Plus And Minus In Betting
Sports betting requires you to learn and know a lot of things that you otherwise didn’t know. From choosing the top betting sites to learning the basic mechanics of sports betting, you need to understand a lot of new things like odds, wagers, etc. Moreover, once you get into it, you will further come across more unknown stuff. For example, there are tonnes of different methods to display odds.
How do Plus and Minus Odds Work? In a betting line between two teams, the team expected to win, or favorite, will have minus or negative odds. This means for every dollar wagered, you will earn less than a dollar if your bet wins. The team expected to lose, or underdog, will have positive or plus odds. The favorite in a game is listed as being minus (-) the point spread. The worse of the teams playing in the game is called the underdog. The bettor wins if this team wins the game outright or loses by an amount smaller than the point spread. The underdog in a game is listed as being plus (+) the point spread.
One of the classic ways to do so is via plus (+) and minus (-). This blog will explain what these two symbols signify in the betting world and how they are important. Now, + and – could either refer to point spreads or betting odds in sports betting. Read on to find out more!
For example, a matchup may pit Dale Jarrett (minus 145) against Bobby Labonte (plus 125). If you bet $145 on the favored Jarrett, the payoff would be $100 plus your $145 back, for a total of $245. If you bet $100 on the underdog Labonte, the payoff would be $125 plus your $100 back, for a total of $225. 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 when wagering on point spreads, which are set by oddsmakers with hopes of getting equal action on both sides.
Plus (+) And Minus (-) Symbols in Point Spread
In case of the point spread, minus or “-” indicates the favourite. On the other hand, the plus or “+” is to indicate the underdog. Let’s try to understand this better with an example. For example, suppose you place a wager on the Dallas Cowboys as a -7 to beat the Green Bay Packers as a +7. This means that Cowboys are your favourite and the Packers have been marked as the underdog.
Now, if the Cowboys win over 7 points, then you will win the bet. Likewise, if the Packers loses by any score less than 7 points, then you win your bet.
Plus (+) and Minus (-) Symbols in Odds
Firstly, what is meant by odds in sports betting? Odds play a key role in deciding many important factors in sports betting. These essentially, calculate the payout to be received from the winning wagers and tell us the chances of a wager to win. Now, odds are represented in terms of money and these are called Moneyline odds.
If you see an odd with a – symbol preceding it, for example, -200, then that is said to be odds on. Similarly, the ones with a + preceding them are known as odds against. Now, $100 is taken as the standard. Odds on or a minus (-) indicates that the amount needs to be wagered if you want to win $100. For example, -150 odds means that your stake needs to be $150 if you want to win $100.
Don’t get confused here because you won’t be losing anything. Upon winning, you will earn $100 in addition to your initial stake, i.e. $150. So, your total earning will stand at $250. On the other hand, odds against or a plus (+) symbol tells you how much you’ll win against a successful $100 wager. So, +200 implies that you will win $200 if your wager is successful.
What Does +100 Mean In Betting
Conclusion
That was all about plus and minus symbols in sports betting from our end. Knowing about ‘+’ and ‘–’ in betting is important because you will be dealing with these all the time. If you don’t understand what these are, then you’ll feel very much lost while actually taking part in sports betting. Reading this blog will help you gain a clear understanding of the meaning of ‘+’ and ‘-’ in sports betting.
“Wait, why does this NFL team have a -235 next to its name? What’s with New England Patriots (-15) vs. Miami Dolphins (+15)? Help! HEEEELPPPP!”
If that sounds like you, we’re here to assist you. If you’ve stared at a board at a sportsbook or just seen spreads and moneylines on the Internet and been utterly confused, don’t worry. It’s not just you. Those numbers can be confounding.
But hopefully, once you’re done reading this, you’ll completely understand how they work. As you prepare to dive into the world of sports betting, here’s a breakdown of how the lines work, starting with …
Spreads
It would be really easy to bet on a game if you could put money on a heavy favorite to win.
That’s where point spreads come in. Let’s look at an example:
Philadelphia Eagles (-4.5)
New York Giants (+4.5)
In this case, you can bet on either two outcomes: you can put money on the Eagles to win the game by 4.5 points OR MORE, which makes them the favorites. Or you can bet that the Giants will either win or lose by LESS THAN 4.5 points. They’re the underdogs.
Now, sometimes the spread “moves” during the days leading up to the game. Perhaps the Eagles’ spread ends up being -3.5 (in which they must win by 3.5 points or more to give you a victory in your bet). Your bet all depends on whichever spread you bet on, whether it was when the Eagles were favored by 4.5 or 3.5 points.
If you ever see “PK” or “pick” next to a team, it means there’s no spread and you can bet on who will win, no matter what the score is.
Moneylines
Let’s take that same example above but use moneylines:
Philadelphia Eagles (-200)
New York Giants (+150)
The team with a minus symbol is the favorite, and the number is how much money you would need to bet to win $100. In this case, you would have to bet $200 on the Eagles in order to win an additional $100.
The Giants are the underdogs. If they’re +150, that means you could bet $100 to win $150.
Note that you can bet any amount you want, but those numbers are always calculated and posted the same way, either in how much money you would need to wager to win $100 or how much money you could win by wagering $100.
Odds
If you’re betting on something like the team who will win the Super Bowl in the future, you might see it look like this:
New England Patriots — 3/1
What Does Spread Mean Betting
Baltimore Ravens — 5/1
Kansas City Chiefs — 8/1
If you were betting on the Patriots and their 3/1 odds, you would win $3 for every $1 you spend. So if you bet $50 on the Pats and they ended up winning the Super Bowl, you’d win $150 (plus your original wager) back.
Good luck!