Lets talk about what are called the lines or odds. The most common line is a money line. In Football and Basketball there is also the point spread line.

The money line is very simple to understand. It is the amount of money you have to place on the favorite to win a $100. What we mean by the favorite is the team the odds makers think will win.

In both the money line and the point spread, the favorite is signified by a negative sign, for example –155 in a money line and –5 in a point spread. This means that if you bet on the money line you bet $155 to win $100, and the team you are betting on only has to win.

If you make straight bets on the point spread then you usually bet $110 dollars to win $100, but the team you are betting on has to win by one or more points than the point spread.

Now in all sports there are two teams. The team that is not favored is called the underdog, and it is identified by a plus symbol or no symbol at all.

Now in the example we used before we said the favorite was –155 in a standard line the comeback, or the underdog, would be +145, this is called a dime line or 10 cent line.

This is the most common line used. If the difference in the line is more than 10, it is called a wide line. In this case you have to bet $100 to win $145, and again the team only has to win. In the point spread we said that the favorite was –5 so the underdog would be +5, in a point spread the number of points is always the same just change the symbol.

This means again that you will bet $110 to win $100, but your team can lose by 4 points and you still win and if they lose by 5 points you push, they have to lose by 6 points for you to lose your money.

In summary, if you straight bet on the favorite in a money line you risk more money to win less but the favorite only has to win. If you straight bet on the underdog in a money line you risk less to win more and the underdog only has to win. If you bet on the favorite in a point spread then the favorite has to win by more points than in the spread. If you bet on the underdog in a point spread then the underdog can lose by one less than the point spread for you to win.

Lastly, straight bets also known as straight wagers are said to be the most efficient way of betting on sports.