn $100 on either side of most wagers. A bettor must lay $110 to win $100. As a sports bettor, you probably have seen loads of different ways to display odds. And it varies country-by-country. In American sports betting, the industry standard is the use of the plus sign and the minus sign. These signs can tell a bettor a lot about the outcome of their bet. The plus (+) and minus (-) in sports betting can refer to either the point spread or betting odds. In terms of the spread, the ' - ' always refers to the favorite and the ' + ' always refers to the underdog. For example, you can bet. A point spread is a bet on the margin of victory in a game. The stronger team or player will be favored by a certain number of points, depending on the perceived gap in ability between the two teams. A minus sign (-) means that team is the favorite. A plus sign (+) means that team is the underdog.

Although this kind of betting is so popular, it may take some time to understand. All groups aren’t developed similarly, so sportsbooks can develop a point spread for a game so that each group playing has a practically even opportunity of winning the game. In a manner, the point spread will even the field for both groups.

Casinos earn a profit by using games of opportunity where the typical payments are lower than the earnings produced by the general wagers. Precisely how this is achieved and the terms used in producing casino records and earnings are discussed listed below.

The Plus Minus work in betting offers a factor for bettors to run the risk of money on both groups. The much better group playing in the game is considered preferred.

Minus (-) indicates the favorite and plus (+) the underdog. Sportsbook operators of Plus Minus in money line frequently intend to have equivalent money on both sides of a point spread. When the cash is precisely divided the sportsbook operator will see the exact vigorish as their earnings margin. If all things are equivalent in time this will make the most of just how much money the sportsbook operator can make.

Where to Place Bets

The primary locations you can place bets are in a land based sports book or at an online sports book. The other options are utilizing a bookmaker or positioning bets with other individuals you know.

Land based sports books are available in many parts of the world. Sports betting is prohibited in many areas. Some locations the book remains in a casino and in others the book is a standalone business.

Online books are available anywhere you can access the web, however they’re also unlawful in some parts of the world. Even where sports betting is clearly prohibited many people can find an online business going to take their bets.

The chances for a point spread may change before the real point spread. There are specific point spread numbers, like 3 and 7 in football, the sportsbook operators wish to prevent moving far from since they last rating margin falls on these 2 numbers frequently.

A casino with 1000 slot machines is just effective if they are in continuous use. Even if players are roaming around wishing to play that quantity while there are a number of $25 tables without any players.

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Learning how sports betting odds work can be intimidating at first, but our guide will teach you how to read odds in no time! This primer is designed for beginners who are curious about common wagering practices and terms.

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Learn to Bet on Sports & Gamble Online & Offline

For starters, you will need somewhere to place bets. If you are in Vegas, great! You can bet at one of the sportsbooks in their casinos. As more and more states pass laws to legalize sports betting, you will also be able to place wagers at local casinos in your area. You could also find a local bookie to bet through, but we recommend betting online.

How Online Betting Works

We have an excellent list of the top places to bet online (that take U.S. customers). If you are looking to maximize your first deposit, we also have a great comparison of the best sportsbooks signup bonuses for you. Once you’ve read the primer below on reading the odds, you will have no problem navigating these sites.

Las Vegas Sports Betting at the Ticket Window

Betting sports in Vegas is likely going to be the option with the biggest learning curve. You will understand the odds after reading this article, but there are a few other rules and common practices you want to be familiar with that are specific to Vegas.

Many books now offer their own betting apps that make this process a little bit easier, however, the drawbacks are that you must make a deposit upfront for how much you want to bet with, plus you don’t get free drink tickets when you place bets on the app. We’ll step through how you would place a bet in person at the ticket window.

Step-by-Step Guide to Placing Sports Wagers in Vegas

“I’ll take number 403, Cowboys -8, for $110 straight up.”

  1. Use the rotation number/numbers and the name of the team/teams you want to bet on. The rotation number appears to the left of each team (see image above) and is used as a unique identifier so that there is no confusion about what you want.
  2. State the amount you would like to bet. This is how much you are wagering, not how much you want to win. Most books use -110 odds (more on this later), so if you want to win $100, you’d state $110 as your wager amount.
  3. Indicate the type of bet you are placing. For individual bets, just say “straight” or “straight up”, otherwise you will need to explain that you are taking a parlay or some other bet type.
  4. Repeat as necessary.

How to Read Sports Betting Lines

There are nearly infinite ways to bet sports. If you can think of something to bet on, there is a good chance you can find somewhere to bet on it. What we are going to focus on is the most common types of wagers: point spreads, over/unders (totals), and money lines.

