American Football Betting Lines

In American football betting the point spread is the most common way to bet on a game, but it is not the only one. The moneyline is also used for football and it is mainly used for other sports that you cannot put a spread on the game. For example in the sports of hockey, baseball, tennis, and NASCAR cannot put a point spread on the event so the moneyline is used instead.

The Monyeline Bet Explained

Just like the point spread the moneyline is posted in an attempt by the bookmakers to have even money put on each team in a game. The results of the moneyline wager are decided by the winner straight up without giving or taking away any points, which is what the point spread does. The bookmaker set the moneyline giving inflated odds to the favorite and better payouts for the underdog. For example in terms of American football betting lines a moneyline bet would be Redskins -150 vs. Cowboys +130. In this example the - in front of the number denotes the favorite and the + denotes the underdog. So in this instance the Redskins are the favorite and the Cowboys are the underdog. In this example you would have to wager $150 to win $100 betting on the Redskins and $100 to win $130 betting on the Cowboys. As you can see the payout is better for the Cowboys and less so for the Redskins, as they are the betting favorite in the game. The sportsbook also takes a commission for each bet, but this is the approximate payout. The more a team is favored in a game the more the underdog will have a bigger payout. The reason is that there are not points given or taken so the underdog bet needs to be more attractive for bettors.

The moneyline is a type of American football betting lines option that is attractive when you think an underdog will win the game. Even a small underdog will have a decent payout with a moneyline wager. However, on the other side of the coin a major favorite will not have a great payout since you have to risk a lot to win a little. Still, if you think a team is a lock for the game then the moneyline wager can be a good one, as you are not giving points like the favorite does in a point spread bet.