Athletes, sports fans, and even some sportsbooks have different ways of pronouncing the ‘+’ symbol when making wagers on sporting events. Some say it sounds like ‘choiceless choice’ while others say it sounds kind of like ‘plus’. Regardless of how you say it, the ‘+’ symbol in sports betting means ‘win’, or ‘moneyline bet’ as it is commonly known.
What Is the Moneyline Bet?
If you’re unfamiliar, the ‘moneyline bet’ is the simplest and most popular type of wager in sports betting. Basically, you’re placing a wager on the outcome of a sporting event with the understanding that the bookmaker will pay you if your prediction comes true. For instance, if you predict that the Los Angeles Lakers will win the National Basketball Association championship this year, you’re betting on the ‘moneyline’ version of the championship. In that case, the moneyline bet for the L.A. Lakers would be: +210. You can also use the moneyline bet for cricket, golf, and other sports. It’s pretty straightforward.
As you’d imagine, the appeal of the moneyline bet is that it’s relatively easy for new and experienced sports bettors to understand. Furthermore, since there are no choices involved when placing a moneyline bet, it prevents human error. If you make a mistake, you’ll simply lose the wager rather than, say, throw away a bunch of cash and then have to start over from scratch. Finally, due to the high volume of wagers placed on sporting events each day, the results of the games often have a bigger impact on the betting public as opposed to what’s going on in the actual game. For those reasons and more, betting with the ‘moneyline’ is highly accessible. And, let’s face it, who doesn’t love an easy victory more than anything else?
What Is the Over/Under Bet?
Speaking of easy victories, how about the over/under wager? This type of wager allows you to bet on whether a game, event, or series will have more or less points than expected. For instance, you can make an over wager on the Super Bowl this year, with the goal of making a lot of money if your team, the New York Giants, covers the point spread. So, instead of betting on the Lakers again, let’s try a different sportsbook and see what they offer for the New York Giants – and Chicago Bears – in the upcoming Super Bowl. The over/under wager is a popular option in all sports, but it’s especially popular for football, basketball, and hockey. And, as you might imagine, the most common outcome of an over/under wager is that both teams show up and it’s a battle of who can cover the most points. Finally, like with the moneyline bet, since there’s no skill or strategy involved in an over/under wager, it makes perfect sense that a lot of people would opt to try their hand at it. Meaning, if you’re looking for a more relaxed or enjoyable way to bet, you might want to consider putting your money on the over/under version of a game rather than the traditional straight up or against the spread wager.
What Is the Half-Point/Full-Point Bet?
Another way of looking at point spreads is through the lens of fractional odds. That is, rather than betting on the outcome of a game in a way that makes or breaks your wager, you’re simply placing a wager of either half a point (0.5) or full point (1.0). For example, the over/under wager we just discussed might have 50 as its fractional version. So, instead of betting $100 on a New York Giants – Chicago Bears game, you’d be placing a half-point ($50) wager. The appeal of betting on fractions is that you can have a better handle on your money, particularly if you’re betting on sports with larger point spreads. For instance, if you’ve got a $100 half-point wager on a Chicago Bears – New York Giants game and your team wins, you’d only need to payout $50. Instead of being hit with a $150 bookie bonus, you get only half that. That is, you get back $75 in profit. And, since you’re not risking as much as you would with an over/under wager, there’s a better chance of making profit. Finally, like with the over/under wager, since it’s more of a gamble, you may end up with a more entertaining way of spending your time. For instance, you may place an under wager on a game and then, when it comes in, make a run for it before the game ends. The risk of an under wager is that, if your team loses, you’ll lose your entire wager rather than risk getting a bookie bonus. For this reason, it’s not recommended by most sportsbooks that you take more than a few hours to research and study the statistics before placing an under wager. Otherwise, it’s likely you’ll end up losing more than you’d like to.
In closing, we wanted to talk about how to pronounce the ‘+’ symbol when betting on sports events. Some say it sounds like ‘choiceless choice’ while others say it sounds kind of like ‘plus’. Regardless of how you say it, the ‘+’ symbol in sports betting means ‘win’, or ‘moneyline bet’ as it is commonly known. As you’d imagine, the appeal of the moneyline bet is that it’s relatively easy for new and experienced sports bettors to understand. Furthermore, since there are no choices involved when placing a moneyline bet, it prevents human error. If you make a mistake, you’ll simply lose the wager rather than, say, throw away a bunch of cash and then have to start over from scratch. Finally, due to the high volume of wagers placed on sporting events each day, the results of the games often have a bigger impact on the betting public than what’s going on in the actual game. For those reasons and more, betting with the ‘moneyline’ is highly accessible. And, let’s face it, who doesn’t love an easy victory more than anything else?