What Does the Plus (+) and Minus (-) Mean in Sports Betting?

One of the first and most important aspects of sports betting every new player must learn is what the different symbols mean. A plus or a minus can mean different things in different situations. They are used for both point spread and money line betting, as well as for the price/juice of each bet.

This is explained in more detail below, but the most important thing to be aware of is that negative numbers represent favorites, while positive numbers represent underdogs. The same is true whether you are looking at a spread or a moneyline, but how these numbers are used is very different. You also need to know that prices on spreads/totals do not impact who/what is favored, it is used to determine how much the bet pays out. Read on for the complete explanation of each of these concepts.

Odds Meaning Betting

Point Spreads Explained

The point spread is the projected number of points that separate two teams. A game with a spread will have a favorite (the team expected to win) and an underdog (the team expected to lose). A favorite “gives” points and is identified with a minus sign next to their point spread. The underdog “gets” points and is identified with a plus sign next to their point spread.

TeamsSpreadPrice/Vig
New York Jets+7-110
New England Patriots-7-110

In the example above, the point spread is 7 points. Patriots are favored by 7 points against the Jets.

If you bet on the Jets +7, they must either win the game outright or lose by 6 points or less. If they lose by exactly 7 points, the bet is considered a push and is canceled.

If you bet on the Patriots -7, they must win the game outright by more than 7 points. If they win by exactly 7 points, it’s a push.

Bet Prices: What Does -110 Mean? If I Bet $100, What do I Win?

Plus And Minus In Betting Football

The 3-digit numbers to the far right are the listed prices for these bets. This is also called the odds, vig, or juice. An easy way to think of it is the amount you must risk to win $100 on this wager. In our example, -110 means you must risk $110 if you want to win $100. -110 is pretty standard, but you will find different options. We will cover those in more depth when we talk about money lines. The price of the bet has no impact on which team is favored. Only the plus or minus on the point spread matters. This is handled differently when you bet strictly on the moneyline.

What is the Money Line? (How Moneyline Betting Works)

Plus And Minus In Betting

A moneyline bet is on a team to win the game outright (without a point spread) at an adjusted cost. Just like with point spread betting, the favorite will have negative odds, while the underdog will have positive odds. The difference here is in the price or payout depending on which team you take.

TeamsMoneyline
New York Jets+240
New England Patriots-280

Minus And Plus In Betting Sites

A favorite (e.g. Patriots -280) on the money line works just like our bet price example above. In our new example, the Patriots are listed at -280, meaning you would need to risk $280 for a return of $100 on them. It follows that a winning bet on the Pats pays $100 (plus your initial investment of $280 back). This added risk is why betting the spread is usually more popular, especially on favorites.

Underdogs (e.g. Jets +240) work a bit differently. Instead showing how much you need to risk to win $100, this line tells you how much you stand to win on a $100 wager. That means if you bet $100 on the Jets, and they win, you would win $240. If the Jets lose, you are only out your original $100 wager.

Totals: What Over/Under Means in Sports Betting

The terms “total” and “over/under” are synonymous when placing wagers. This type of bet is on the sum of the points scored by both teams in a game. The bookie sets the number for the total, then you predict whether they will score more or less points than the set number.

TeamsTotalPrice/Vig
New York JetsOver 42.5-105
New England PatriotsUnder 42.5-115

The over/under in this example has been set at 42.5. If you project the Jets and Patriots to combine to score more than 42.5 points, you would place a wager on the over. If you think they will score less than 42.5 points, you would bet the under. Let’s say the final score of this game is Patriots 27, Jets 24. Which bet would lose and which bet would win? The sum of all points scored is 27 + 24 = 51, so an over bet wins and an under bet loses.

You may also note the bet price is not -110 like we have seen before. It is common practice by sportsbooks to adjust prices on or around key numbers for spreads and totals, especially in football.

Understanding Sports Betting

Plus And Minus In Spread Betting

We hope this short beginner’s guide to understanding and interpreting odds will give you the confidence to get out there and start making winning bets. Our experts are here to help you on this journey, so do not hesitate to contact us with any questions you have about sports betting! We have only scratched the surface on reading betting lines, but this is an excellent place to start.

What Does Mean In Betting 150

One sport that has a few extra quirks is golf. I wrote up a guide to golf betting that explains these unique features so you can feel comfortable wagering on PGA events too.

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