What Does Negative Betting Odds Mean

Before placing your first sports wager on a game, there’s a few fundamental things you must understand in order to properly know what you’re betting on and the potential payout you stand to receive from your wager. Reading and understanding the odds of a play is crucial to knowing which side of a play you should bet on.
The odds essentially tell you the likelihood of a team winning a particular play. The odds represent which team, athlete, horse, etc, has the best chance of winning the contest. For example, if a team has a 70% chance of a winning a game, according to the oddsmakers in Las Vegas, then the odds would be 70 to 30. Meaning 70% chance they’ll win, 30% chance the other team will win.
In moneyline bets the odds work a bit differently in the sense that they are represented by as positive or negative number next to the team name. A positive number represents the underdog team in the game, while the negative number is for the favorite. These negative and positive numbers directly correlate to the payout a player stands to receive. So if a team is -135, that means the player must bet $135 to win $100. On the other hand, if you bet on the underdog of the game who has a statistically less greater chance of winning, the payout it more. For example, if you bet on the underdog team that is +125, then you need only bet $100 to win $125. These are some basic aspects of gambling that a bettor must first understand before placing your first wagers, in order to set yourself up for success in your sports wagers.

Regardless of if you’re wagering on the money line or the run line, you should always be aware of the odds and how the payout of those odds effects your wager. Being a smart investor and employing some basic strategy when placing your wagers can greatly increase your chances of making it big and finding an easy winner. Maximizing your wins and minimizing your losses is what sports wagering and handicapping is all about. It’s the difference between going 1-0 and having little to show for it and going only 1-2 and still coming out a winner. That’s because you have to put your biggest money on your best play with the best payout and odds available. When you’re making smart wagers, it can cover a lot of other amateur mistakes that new sports bettors commonly make. Join the pros today and let our team show you more secrets about how to be a successful sports bettor against the spread.

02/13/2017

As we explained with moneyline betting, a negative number (-) indicates the favorite and a positive number (+) indicates the underdog. ATS (Against the Spread) Betting: Case Study As you can see, New England is the favorite in this game by 7.5 points, since they have the negative number. Whereas Betting Site 2 is giving us negative odds of 193/2, meaning that we don’t want to opt for Betting Site 2. Finding the best odds When you’ve found a match you want to bet on it’s always worth comparing odds from different betting sites to find the best available odds. That's also equivalent to fractional odds of 2/1 and decimal odds of 3. A negative money line represents the amount that you would have to bet to win $100 if you were correct. For example, a -200 money line means you would win $100 if you bet $200 and won. It is also equivalent to fractional odds of 1/2 and decimal odds of 1.5.

These negative and positive numbers directly correlate to the payout a player stands to receive. So if a team is -135, that means the player must bet $135 to win $100. On the other hand, if you bet on the underdog of the game who has a statistically less greater chance of winning, the payout it more. The minus sign shows you which team is favored. When you bet on the favorite you get worse payout odds on your bet since they’re more likely to win. The team with a negative number (like -110) is the favorite. The number next to the minus sign is the amount you must bet to win $100 in profit.

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Most sporting events have a perceived favorite, so applying a spread to the game is the bookmakers’ way of creating an even playing field. This is most often seen when betting on the NFL. When you bet “against the spread,” it’s not enough for the favorite to win the game; now, they have to win by more than a specified amount (the spread) in order for them to “cover the spread.”

As we explained with moneyline betting, a negative number (-) indicates the favorite and a positive number (+) indicates the underdog.

ATS (Against the Spread) Betting: Case Study

As you can see, New England is the favorite in this game by 7.5 points, since they have the negative number. You will often see half-points attached to the spread to avoid “pushes,” or ties for the newbies. As we covered in our how to read odds guide, games with half-point spreads are said to contain a “hook.”

In this circumstance, favored New England is said to be “laying” 7.5 points. This means you subtract 7.5 points from their total score when the game concludes. If they still have more points than the Chiefs, then they “covered.” Therefore, the Patriots will have to win the game by at least 8 points for you to win your bet.

While New England is “laying” 7.5 points, Kansas City is “getting” 7.5 points. This means you add 7.5 points to their total score when the game concludes. If, after doing so, they have more points than the Patriots, then they “covered.” So, in order to win your bet, the Chiefs just cannot lose the game by 8 points or more. For example, if the Chiefs only lose by 3 points, you would win if you bet on Kansas City.

Here are a couple of mock outcomes, with the team who covered the spread in bold.

What Does Negative Odds Mean

• Kansas City 21 – New England 24
• Kansas City 17 – New England 25
• Kansas City 3 – New England 41
• Kansas City 30 – New England 27

What Can Change the Spread?

The spreads in football games are subject to change based on where the money is going and weekly injury reports. If Tom Brady is hit by the Madden Curse before the season even starts and is unable to suit up, you’ll see the spread decrease, likely landing around New England -3.5.

Calculating Payouts Against the Spread

Now you may have noticed in the chart above that there is a three-digit number next to each spread, which looks an awful lot like a moneyline. It is, in essence. Those negative numbers (-110 in this case) indicate how much you have to bet in order to win $100. (Sportsbooks still take their cut when you’re betting against the spread.)

Generally, you will see “even bets,” meaning the payout is the same no matter who you bet on. But that’s not always the case, as you’ll see in the chart for our next example.

What Does Negative Betting Odds Means

If the result of this game is Seattle 21 – Green Bay 28, would you win if you bet on Seattle to cover?

(NO! They lost by more than three points.)

Do Other Sports Have Spread Betting Options?

Betting against the spread on the NFL is undoubtedly the most popular form of spread betting, but there are other options.

You will also see point spreads in hockey, baseball, and soccer. They are referred to in different terms, but they refer to the same principle of operation as the spread.

In hockey, the spread is called apuck line; in baseball, it is a run line; and in soccer, it is a goal line.

Puck lines and run lines are almost always fixed at 1.5.

Learn the Basics of Sports Betting

What Does Negative Betting Odds Meaning

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