As someone who reports on the latest NJ sports betting news, I can easily answer questions about the latest casino partnership or online sports betting platform launch.

What does 'plus' and 'minus' mean as a sports betting term? Odds expressed in terms of money, with $100 being the standard. If the odds are minus (–), then that amount of money must be wagered.

(In case you didn’t know, DraftKings Sportsbook just launched its sports betting app in New Jersey.)

• So, with an odds number of +200, you would win $200 in profit if you bet on them to win and they actually won. The bigger the number after the plus sign, the bigger of an underdog that the team or person is to win. So, if a team is +1000 to win, this would mean that you would win $1000 in profit with a bet of $100 - if they won, of course.
• With money lines, remember that plus signs mean underdogs and minus signs mean favorites. North Carolina is an underdog at +135 and since they are the underdog, you make more than you bet if they win. A bet on North Carolina would pay $135 for every $100 you bet. When betting on favorites to simply win, you won’t be getting as much as you bet.

What I can’t answer is any question about what it means to actually place a sports bet. Since I am writing less about online poker these days and more about legalized sports betting, it seems appropriate that I understand what all the fuss is about.

I began my quest by seeking the answers to what might seem like some fundamental questions. As someone whose only gambling vice to date is poker, the thought of placing my first informed sports bet is intimidating, to say the least.

I say “informed” because I will confess to placing bets while at the horse races. So that you know, I usually choose the horse based on its colors and nothing more.

But that is about to change.

So, what is a line anyway?

Now, don’t laugh. It is the one question I have had for quite a while and have been too embarrassed to ask.

Theline is merely the number assigned by the bookmakers handicapping the team perceived as more likely to win.

For example, if Team A is perceived to be seven points better than Team B, the bookmaker can handicap Team A by seven points. The line becomes Team A to win by more than seven points or Team B to lose by less than seven points.

Come to find out, that example is a point spread bet. Of course, that opened a whole new can of worms … the different types of sports bets.

So, I went down that rabbit hole next.

What are the different types of bets?

There are a ton of resources on sports betting out there. I am not going to lie, my quest to understand the types of bets ended up confusing me more than helping.

That is until I found some straightforward explanations from TheLines.com.

Here are the types of sports bets I found:

Point Spread Bet: Described above, the point spread bet is the most popular type of sports bet. It’s how the sportsbook evens the playing field.

Moneyline Sports Bet: Without knowing it, I have placed many, many moneyline bets throughout my life. To place a moneyline bet, the sports bettor picks a team a to win. It’s as simple as that.

Parlay Sports Bet: A parlay bet is a single bet that relies on two or more specific outcomes to be a winner. For instance, a sports bettor might bet Team A to win by more than 10 points AND Team C to win by more than six. Both teams must win to collect on the bet.

What Does Mean In Betting

In-Play Sports Bet: In-play sports bets take place during the game and offers game-specific odds and options for bets during the game.

Prop Bet: Is a bet on a specific player or event. TheLines.com uses this example:

How Many Yards Will Tom Brady Pass For?
Over 197.5 -110
Under 197.5 -110

Looking at that example, my next question was …

What do the plus and minus mean in sports betting?

In the example above, a $110 bet would pay $100. When a sports bettor goes to collect, he will receive $210 — the $110 bet plus $100 for the win.

Most bets include a handicap, so the odds on both sides of the bet are even or close to it. Moneyline bets are different because there is no point spread to even out the odds.

As an example:

Patriots -600
Redskins +400

Looking at the odds, the Patriots are the favorite to win the game. The team with a minus (-) is usually the favorite, while the team with a plus (+) is often the underdog.

A bet on a favorite will pay out less. In the above example, a $600 bet on the Patriots will pay $100, while a $100 bet on the Redskins would pay $400.

The more I learn, the more I need to learn

I surprised myself by looking at some images of boards from a few sportsbooks and realized I understood some of it. There is still so much to learn.

I find myself consulting a sports betting dictionary often as I come across terms I do not understand. (Trust me; there are a lot of them.)

I’m still apprehensive toward placing that first bet. The more I read, the more I want to know, and the amount of information out there is overwhelming.

The NFL regular season kicks off in just a month. My goal is to place my first sports bet then, even if it is only theoretical. The big problem is I am not sure I will be in a state that has legalized sports betting.

Until then, though, I still have a lot to learn. Sure, I could just dive into sports betting head first, but I like money too much for that approach.

If you want to come out on top against the bookies it is vital that you understand the fundamentals. When it comes to sports betting there is nothing quite as fundamental as the odds that the bookies offer. Unfortunately, betting odds can prove very confusing. That’s especially true for people who are new to betting.

