All you need to know about: Moneyline Betting
Diving into sports betting? Then you'll quickly encounter moneyline bets. It's the most straightforward way to wager on sports events, and easy to grasp. Still, knowing the nuances is key to making smart bets. This guide breaks down everything you need to know about moneyline wagering in Canada.
Moneyline betting is fundamental because it's offered on virtually every sport. Whether you're into hockey, baseball, or football, understanding moneylines unlocks a world of betting opportunities. Get the edge and master this essential betting type today!
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What is Moneyline Betting?
Moneyline Betting Explained for Canadian Players
Moneyline betting is the most straightforward wager available in any sports event. It simply involves picking which team or athlete you believe will win a specific match or competition. If it's a team sport, like hockey, basketball, or football, you just select the team you're betting on to secure the win. For many Canadian bettors, this is the starting point for sports wagering.
For individual events such as tennis or boxing, you'll bet on a particular athlete to emerge victorious. Moneyline betting is also available for events with multiple competitors, like Formula 1 racing or track and field events, offered by many online bookmakers.
Why Is Moneyline Betting Ideal for Many bettors?
As mentioned, moneyline betting is the simplest form of sports wager. Online sportsbooks provide many other betting options that require a deeper understanding. Betting on point spreads, totals, individual totals, quarters, halves, or over/under bets all demand specific knowledge. In contrast, moneyline betting is easily understood by virtually any avid sports fan.
With online moneyline betting, all you need to do is pick the team or athlete you think will win, then sit back, relax, and enjoy supporting your chosen bet as the event unfolds.
If you enjoy watching sports events, placing a bet can make it even more thrilling. Gathering with friends who share your passion for sports betting and watching a game together with your wagers placed can be a fantastic time, especially if you're supporting opposing teams.
Why Do Canadian Bettors Choose Moneyline Betting?
Most bettors, particularly those new to sports betting in Canada, opt for moneyline betting online due to the straightforward assumption that every team or athlete is motivated to win. It's a simple and intuitive approach to getting involved.
Another significant reason for choosing moneyline betting is its time efficiency. You simply visit a trusted online sportsbook, scan the schedule of upcoming games, and pick the team or teams you predict will win. You can place a moneyline bet on a single game or combine multiple selections across different games, which is known as parlay betting.
Many sportsbooks catering to Canadians allow you to place single bets on multiple games. While some platforms don't limit the number of games you can include, others may have a cap, often around 20 games for parlays.
How Does Moneyline Betting Work in Canada?
Possible Outcomes with Moneyline Betting
Depending on the sport, there are typically two or three possible outcomes for a given event. For sports like basketball, baseball, or hockey, a moneyline bet usually involves two options: a win or a loss for a specific team or player. In sports such as football or boxing, a draw is also a possible outcome.
Most Canadian-facing online sportsbooks offer specific moneyline rules for each sport. This means you might have the option to bet on a draw outcome even in sports usually played without one, like hockey.
For such a bet to be successful, the game would need to end in a draw within regulation time (typically 60 minutes for hockey, or the standard game length for basketball). If that happens, your bet wins regardless of any overtime outcome.
Understanding Moneyline Odds Types
The key element of moneyline betting is the given odds for each of the options in which a certain sporting event can finish. The betting odds or wagers vary depending on the perceived possibility a certain team or athlete will win a given sporting event.
When looking at potential betting options and the perceived possibility a certain team or athlete will win, there are three components of a moneyline odds or wagers: the favorite, the underdog and even.
The Favorite
A favorite is a team or an athlete who is most likely to win. The likeliness of the winning is based on quality, recent form, competition, home court advantage, injuries, head-to-head matchups, the importance of the game and many other factors that influence the odds.
For example, if you want to place a bet on a basketball game between the United States and China, the options for each team to win will have way different odds simply because the United States are widely considered as the best basketball team in the world for decades while China has a limited quality.
The odds for the favorites are most of the time starting with a minus (-).
The Underdog
The underdog is the team or the athlete who is less likely to win. Placing a bet on an underdog gives you an opportunity to win much more than what your bet is, which even is less likely, sometimes really pays off.
The best moneyline bettors know how to sense a possible upset and when those teams or athletes win, the amount they get from their bet is a couple of times bigger than the placed amount.
Each NCAA basketball tournament brings many upsets and whoever places the right bets would say that he has had a good season.
The odds for the underdogs are most of the time starting with plus (+).
The Even
An ‘even’ games are the ones where either team or player has similar chances to win. For example, if you want to place a bet on a game between France and Argentina in the FIFA World Cup, the odds for a win of each of the teams will be really close which makes the pick more difficult but the possible win much higher than when you bet on the favorite.
How and why do moneyline odds change?
The moneyline odds for a given sporting event are changeable from the moment they are posted until the game starts. You can see them going up and down and being different at different online bookmakers.
The reasons for that can be different. Usually, the odds change if a certain player or multiple players are ruled out of a game with injuries or other personal reasons. Another reason for the odds to go up or down is the amount of money a certain bookmaker has received on certain betting options.
For example, if there is more money than usual or expected placed on the Boston Celtics defeating the Los Angeles Lakers, the odds for the Celtics’ win will drop.
If the odds changing will affect the betting really comes up to the player himself. Roster changes or the number of bets placed on a certain option may or may not have a valuable impact on the game itself and is up to the player if he will take them into consideration.
Should you bet on the moneyline?
If you as a sports fan want to add some excitement to watching a game or show loyalty and belief to your favorite team or player, moneyline is the right choice for you. Having a bet placed on a win of a certain team or a player gives you an additional feeling that you are a part of the game which can be real fun if the game goes according to your expectations.
Another reason why you should pick moneyline betting is that it is the easiest to follow. Whether you are watching the game or you are only following the score, all it requires is one look and the screen and you know where your bet stands at the moment.
Tips and tricks on moneyline betting
There are multiple factors you need to pay attention to if you decide to place your bet using moneyline betting especially if you are serious about it.
You will need to get all the info on the current roster and injury report on a certain team, recent form, how busy their schedule is, the time spent traveling by the team, team record, the history of the head-to-head games and the importance of the game for both teams.
All these factors make even more of a difference when it comes to individual sports such as tennis or boxing.
If you take sports betting more seriously, you definitely need to build a short or long term strategy. You need to choose if you are going to place single bets or parlay bets if you are going to stick to a certain team or a sport or if you will mix all of these. As deeper you go, it will require more time but whatever you choose you will need luck.
FAQs
What is the difference between moneyline and spread?
Moneyline betting is choosing which team or a player will win the game while a spread is placing a bet with a given handicap that makes the chances for both outcomes of the game even.
Do moneyline odds differ from one sportsbook to another?
If you compare the odds for a specific game given by multiple bookmakers, there will definitely be differences. These differences will not be large but if you are placing a single bet and you involve a decent amount of money, picking the best odds makes a difference.
Can moneyline odds changes affect my bet after I have placed it?
No. Once you place your bet on certain odds, those odds are relevant no matter how much and in which direction they will change after your have placed you bet.
On which sports I can bet using moneyline betting?
Moneyline betting is the basic betting game and is offered by every bookmaker. Therefore, you can use moneyline betting in any given sport by the bookmakers.
