Homepage) Betting Advice & Guide Types of Bets: Types of Bets. There are many types of bets, but the most common are: moneyline bets, spread bets, total bets, parlays, teasers and futures.In the beginning we will explain how to read betting lines and then we will deal with different types of bets. Parlays are many bets on one ticket. Instead of making a single bet on the NFL or NBA, you can combine different bets onto one slip. The only downside to making a parlay bet is that all wagers must hit, otherwise the entire bet is a bust. Jan 02, 2016 The “safe” money line parlay is a low risk, low reward type of bet. This is the type of bet you can use when you are looking to strengthen your bankroll, and not have to worry too much over the games involved. Oct 20, 2019 Kicking off our list of parlay tactics is the “lottery ticket” parlay. This style of parlay betting involves loading a betting slip with a high number of moneyline picks, yielding a bet that pays out a crazy amount of money. These types of parlays will include 10 or more picks, which typically results in a huge surge of possible profit.
A parlay bet is one of the most popular forms of betting in the betting industry where punters opt to bet on a group of teams by combining them to make a single wager as compared to betting on several teams individually. If you are familiar with soccer betting, think of a parlay as an accumulator because it’s basically the same thing. The good thing about a parlay is that the payout is greater, but the tricky part is that all your selections in your parlay need to win and the odds of winning a parlay are always stacked against punters.
If you place a Parlay and there is a push, that bet will be taken out and your potential payout will be reduced since one bet has been removed from the Parlay. For example if you had a 6 team parlay and two of the matches are a push and four are correct, the bookmaker will remove the two and recalculate your payout, but if there is an incorrect one, you automatically would have lost. You might be wondering what a ‘push’ is, well, a ‘push’ occurs when the result of a sporting event ends in a tie between the sports bettor and the bookmaker and this will result in the player getting a refund.
Despite the negative odds associated with winning a parlay, it is still very possible to hit a parlay but you can only accomplish it by implementing a plan. While it is true that there are people who win without a plan, it is usually a one-time thing, but if you want to consistently hit the parlays and possibly earn a living from betting, a plan has to be in place and this article seeks to identify and explain what is refereed to as the ‘moneyline parlay strategies’ which you can employ in order to be a successful punter.
Before we explain the moneyline strategies, it is very important to clearly explain what moneyline in sports betting is. A moneyline bet is betting which team will win a game and this is one of the easiest and straightforward bets you will find. In moneyline betting, if a punter chooses the winning side, the bookmaker will pay the payout amount and please note that there is no point spread with a moneyline bet. Below is a simple explanation of a moneyline bet :
Lakers : +133
Cavaliers: -112
Suppose you want to place a $100 bet on this basketball match between Lakers and Cavaliers. The Lakers are regarded here as the underdog as suggested by the (+) sign whilst the Cavaliers are regarded as the favorites as suggested by the (-) sign. Using this match as an example, a $100 bet will earn a profit of $133 for a Lakers win whilst a punter has to stake $112 in order to make a $100 profit. The payout for backing Lakers is big because betting on the underdog is considered a risk, and a risk must be rewarded. On the other hand the favorites are considered a to be a lesser risk and that is why they fetch a smaller payment.
Now that we have clearly and separately explained what ‘moneyline’ and ‘parlay’ is, a ‘moneyline parlay’ therefore becomes a way of choosing multiple favorites to win. The main benefits of combining moneyline and parlays is in the exponential value of parlays and the simplicity of money lines.
Calculating the odds for a parlay is quite simple and you can do it on your own, the following example shows you how to calculate parlay odds.
Cincinnati Bengals -110
Pittsburgh Steelers +130
Chicago Rangers -150
The first step is to determine what the multipliers for each game would be, you do this by dividing what the total payout would be (including the stake) by the risk amount.
Cincinati Bengals – 110 to win 100, so the total payout would be $210
210/150 = 1.90
Pittsburgh Steelers – 100 to win 130, so the total payout would be $230
230/100 = 2.3
Chicago Rangers – 150 to win 100, so the total payout would be $250
250/150 = 1.66
After establishing the multipliers , you must then multiply your multipliers together in order to come up with the true odds of the parlay.
1.90 x 2.3 x 1.66 = 7.25
There are quite a number of useful and proven moneyline parlay betting strategies which are listed below and we are going to be using the following example in our explanation of the moneyline parlay strategies :
Match 1 Match 2
Cincinnati Bengals +140 Pittsburgh Steelers -350
Cleveland Browns -195 Dallas Cowboys +200
Match 3 Match 4
Houston Texans +180 Indianapolis Colts -164
Jacksonville Jaguars -310 Kansas City Chiefs +125
Match 5 Match 6
New England Patriots +140 Philadelphia Eagles -113
New York Giants -195 Tennessee Titans +170
Match 7 Match 8
Washington Redskins -175 Miami Dolphins -200
San Francisco 49ers +135 Chicago Bears +310
The ‘Favorites’ parlay
The ‘Favorites’ parlay is considered one of the most popular types of parlays because punters feel that it is safer to bet on favorites than underdogs. The ‘favorites’ parlay does not pay much since the odds are extremely low but there are punters who would rather win small amounts of money regularly than be constantly disappointed by underdogs.
