American Sports Betting Terms Explained for the Average Joe

Sports betting is growing quickly in the United States and many complicated terms exist. Here are the five most common types of bets, what they are, and how to win.

Moneylines

The moneyline is the most common type of betting, and when you see numbers like -250 or +405, that is the moneyline odds. Imagine a scenario where one team has -105 odds to win a game. To win your bet, you would have to bet $105 to win $100, assuming the team wins. Looking at it the other way around, if a team has +205 odds and wins the game, if you bet $100 on them and they won, you would win $205.

Spread/Covering the Spread

The spread works differently from the money line. Often, you might hear the term “covering the spread” and have no clue what it means. Imagine you see odds for a baseball game listed as BAL -3.5, NYY +3.5. This means the Baltimore Orioles are 3.5-point favorites (in baseball, referred to as the “run line”) over the New York Yankees, who, according to the odds, are 3.5-point underdogs. To “cover the spread,” the Yankees must do one of two things: Either win outright or lose by three or fewer runs. Since they did better than what the sportsbooks thought they would do, you would win money if you bet on them. Similarly, the Orioles would need to win by four or more runs to cover against the spread, or you would lose your bet.

Over/Under (O/U)

The Over/Under is a metaphorical coin toss on whether a certain amount of something will go over or under a specified amount. Often, this amount is a decimal point to ensure that there are no scenarios where someone would bet the exact amount of time something happened (i.e., betting the over on three runs in a game, only for three runs scored by both teams). In most major American sports, the Over/Under is for the total number of points scored by both teams in a game, although other, less common O/U bets follow similar logic.

Prop bets

Prop bets try to predict whether something specific will happen. Usually, this is something oddly specific, such as "Will Player X get 2 ground balls hit to him in the sixth inning?" or "Will Player Y hit a 430+ foot home run between the first and fourth innings?"

Parlays

Parlays are a combination of two or more bets (usually 3), and for you to win, every bet in that parlay has to cash out. Beginners are often advised against parlays, mainly due to the low probability of all three (or even more) bets winning. However, the prize money is usually larger.