They indicate how much you need to wager to win a prize. They can be either positive or negative but are always written as a ratio of two numbers. Fractional Oddsįractional odds are the most common type of sports betting line and are found in decimal and moneyline formats. For example, what do odds of -200 mean? That means you would have to bet $200 to win $100. The plus sign indicates that you will receive fractional odds if you win your wager, while negative odds indicate how much you have to wager to win. The plus and minus signs on a sportsbook can also indicate fractional odds. The favored team will always have a minus sign in front of the odds, while the underdog will have a plus sign. To understand how odds work, you must know how to tell the underdog from the favorite based on the sign.
The first step is looking at how to read sports betting lines. Understanding American betting lines is essential to get in on the action, especially if you’re betting on basketball and football. Bookmakers will set various types of betting odds based on the amount of money being staked on an event by the public. A betting line is the amount of money you need to wager to win a certain payout.