By selecting a couple of results believed to be certain to come true, punters can potentially multiply their winners by combining individual selections with each other so that they pay out a considerable amount instead of betting on them individually.
From the example below, the punter will select four favorites to make a ‘favorites’ parlay
Pittsburgh Steelers -350
Cleveland Browns -195
Indianapolis Colts -164
Jacksonville Jaguars -310
The multipliers from these respective matches are 1.28 x 1.51 x 1.60 x 1.32 if we multiply them together, they will give us total odds of 4.08 which is not so great so punters are forced to put more matches to increase the odds.
The downside of this strategy is that with each match added to a parlay, you’re multiplying not only your potential winnings but you are also multiplying the bookmaker’s potential margins. The thing is that there is always an urge to add more matches to your parlay in order to boost your odds but the problem is that each added match statistically increases the chance of your parlay failing.
The ‘Favorites + one’ parlay
The ‘Favorites + one’ parlay is a strategy that has proven to be useful and has a high likelihood of hitting as well. The basic idea behind this strategy is to put many favorites which of course have lower odds, and add one underdog which has higher odds and the main reason for the underdog is for boosting the parlay.
For this strategy to be able to pay you the huge potential payout, you have to try and make realistic bets that have a highly likelihood of winning so it is very wise to invest a lot of time doing some research on the teams and this will help you immensely to come up with winning bets. Sports is a complicated game and you will find that there are certain teams classified as underdogs who perform superbly against certain top teams, whilst certain top teams struggle to beat a few underdogs, it is against this background that a punter has to be familiar with the league in order to be successful using the ‘Favorites + one’
From the example below, the punter will select up to six favorites and just a single underdog
Pittsburgh Steelers -350
Cleveland Browns -195
Indianapolis Colts -164
Jacksonville Jaguars -310
Philadelphia Eagles -113
New York Giants -195
Chicago Bears +310
The multiplers from these respective matches are 1.28 x 1.51 x 1.60 x 1.32 x 1.88 x 1.51 x 1.36 if we multiply them together, they will give us an impressive total odds of 15,75
This strategy mostly fails because the underdogs bet usually fails so major emphasis should be put on selecting the best underdog bet. If you manage to get the ‘underdog’ bet right, you will make a lot of money consistently using this strategy.
The ‘Underdog-heavy’ parlay
Underdogs are very popular among punters because they offer a huge potential payout to punters. In the ‘Underdog-heavy’ parlay, punters take advantage of the big underdog odds by combining them with some favorites to make a one huge profitable parlay. Punters can make a parlay with about 8 picks and in those picks will be about 3 or 4 underdogs.
Theoretically, this is easy money but this is not as easy as it seems as punters are faced with the difficult task of picking out the underdogs which have a high likelihood of coming true. It is true that underdogs win from time to time but the difficult part is knowing which ones will do.
San Francisco 49ers +135
Chicago Bears +310
Cincinnati Bengals +140
Dallas Cowboys +200
Houston Texans +180
Kansas City Chiefs +125
The multipliers from these respective matches are 1.74 x 1.3 x 1.71 x 1.5 x 1.55 x 1.8 which gives a total of 16.1 which is an impressive total but it is extremely difficult for all these selections to come true.
Moneyline bets present the most straightforward way to wager on a sports contest. A moneyline wager simply asks the bettor to choose which team will win a game, with no point spread involved.
The payout odds on the favorite and underdog can differ significantly on a moneyline bet. Using a moneyline calculator breaks down the math on the odds, which allows bettors to assess the true value on each side.
The following page includes the GamingToday.com MoneyLine Calculator, as well as several valuable tables and graphs designed to help bettors gain an edge with moneyline bets.
Moneyline Calculator
Fill in the dollar amount for your bet and the American Odds (for example -110) and calculate the implied probability and the return on the moneyline.:
What Is A Moneyline Bet?
Legal US sportsbooks generally present several different ways to wager on sports. Moneyline bets represent just one of several different wagering options, which include point spread, totals, parlays, and in-game betting.
Moneyline Bets
A moneyline wager allows the bettor to put a bet on which team or athlete will win a contest, straight up. The moneyline underdog will always pay out at better odds than the favorite.
Skilled bettors look for value on moneyline bets by evaluating teams that have a better chance of winning than the implied probability of the odds might dictate.
Moneyline favorites are listed with “-” odds, and the underdog is listed at “+” odds.