That’s where this article comes in. We’re going to explain exactly how betting odds work, how they are set and the differences in the ways they are displayed. After taking in all the information below, you will be much better equipped to set about making some profit.

What Do Betting Odds Represent?

At their most basic, betting odds tell you two things:

1. How much you stand to make should the selection win
2. The probability of the selection winning

Take this example. If you were looking through the weekend Premier League fixtures and saw a team had fractional odds of 2/1 (that’s decimal odds of 3.0) you would know that you stand to win £2 in profit from every £1 that you stake should the team win. You’d also know that the bookmaker who set the odds ranks the team’s chances of winning as one in every three times the game is played.

If you saw a team had fractional odds of 8/13, you’d know that for every £13 you stake, you will win £8 or profit and that if the game was played 21 times in total, the bookies think the team would win 13 times and fail to win eight times (what is known as the implied probability).

Working out an implied probability percentage from fractional odds is simple. You just divide the stake by the combined sum of the two numbers which make up the fractional odds. In the case of 2/1 the equation looks like this:

1 / (2+1) = 0.33 or 33%

For odds of 8/13 this is the equation:

13 / (8+13) = 0.62 or 62%

That’s how the maths works but when it comes to the actual odds that bookmakers set, it’s a little more complicated.

How Do Bookmakers Set Their Odds?

The basic business model of a sportsbook is fairly uncomplicated. Bookmakers set the odds and take bets on an event. When that event ends they pay out everyone who backed the winner and then keep the rest for themselves.

But, consider the following horse race.

As you can see, the combined implied probability of the selections above is 100%. From a bookmaker’s perspective that is a big problem. That’s because, presuming they’ve got the same amount of liability on each selection, they’d never make any money as they’d have to collect and payout the same amount.

So, the bookmakers will build something called an overround into their odds. Here’s a real example of a match odds market from a football match:

With an total implied probability of 101.7%, the bookmaker who set those odds is guaranteed to make a profit of 1.7% assuming that they have the same amount of liability on all three selections. Of course, it rarely works out that the bookies manage to spread their liability evenly but you need to know that when you look at a betting market you’re not simply looking at a reflection of how the bookies think the event will pan out. There’s much more going on behind the scenes.

Armed with this knowledge of how the bookmakers set their odds, you can concentrate on finding value. That is, finding a bet where you believe the odds (and therefore the implied probability) is too big. If the bookies think that a side has a 50% chance of winning but you think they’ve got a better chance than that, that’s value.

The Difference Between Decimal and Fractional Odds

You will have seen above that we’ve spoken about both fractional and decimal odds. They are just different ways of conveying the same information but they do add another layer of complexity.

All the major online bookmakers will shows their odds as both fractions and decimals so it’s important that you understand just what they are showing and how to switch between the two. Thankfully, it only requires simple maths.

To go from a fraction to a decimal is as easy as dividing out the fraction and adding one. Here’s how that looks for odds of 2/1:

(2/1) + 1 = 3.o

And using our second example from above, 8/13, it looks like this:

(8/13) + 1 = 1.62

If you want to go from decimal odds to fractional odds is similarly simple. You just minus one from the decimal odds, turn that number into a fraction and reduce it down to it’s simplest form.

Let’s take decimal odds of 4.5, this is the equation:

4.5 – 1 = 3.5
35/10 -> 7/2

What Does +100 Mean In Betting

If the decimal price is 1.25, you convert it into fractional odds like this:

1.25 – 1 = 0.25
25/100 -> 1/4

Here’s a list of some of the most common fractional odds and their decimal equivalents (for a more in-depth list click here).

Key Terminology

When reading betting advice or searching for a value bet on the bookies’ websites you’ll come across some key terms relating to betting odds. To round up our article on betting odds, we’ve covered the most widely used terms to ensure you don’t get confused in your search for winners.

What Does Mean In Betting 110

Stake – The amount of money that you place (or wager) on a specific bet.

Price – The price of a bet is simply another way of referring to the odds. You can either say that a football team can be backed at odds of 2/1or that their price is 2/1.

What Does 49 1 Mean In Betting Against

Odds On & Odds Against – Two of the key terms that you’ll hear when it comes to betting odds are ‘odds on’ and ‘odds against’. These terms refer to whether a price is greater or lower than evens. Any price above evens is known as odds against, while anything below evens is odds on.

What Does 49 1 Mean In Betting Mean

Short and Long Odds – If something is described as being short odds it means the price is low. A long odds shot will provide you with a bigger win but is much less likely to win.