Regarding sports betting, it is always best to know what you’re doing before you place your first wager. However, the terms and terminology can get confusing unless you have been betting for a while. With this in mind, one of the most popular forms of sports betting on DraftKings involves a moneyline bet, but what exactly is a moneyline bet, and how does it work?
A moneyline bet means that you’re betting for the team to win outright. The spread will not count toward the final score. These odds are typically lower than betting the spread.
In DraftKings, a 2-way moneyline bet involves placing a wager on the odds that a sports team will win. However, there is more than one moneyline bet on DraftKings, and the 3-way moneyline bet includes a draw option. A green number gets shown next to the teams, showing the potential profit.
Though the concept of a moneyline bet may be easy to explain as betting on the odds of a team winning, there is much more you need to understand about how this bet type works. Below we explain what a moneyline bet is in more detail, how it works, and how you can calculate your potential winnings depending on your bet size.
What Is A Moneyline Bet In DraftKings?
Though we’re explicitly discussing DraftKings, a moneyline bet is the same at most sports-betting establishments. Generally, a Moneyline bet means betting on the odds that a team will win instead of other criteria.
This manner of betting has become quite popular since it provides two or three choices, which technically means you have a higher chance of winning rather than guessing a score or trying to predict specific actions or outcomes of games.
Though betting on the odds of a team winning is not as fun as other types of betting, such as prop bets, it does feel like you have a bigger chance of winning and understanding the basic concepts of how a moneyline bet works are easy enough.
What Are The Odds, And How Do They Work?
When you place a moneyline bet on DraftKings, you will see green numbers written next to the teams you can choose from, usually with a + or – in front of the numbers, and these numbers are the odds.
The odds are a guideline that shows you your potential winnings based on the favor a team has of winning. It is common practice for the odds to be higher for the group less likely to win. For example, the team more likely to win will have -130 odds, with the team less likely to win having +100 odds.
You can also use the moneyline odds to calculate your potential winnings based on a base $100 bet; though there are other types of odds, the odds discussed are the norm and get called the American Odds. When using the American Odds, you can easily calculate your potential winnings by looking at the number in green.
For example, if the odds are -130, you will need to bet $130 to make a $100 profit; if the odds are +150, you will make a $150 profit by placing a $100 bet. This method means that placing a bet on the less likely-to-win team is technically cheaper and will reward you with a bigger payout if that team manages to win, while the team more likely to win will cost more to bid on and reward you with less profit.
What Are The Different Types Of Odds, And How To Use Them
If you have a DraftKings account and want to place a moneyline bet, there are three types of odds that you can use to help you make your decision. The three types of odds are called American odds, which is the type discussed above; decimal odds, which gets shown as a decimal like 1.91; and fractional odds, generally written with a slash or hyphen.
Since we have already discussed what American odds are and how you can use this type of odds to calculate your potential profit, it is time to explain the other two and tell you how to use them instead of the American odds system.
How To Switch Between Odds Type
Once you have a DraftKings account, you can access the website and the “My Account” section. In this section, you can find some settings for your preference, including the odds format selector, allowing you to change the type of odds you get shown.
Once you have selected the odds you wish to use and saved the settings, you will see the odds of your potential bets in the newly chosen format.
How Decimal Odds Work
Decimal odds, as stated, get shown in a decimal format, such as 1.91, next to the teams you can bet on. Calculating your potential profit using this format is simple since it only requires you to multiply your bet by the decimal value. For example, if the odds are 2.3 and you bet $100, you will receive a total of $230 if the team wins, giving you a total profit of $130.
It is good to note that odds under 2 get considered the favorite team, giving you a lesser return on your bet than odds over 2 which get used for the underdog and will provide you with more significant total winnings.
How Fractional Odds Work
The fractional odds are also straightforward to understand and get written with either a slash or a hyphen. For this odds format, the winnings get placed next to the bid, for example, 10/11, with 10 being the winnings and 11 being the amount you need to bet.
To determine your potential winnings, you need to multiply the first number with your bet and divide it by the second number; for example, using the numbers above with a $100 bet would look like this, 10 x $100 = 1000, 1000 ÷ 11 = 90.90 or $91 when rounded up. With this formula, you could win $91 with a bet of $100.
The Types Of DraftKings Moneylines And How They Work
Now that we have knowledge of the basics of the odds system and how to calculate the potential winnings, there is one more important thing to discuss, the types of moneylines you get. There are two types of moneyline, the two-way bet and the three-way bet.
The Two-Way Moneyline
The two-way moneyline is the most commonly played version of the moneylines and is the type we have spoken about until now. Generally, this type of moneyline gives you two bet options in the form of two teams or players. The underdog is less likely to win but will provide a bigger payout if they do, while the favorite gives a lesser payout but is more likely to succeed. In a draw, your bet gets returned to you.
The Three-Way Moneyline
The three-way moneyline includes the option to bet on a draw, and the odds are slightly different. For this type of moneyline, the favorite will have the minor odds, such as +130, indicating that you can win $130 on a $100 bet, the underdog usually has the most significant odds, such as +290, showing you can win $290 on a $100 bet, and the draw is usually somewhere between these like +205.
Conclusion
With concepts that are relatively easy to understand, and the ability to calculate your winnings in a way that is easiest for you, it is easy to see why the DraftKing moneyline bets are so popular. Though betting on the odds of a player or team winning is easy to understand, the explanations above should help you understand how it all works in more detail.