For example, here’s a look at a line offered by PointsBet on Game 1 of the 2020 World Series:
| Point Spread | Total | Moneyline | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Rays | +1.5 (-150) | Over 7.5 (+100) | +140 |
| LA Dodgers | -1.5 (+130) | Under 7.5 (-121) | -165 |
American Odds
PointsBet sets the Los Angeles Dodgers as the favorite in the game, with -165 moneyline odds. To calculate “-” odds, divide 100 by the odds, then multiply that quotient by the amount you bet.
For example, suppose you want to calculate how much profit a $50 bet on the Dodgers would yield. First divide 100 by 165 (without the “-”), which yields 60.6. Then multiply that number by your $50 bet to arrive at the profit (60.6*$50=$30.30).
A $50 bet on the Dodgers at -165 odds would yield $30.30 in profit. The $50 wager would return $80.30 to the bettor ($30.30 profit plus the original $50 bet).
To calculate “+” odds, divide the odds by 100 and multiply that product by the amount of the wager.
A $50 bet on the Tampa Bay Rays, for instance, would calculate as 140/100 (which yields 1.4), multiplied by $50 (1.4*$50=$70). A winning $50 moneyline bet on the Rays returns $120 total to the bettor ($70 profit plus the original $50 bet.)
Decimal Odds
Decimal odds can be used to make a simple calculation of odds multiplied by wager amount to arrive at the total amount returned to the bettor.
The -165 odds on Los Angeles, for example, convert to 1.6061 decimal odds using the Gaming Today moneyline calculator. Multiplying that by a $50 bet yields $80.30, and subtracting the original bet amount yields the profit earned ($80.30-$50=$30.30).
What Is A Moneyline Calculator?
The Gaming Today Moneyline Calculator allows for quick calculations for any wager amount and payout odds. Using American, decimal, fractional, Hong Kong, Indonesian, or Malay Odds, you can input the odds and the amount of a wager and see the payout that would come if the bet is a win.
While it’s valuable to understand and be able to calculate favorite and underdog Moneyline odds for all of the different odds notations, the moneyline calculator can save a significant amount of time and energy.
One of the most important features of the Gaming Today Moneyline Calculator is the Implied Probability feature.
For any favorite or underdog input, the calculator produces the implied probability of that team winning. Astute bettors can use the calculator to find teams that have a higher actual win probability than the implied probability dictated by the odds.
The “To Win” window displays the amount of profit yielded by any combination of odds and wager amount. To calculate the return to the bettor, add the “To Win” number to the original amount of the wager.
How To Use The Moneyline Calculator To Place A Sports Bet
Suppose you wanted to put the Gaming Today Moneyline Calculator to work to decide how you wanted to bet on Game 1 of the 2020 World Series. Here’s another look at the lines offered on that game by PointsBet:
| Point Spread | Total | Moneyline | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Rays | +1.5 (-150) | Over 7.5 (+100) | +140 |
| LA Dodgers | -1.5 (+130) | Under 7.5 (-121) | -165 |
To calculate a $50 moneyline wager on the Tampa Bay Rays, input $50 in the “Bet Amount” window and put “+140” in the “American Odds” window. Hit enter or click on the “Convert Odds” button and see how the moneyline calculator converts that information into several different useful categories.
The calculator converts the “+140” odds into all of the different notations you might see used by a sportsbook.
The +140 American odds convert to 2.40 decimal odds, 7/5 fractional odds, 1.40 for Indonesian/Hong Kong odds, and -0.7143 Malay Odds. A tool like our moneyline calculator can be a crucial component of a betting strategy when evaluating odds at sportsbooks that use different notations.
The “Implied Probability” output tells you that at +140 odds, the Rays have a 41.67% implied probability of winning. A skilled bettor will take that bet if they think Tampa Bay’s actual chance of winning the game is higher than that.
The “To Win” output yields the profit produced if the Rays win. A $50 winning bet on the Rays yields $70 in profit and a $120 total return to the bettor ($70 profit plus the $50 original bet).
Looking for other calculators to use when sports betting? Check out:
Calculating Positive And Negative Moneyline Odds
The math used in calculating the payout on a moneyline is pretty simple. It is one of the most important first steps to understanding sports betting and is crucial to success. Below is a graph of profit won on $100 bets for negative odds. Note that it is a curve that approaches, but will never get to $0. Even -1,000,000 odds still yields some profit from a win:
And here is a graph of profit for positive numbers. The really important difference is that the line is linear. as the odds increase, so does the profit. That goes on forever.
