Betting odds guide: Everything to know about how to read odds and how odds work
Money line, totals and prop bets in hockey betting work exactly the same as those in football, basketball and baseball, except with different stats (goals, assists, shots, saves, etc.). Once again, betting on hockey is very similar to football, basketball and baseball; only some terminology has changed. Money line, totals and prop bets in baseball work exactly the same as those in football and basketball. Here is a table with some common sports betting odds expressed in American, fractional and decimal formats, as well as the corresponding implied odds for each. Implied odds can help bettors place the sportsbook’s odds in a better perspective and help identify when a bet is a bad one.
A moneyline bet is on who wins, full stop, with the price adjusted for how mismatched the teams are. This occurs in games between teams deemed by the sportsbook as evenly matched. Odds comparison, also known as line shopping, means checking the price of the same outcome at several bookmakers and taking the highest one. We cover the NHL, the SHL in Sweden and the KHL among many hockey leagues, with prices on single games and on the outright winners. Our tennis odds page compares the prices on every match of the day, next to past results and the odds they closed at. Basketball goes from NBA odds and the EuroLeague to domestic leagues such as the Super Lig in Turkey and the LNB in France, with prices on single games and on the outright winners.
In American odds, betting favorites have a three-digit number preceded by a “minus” sign in moneyline bets. NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college football, and college basketball bettors can wager on betting odds in 2026. The favorite, usually indicated by the minus sign (-) in front of the odds, has a higher implied probability of winning the game. NFL odds are numbers set by oddsmakers at sportsbooks based on each team’s probability of winning the game. When the odds screen is set to American odds, the moneyline favorite will have a minus (-) before the odds, while the underdog will usually be indicated by a plus (+). The moneyline is one of the easiest ways to bet on NFL odds, asking bettors to simply pick which team they think will win the game.
Find out how to bookies read lines, visit our FAQ page, or if you’re interested in mobile wagering, visit our online sports betting section to find out where you can get the best available bonuses and promotions. Futures odds cover outcomes decided over a full season or event, such as championship winners, division titles, and player awards. Vegas odds are the game-level lines for scheduled matchups (moneyline, spread, and total) and they change constantly right up to kickoff. A heavy favorite is cheap to back on the spread and expensive on the moneyline; the spread is where you take a view on how much a team wins by. A plus sign marks the underdog and shows what a $100 stake returns (at +200), $100 wins $200.
Our sure bets page shows a way to cover every outcome of a match across different bookmakers so that the combined odds return a profit, as long as the prices are still available when you place the bets. A single bookmaker’s price — open a match to compare every bookView all odds → Bettors can compare odds and betting lines from the best sports betting apps and sites year-round for major events and leagues.
A minus sign marks the favorite and shows what you must stake to win $100 (at -200), a $200 wager returns $100 in profit. Bettors wager on major leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB), season-long awards, and major events such as the Super Bowl, March Madness, the Olympics, and more. Vegas odds are lines that are featured from sportsbooks based in Las Vegas, including Caesars, BetMGM and Circa. The betting favorite of any game will have a minus sign next to its money line and point spread since it is viewed as more likely to win. With +300, the plus sign and the 300 mean that bettors would wager $100 to win $300 (or $20 to win $60 or any equivalent). With -150, the minus sign and the 150 tell bettors that they have to lay $150 to win $100 (or $75 to win $50 or any equivalent).
The same price is 3/1 in fractional odds and +300 in American odds, which means a 100 bet wins 300 on top of the stake. We post videos regularly, and these will go a long way in helping you on your online sports betting adventure. These offers are very useful for the players and are also to be considered in determining the most advantageous bookmaker. Thus, they are perfect for choosing the bookmaker best suited to your needs. Originally from Scotland, Ryan is an experienced betting expert and content producer based out of Barcelona, Spain.
Before you rely on one, check how many bookmakers it covers, how quickly the prices are refreshed, whether it shows markets beyond the match result and whether it keeps the history of every price move. OddsPortal is a free odds comparison site where you can compare betting odds from leading bookmakers on every match. We also compare prices on boxing and MMA, where big fights are added as soon as bookmakers publish odds, on esports and on rugby union, rugby league, baseball, volleyball, Aussie rules and many more. When there are just two sides of a bet — like when two football teams play — the favorite generally is designated by the minus sign, and the underdog is designated by the plus sign.