Betting Odds Explained: A Full Guide

If you are ready to learn how to read betting odds like the experts, then this is the page for you.

Betting odds can be defined as the way a retail or online sportsbook operator assigns value to a sports betting event. Oddsmakers offer betting odds for dozens of sports betting markets and bet types, ranging from NFL and NBA point spread odds, to NHL and MLB moneyline odds. 

Any time there is a betting line available, there are betting odds available to wager on either side. This includes game props, player props, and any other sports betting market offered at a regulated and licensed sportsbook. 

There are several different ways to read betting odds, which we’ll explore later in this betting guide. However, most sportsbooks in the United States offer American odds (-130, +140, etc.), so I’ll primarily analyze betting odds through this format. 

Initial betting odds are set by oddsmakers early in a week before a sporting event. Odds are subject to change leading up to an event, based on how much money, also known as the betting handle, is placed on one side of a betting line. Betting odds are also subject to change based on other factors, like injury updates and weather forecasts. 

In this betting guide, I’ll help you learn how to read betting odds with various examples and details, along with a few strategies to use to your advantage to give you the best opportunity to place wagers with a winning outcome. 

Reading betting odds is done by looking at the assigned value to each side of a specific betting line. Regardless of the betting market and bet type, the plus sign (+) and minus sign (-) represent the underdog and favorite. 

Below is an example of how to accurately read betting odds at any regulated and licensed online sportsbook:

Betting odds exist for every major sport and its associated betting markets at all regulated and licensed online sportsbooks in Michigan. These can be assigned to various bet types, ranging from moneyline and point spread, to totals, props, and futures. 

Here are a few more examples demonstrating how to read betting odds accurately across several of the most popular sports betting markets.

The NBA is a popular betting market since it has an 82-game regular season and a lot of offensive production in most matchups. NBA bet types include moneyline, point spread, totals, game props, player props, and futures markets. 

The Detroit Pistons have +250 moneyline odds against the Dallas Mavericks. A sports bettor can opt to bet on +250 moneyline odds to get 2.5 times their return on investment, however, it’s a big risk, since oddsmakers are bearish on the Pistons to pull off the upset against one of the best teams in the NBA.

The NFL is undoubtedly the most popular sports betting market in Michigan. This creates a more difficult betting environment for sports bettors to win long-term due to the amount of time and resources oddsmakers provide, along with the high-volume of money and wagers placed by NFL fans and sports bettors.

The Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams’ point total in Week 1 is set to 51.5 points. Oddsmakers at FanDuel Sportsbook are slightly favoring under 51.5 total points at -115 odds, compared to -105 odds for over 51.5 total points. 

Most NFL games don’t reach 50 points or more for their point total line, which is why -105 odds is available on over 51.5 points. If 52 points get scored, sports bettors who wager under 51.5 points, despite taking on slightly more vigorish, or vig, at -115 odds, lose their ticket. 

UFC and mixed martial arts (MMA) sports betting markets have grown in popularity over the past several years. Despite being an individual fighter event, oddsmakers still assign betting odds, like the moneyline, to each fighter with the same plus and minus value. 

UFC 305 has Dricus Du Plessis facing Israel Adesanya in the middleweight division for the main event on its card. Adesanya is a slight betting favorite at -118 moneyline odds, however, Du Plessis is -108 moneyline odds, which means we’re essentially getting a pick ‘em on the moneyline. 

A pick’em indicates identical or near identical value on either side of a betting line. In this case, regardless of the method of victory (KO, TKO, Submission, Points), a UFC bettor is getting close to the same value on either fighter’s moneyline odds.

College football has a lot of different betting markets with various betting odds assigned to each betting line available at Michigan sportsbooks. Here’s a look at how to read the betting odds for the University of Michigan’s Week 1 matchup against Fresno State.

Oddsmakers are extremely bullish on the Michigan Wolverines in their Week 1 matchup following their 2023 National Championship title win. Michigan is a heavy betting favorite at -2800 moneyline odds. This means a $100 bettor would win $3.57 of profit for a $103.57 payout. 

