One of the most significant aspects of sports betting is understanding the meaning of a negative betting line. When a sports bookies offers odds on a sporting event, they may also include a “negativity rate” alongside the odds. The meaning of this number will depend on whether you’re backing or laying (taking or laying) bets, but it will almost always be negative. Let’s have a look, shall we?
What Does a Negative Betting Line Mean When You’re Backing Bets?
When you’re backing your bets with cash, the bookie takes the money and places the bet for you. As a result, you’ll usually see positive betting lines for guaranteed betting options (GTOs) and for full-paid-up memberships. When a bookie offers odds on an undercard fight or an overflow crowd in an NFL game, they will often use a positive betting line to attract customers. Since you’re the one putting the bet down, they want to make sure that the line isn’t too high and that they’ll get their money back if you decide to cancel the transaction. When you’re backing a bet, the bookie needs to ensure that they’ll make money off you.
What Does a Negative Betting Line Mean When You’re Laying Bets?
When you’re laying a bet with another person, the bookie will take the bet and place it for both of you. This means that if the bet loses, both of you lose. The upside is that you both win if the outcome is as predicted. This being said, when a bookie offers odds on a sporting event, they will usually use a negative betting line for laying bets. They don’t want to give anyone an advantage by having the bet placed for them. When you lay a bet, there’s no need for the bookie to make sure that they’ll get their money back. You’re both on the hook for the price of the bet. This is also why you won’t see positive betting lines for GTOs or memberships when you’re laying bets.
How Do I Calculate The Negativity Rate?
To figure out the negativity rate of a betting line, simply take the total amount of money you would win if you backed the winning team and add it to the total amount you would lose if you took the losing team. The difference between these two figures will give you the negativity rate. For example, if you bet $100 on a team with an implied probability of winning of 80%, you would win $80. If you then took the other team, you would lose $100, resulting in a negativity rate of -20%.
Now you know the meaning of a negative betting line. Knowing how prevalent this type of line is in the sports betting world can help you navigate the bookie’s ecosystem better and, hopefully, make you a bit more money in the process. If you have any questions about how to improve your golf game, swing mechanics, or just need some friendly advice, feel free to reach out to us at any time and we’ll be happy to help. Good luck out there.