The only caveat is that you will need to wager more on a favorite to receive a substantial payoff, while a winning underdog comes with a better payout. Basketball Money Line Odds and Bettingīetting the “ML” simply means picking who you think will win out-right. This number does change on occasion, so be sure you check it before placing a wager. This means you must wager $110 to win $100 (or $55 to win $50, etc.). In the example above, both numbers are -110 (which is fairly typical). The next number, after the point spread, represents the “vigorish,” or juice, that the book requires to place your bet.

Bulls 101, Lakers 105 would give you a winning bet if you took the Bulls +6). A wager on Chicago would score for you if the Bulls either prevail outright, or lose by less than 6 points (e.g. On the other side of the ledger is Chicago at +6, this means the Bulls are “getting” 6 points (or are 6-point underdogs). If the Lakers prevail by less than 6 points, your bet would be a loser, and if Los Angeles prevails by exactly 6 points, your wager would be a “push” or tie, meaning your wager would be nullified. to best their opponent, but they must prevail in the contest by more than 6 points for your wager to pay off. Remember, the team with the minus (-) sign is the favorite and the number listed after is how many points they are favored by. In these lines, Los Angeles is a 6-point favorite over the Chicago Bulls. Let’s start off with an example of a pro hoops game with the point spread listed: Here are some basic explanations of how basketball lines work.

NBA lines are easy to read! If you’ve ever bet on NFL action, you know that the National Basketball Association is a similar cash play on a straight pick, point total or ATS.īut wait – what if you’ve never wagered on football either? Or what if all of it seems confusing anyway?

Basketball point spread betting