Looking at the odds offered by the sportsbook, note whether they are negative odds (for example -110) or positive odds (for example +120). The calculation changes based on if it is a positive or negative odd. Below we work through an example of a bet of $100 at -110 moneyline odds. It is important to notice that multiplying by -1 is required to give us the positive payout:
PAYOUT = BET AMOUNT / (-1 *MONEYLINE ODDS / 100)
So that looks like:
$90.91 = $100 / (-1 * -110/100)
That also means that you will be returned that amount AND your original bet, meaning you now have $190.91. Let’s work another negative example of a $100 bet at -150:
$100 / (-1 * -150 / 100) = $66.67
Now let’s work through a positive money example. Let’s say you bet $100 at +120
PAYOUT = BET AMOUNT * ODDS / 100
That looks like:
$120 = $100 * 120 / 100
In that case, you are returned your original bet plus profit, so you now have $220.
What Is Line Movement?
Sportsbooks make money by setting lines that bring in an appropriate amount of wagers on both sides of a bet. The house offers odds that factor in a cut of overall wagers, known as vig, that goes to the sportsbook.
In the World Series Game 1 example from above, if 90% of bets come in on the Dodgers, the sportsbook stands to lose big money if Los Angeles wins. A Tampa Bay win in that situation is even more disastrous for the sportsbook.
If the bets coming in on a game are too one-sided, the line on the game will start to move to try to prompt more bets for the other side. It’s important to remember that sports betting isn’t a zero-sum game, and you’ll be losing in the long run even if you win 50% of the time.
Moneyline Parlay Winning
Legal Online Sports Betting In The US
A federal mandate known as the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was overturned in May 2018, giving US states the legal clearance to offer state-regulated sports betting. Several states now offer both retail and online sports betting, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Illinois, Indiana, Colorado, and several others.
The top online sport betting brands in the US include the following:
DraftKings Sportsbook
One of the biggest brands to emerge in the booming online sports betting industry, DraftKings Sportsbook offers mobile sports wagering in eight states. The sportsbook offers every imaginable kind of wager across multiple sports.
That betting menu includes daily moneyline opportunities on all major US sports leagues, as well as numerous international leagues. A tool like the Moneyline Calculator can be an indispensable tool to use for evaluating the odds and implied win probabilities at DraftKings Sportsbook.
FanDuel Sportsbook
Another huge player in the legal sports betting market, FanDuel Sportsbook offers mobile sports wagering in seven states. Along with DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbooks stands as one of the top two mobile sports betting brands in the US.
FanDuel Sportsbook’s vast selection of moneyline wagering options becomes a potentially profitable market for bettors using a moneyline calculator. Such a tool allows sharp players to compare odds across multiple sportsbooks and only place the most favorable bets.
FOX Bet
A collaboration between FOX Sports and The Stars Group, the FOX Bet brand operates online sportsbooks in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Colorado.
The moneyline odds at FOX Bet can vary greatly versus some of its competitors, and bettors using a moneyline calculator tool gain a significant edge versus players that don’t.
Moneyline Calculator FAQs
Yes. More than a dozen states either currently offer online sports betting or have a launch of mobile sports betting products pending.
New Jersey, Nevada, and Pennsylvania represent the three biggest online sports betting markets in the US. Other states with legal online sports wagering include Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, West Virginia, and a few others.
The Gaming Today Moneyline Calculator can be used as a valuable resource on any moneyline bet. It’s especially useful for evaluating the implied probability of winning and payout odds.
The moneyline bet calculator’s ability to display odds across multiple notation formats (American, Decimal, Fractional, Indonesian/Hong Kong, and Malay odds) allows bettors to compare lines across sportsbooks that use different notations.
Even if you’re a veteran sports bettor, running every bet you’re considering through the calculator provides significant benefit.
Yes. Nothing in the terms and conditions of any US legal online sportsbooks prohibits the use of a moneyline calculator.
The calculator provides computations that any person could produce with pen and paper but in a much faster and more efficient manner.
For “+” American odds, divide the odds by 100 and convert that quotient into a fraction. To convert +160 into fractional odds, for example, divide 160 by 100 (160/100) and reduce that fraction to the lowest whole number denominator. American odds of +160 would convert to 8/5 fractional odds.
For “-” American odds, divide 100 by the odds and convert to the simplest form fraction. For -160 odds, for example, the calculation looks like 100/160, which reduces to 5/8 fractional odds.
To convert “+” American odds to implied winning probability, the formula looks like this:
100 / (“+” American odds + 100)*100 = implied probability
For example, +160 odds would be calculated as 100/(160+100)*100. This converts to 100/260*100, which ends up yielding a 38.46% implied probability.
To convert “-” odds, the formula looks like this:
“-” odds / (“-” odds + 100)*100 = implied probability
Moneyline Parlay Bets
For instance, -160 odds would translate to 160/(160+100)*100, converting to 160/260*100, which yields a product of 61.54. The implied probability of -160 odds is a 61.54% chance of winning.
Several online sportsbooks offer comprehensive coverage of sports and ways to bet. Some of the best choices for online sports betting in the US include DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook, PointsBet, FOX Bet, and BetMGM.