Expect a lot of money and wagers to be placed on the Wolverines’ point spread odds instead, sitting at -21.5 at -110 odds. If Michigan covers the point spread and wins by 22 or more points against Fresno State, a $100 bettor gets $90.91 of profit and a total payout of $190.91.  

Baseball is one of the most popular sports betting markets, especially during the spring and summer sports calendar. In baseball, the point spread is called the run line, which almost always sits at -1.5 for the favorite team and +1.5 for the underdog. There are also moneyline odds and run totals, along with player props, game props, and futures markets.

The Detroit Tigers are underdogs on the run line at +1.5, while also being +120 on the moneyline against the Seattle Mariners. The Tigers have -140 odds on their +1.5 run line, meaning they can lose by one total run or win outright to cash any tickets placed on this betting line. Baseball bettors who believe that Detroit will win outright get better value at plus odds (+120) avoiding the vig (-142) attached to the +1.5 run line.

The NHL has the same number of regular season games compared to the NBA, running in conjunction with its schedule, however, its point spread mirrors baseball’s run line. In hockey, the point spread is called the puck line, and just like baseball, teams are either -1.5 as favorites or +1.5 as underdogs. Moneyline, totals, props, and futures also exist to wager on in NHL betting markets.

The Detroit Red Wings are -1.5 puck line favorites at +135 odds against the Anaheim Ducks. Hockey bettors who take this line only cash their wager if Detroit wins by at least two goals. Due to the frequent pulling of goaltenders late in games with a one-goal deficit, bettors who take either side of the puck line often have to wait and see if an empty-net goal results in a two-goal win or a tied game heading to overtime. 

Betting odds are set by oddsmakers at individual sportsbooks. This explains why the same betting lines aren’t always the same value, as each operator uses their own resources and algorithms to set their betting odds ahead of a sporting event. 

The other aspect of betting odds being made and updated relies on the amount of money and wagers placed on one side of a betting line. For example, if the Lions are getting bet heavily at -3.5 on the point spread, oddsmakers will likely move the point spread to -4 or -4.5. This also impacts the Lions moneyline odds, shortening from -186 to -195, creating less value for NFL bettors to acquire.

You can use the following strategies to improve your analysis of betting odds in any preferred sports betting market to increase the probability of winning a bet.

Sports bettors should take advantage of the different betting lines and prices available across licensed and regulated online sportsbooks. FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, and Caesars Sportsbook seldom have the same betting lines for any market, meaning there are pricing discrepancies that you can find to maximize profit. This can be done manually or expedited with any number of line shopping tools that exist online. 

If the Detroit Lions have -134 moneyline odds at FanDuel, but -125 moneyline odds at DraftKings, you can lay less vig by placing a wager on the Lions’ moneyline odds at DraftKings, earning $6.37 more profit for the same exact $100 wager.

Expected value betting, or EV betting, is a strategy that sports bettors use to identify perceived pricing errors set by oddsmakers at sportsbooks. If you believe that the Detroit Tigers are mispriced with +122 moneyline odds, you’d wager on the Tigers’ moneyline odds, even if you think that the Mariners ultimately win the game, because the value is available on Detroit.

Fading the public is a way to avoid falling into groupthink and consensus while placing bets. If there’s a heavy betting favorite, like the University of Michigan Wolverines being -2800 moneyline odds against Fresno State in Week 1, you can either side with Fresno State to cover the point spread at +11.5 with -110 odds, or jump on the point total over set to 47.5 at -115 odds instead. 

If the public money is on one particular side of a betting line, it can often pay to take the opposite side where less money and wagers are being placed, even if it seems like a less likely outcome.

There are some key differences between European and American betting odds. Sportsbooks give bettors the option to switch odds to their preferred format. In this betting guide, we’ve been exclusively using American betting odds, represented by + and -, which indicate underdog and favorite respectively.

European odds use decimal odds instead, so if a team is a +400 underdog in American odds, they’ll be 4.00 with European odds. A -125 betting favorite in American odds translates to 1.25 for European odds. The stake and payout don’t change, it’s simply a different way of reading betting odds, based on a sports bettor’s preference.