The moneyline wager is used in all four of the major sports, but is the standard wager for betting on Baseball and Hockey. Moneyline wagering is simply wagering on the contest based on a given price rather than a pointspread. The team wagered on simply has to win the game for the player to win their bet.

Example 1: (Baseball)

The posted line on the baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the New York Yankees is Atlanta +135 and the New York Yankees –155. The Yankees at –155 are considered to be the favorite, and the Braves at +135 are considered to be the underdog. The team with a minus (-) sign next to them is always the favorite and the team with a plus (+) sign, or no sign at all, is always the underdog.

• Visiting Team: Atlanta Braves +135
• Home Team: NY Yankees -155

A player has two wagering options on this game:

Option #1: The player can wager on the Braves at +135. If the player bets $100 on the Braves and the Braves win 5-1, then the player wins $135. However if the Braves lose 1-5 they lose the $100 they risked. The Braves simply have to win the game for the player to win the wager.

Option #2: The player can wager on the Yankees -155. If the player wants to win $100 on the Yankees, then they must wager $155 to win $100. If the Yankees win the game 4-0 then the player wins $100. If the Yankess lose the game 0-4, the player loses the $155 they risked. The Yankees simply have to win the game for the player to win the wager.

Example 2: (Baseball)

• Cleveland Indians +120
• Chicago White Sox –140

Player A places a wager on Cleveland +120 for $100. If Cleveland wins the game, the player wins $120. If Cleveland loses the game, the player loses $100.

Player B places a wager on Chicago –140 to win $100. To win $100 the player must risk $140, this is because the line on Chicago is –140. If Chicago wins the game, the player wins $100. If Chicago loses the game, the player loses $140.

Sports Betting Strategy

How to win at sports betting online:

The challenge of sports betting is to collect and analyze information and then make a sound judgement on what to bet on, what type of bet to place and how much. To create an opportunity to be a winner, you need to take into account three main factors, analyze them and act on your findings accordingly. These are:

1. The odds offer (Price)
2. The value of the odds (overpriced or underpriced)
3. The type of bet (single, multiple, combination, etc.)

The odds offer has to be at least 2:1 to make it worthwhile. If necessary, choose a selection with a slightly higher risk to prop up the price.

The value of the odds must be such that the sportsbook's commission is to a minimum, if at all. Some lines get 'steamed' unnecessarily. When this happens, the 'favorite' price lengthens. Take advantage of those situations.

Three type of bets seem to stand out as a sensible combination to use because they are simple, not too difficult to win and have good winning potential: the Straight bet, the Doubles and the Future.

Sports betting is one area where skillful players can win out. But it is important to understand that the skillful players are not "beating the bookies" so much as beating unskillful sports bettors. This becomes most clear when you look at one of the most common ways to win at sportsbetting: bet against popular teams. Bookies aren't sentimental, but people are.

The ideal world for a bookie would be for X number of people betting Y dollars on a team to win, while X number of people bet Y dollars on the opposing team. The bookies then just take 10% of the money that changes hands, with zero risk. Teams like the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, and Green Bay Packers get a lot of emotional money bet on them by fans. So, games featuring these teams seldom show the "true odds".