Football Betting Line

Whether it is the NFL latest lines, NFL best bets, or football betting tips, you want to ensure that you are going to the best football betting sites to get your information. A betting line is another terminology for point spread, which is tied to the outcome of the event. It is a forecasted prediction of how many points an anticipated stronger team will win by against a weaker team. In the betting world the stronger team is referred to as the favorite, and the weaker team is referred to as the underdog. Get the latest odds, spreads and betting lines from this week's games, as well as full coverage of the National Football League from USA TODAY.

In the world of sports betting, a money line bet is simply betting on which team you expect to win. It doesn’t have anything to do with a spread. You may also see a money line bet listed as “Money Line” or “ML” in different spaces.

Money lines are represented in negative and positive values.

Negative money line: -145, -220, or anything similar

When you see a minus (-) sign in front of a price, it shows you that team is the favorite to win the game.

That number also indicates how much money you need to bet/spend in order to win $100.

For example, a -220 money line means you need to bet $220 in order to win $100 provided the team you bet on actually does win.

Heavy favorites are known in sports betting as a “chalk” pick. A heavy favorite usually has a number pushing +300 or more. Here, you’re wagering a lot on the favorite to win a little. Don’t assume that a heavy favorite, or chalk pick, is a guaranteed winner…

Positive money line: +145, +220, or anything similar

When you see a plus (+) sign in front of a price, it shows you that team is the underdog. Higher numbers like +400, +500, +5000, etc. represent how much of an underdog the team is in the game. The higher the number the more likely the team is expected to lose in the eyes of the oddsmakers.

The number also indicates how much money would win in comparison to every $100 you wager.

For example, a +150 money line means you would win $150 for each $100 wager you place should that team win the game.

College Football Betting Line

Money line examples:

Lets use an NFL example here:

New England Patriots -240

Miami Dolphins +220

To bet the New England Patriots to win on the money line, you would need to spend $240 on the bet for a chance to win $100 if the Patriots beat the Dolphins. Your return would be $340 – the original $240 stake (bet) and the $100 bet profit.

To bet the Miami Dolphins to win on the money line, you would spend $100 on the bet for a chance to win $220 if the Dolphins, as the underdog, beat the Patriots. Your return would be $320 – the original $100 stake (bet) and the $220 profit.

In both situations, it doesn’t matter if the team you bet on wins by one point or 100 points. You’re purely betting on the team you believe will win the game. As Al Davis said, “Just win, baby.” That’s exactly what you’d be looking for out of your selection. It doesn’t have to be pretty, it just has to happen or your original stake is lost.

Football Betting Lines Explained

When it comes to sports betting lines, you probably are wondering what the lingo of lines, odds, and spreads really mean. Understanding what these terms mean is essential to making proper picks on your favorite teams. For the most part these rules apply to all the main sports such as football, basketball, soccer, and hockey. But there are some key differences when betting against the big leagues like the NFL, NBA, and MLB.

Super Bowl and Stanley Cup Betting Odds

A betting line is another terminology for point spread, which is tied to the outcome of the event. It is a forecasted prediction of how many points an anticipated stronger team will win by against a weaker team. In the betting world the stronger team is referred to as the favorite, and the weaker team is referred to as the underdog. These collectively are referred to as spreads.

NHL, Baseball, WNBA Playoffs Betting Picks

In a point spread, you have to bet against the forecasted outcome one way or the other, you cannot just pick a team to win lose or it without laying down a lot of money or it would be too easy to beat a highly likely winner. Instead if a team is predicted to win by 7 points, the spread would be -7 towards that team. You then must place on a bet on whether you think the favorite would beat the underdog by at least 7 points, or if you think the underdog could cover and lose by less than 7 or win. Sometimes a game is considered highly contested and balanced that you might have what is called a pick-em where you simple pick which team will win. Point spreads are common in the NFL.

NBA Point Spreads and NCAA Lines Reviewed

After point spreads are established, you can then look at the moneyline bet. This is generally correlated to the point spread except it shows how money you can win based on your wager. Some sports do not use a point spread but rather just stick to a moneyline bet. For example, a team that was a -7 favorite would likely have a moneyline negative as well, say -200. That means, you would have to bet $100 to win $200. Alternatively there is a plus bet that goes with the underdog, say at 250. That means if you bet 100 and the underdog wins, you can win $250. Moneyline bets generally involve a higher wager to make money as opposed to point spreads. Moneyline picks are the most common wager instrument in the major sports of NBA, MLB, hockey, and soccer.

Nascar, PGA Golf and MMA UFC Betting Lines

In unique situations, where a game has a lot of prestige such as the NFL super bowl , NBA playoffs, or the Stanley Cup, you can bet on prop bets which are bets on specific things that could happen during a game. This is a play strictly based on odds of something happen against it not happening. An example might be whether a field goal would be the first type of score in the football game. At any time as people are betting one way or the other, the odds will adjust as people make picks one way or the other.

Premier League, British Open Championship and College Football Odds Every Week

Opening lines generally come out a week before an event but for major events like the Superbowl, it might be out for two weeks once the matchup is established. Football events opening lines generally come out on a Tuesday after all the previous weeks games have been played and is usually the sport most heavily used to gamble on. Basketball and MLB have games more frequently and usually the opening line might only exist for the day of an event.