moneyline

Moneyline is a common odds format used in sports betting that expresses the payout for selecting the outright winner of a contest. In American odds, moneyline is shown as a negative number for the favorite and a positive number for the underdog. It emphasizes who is expected to win rather than by how much.

In practice, the numbers indicate how much a bettor must stake to win a standard unit (usually 100) or how much a 100 stake would yield. For example, a game listed as Yankees -140 and Dodgers +120 means a bettor would risk 140 to win 100 on the Yankees, while a 100 stake on the Dodgers would win 120. A $50 wager on the Yankees would yield about $35 in profit if successful, and a $50 wager on the Dodgers would yield about $60 in profit.

The general rules are: for negative odds (favorites), profit = stake × 100 / abs(odds); payout = stake + profit. For positive odds (underdogs), profit = stake × odds / 100; payout = stake + profit. Moneyline markets typically apply to outright winners and do not reflect draws; in sports where draws are possible, some books offer a separate draw option or a different market.

Moneyline is widely used in North American betting and relates to decimal odds through simple conversions. It is often contrasted with point spreads and totals as a way to bet on who will win the game.