Soccer Lines Explained
Money Line Betting is the most common and easiest way of betting on soccer games. When betting on money lines, you are making a straight-forward bet on who will win the match. As we have mentioned in Soccer Over/Under Bets, a lot of online sportsbooks will use decimal odds instead of American Odds, as soccer is so primarily popular in Europe, where these Decimal odds are mainly used by books and bettors.
The most common betting line for a point spread is -110. A -110 line on either side is like paying a tax or commission to the sportsbook. Bettors would pay 10 percent (aka juice) to the sportsbook, which is essentially a fee for brokering the wager. So, the -110 indicates that a bettor must risk $110 to win $100. The Field of Play. The first rule looks at how the field is set up. In the standard 11-a-side match.
Calculation of Decimal Odds Money Lines
Let us say Brazil is playing England in the World Cup – a very prestigious world tournament that is played every four years-. It is a group stage, and there is still a possibility of a draw (there are no penalties and no extra time like in the quarter-finals). Brazil is a favorite due to its higher ranking, the way it played this tournament and its famous players. England is the underdog.
* Please see illustration below to help understand money line bets, text explanation follows.
The odds are as follows:
Brazil 1.5
Draw 2
England 3
- If you bet $100 on Brazil, you would win $50. To calculate that you need to subtract 1 from 1.5 and multiply by $100:
(1.5 – 1) * $100 = $50 (getting $150 total back including your bet) - If you were to pick England, betting $100, you could potentially win $200. It is calculated as such:
(3 – 1) * $100 = $200 ($300 total back) - You can also bet on the draw since this is a group stage. Thus, if you were to bet $100 on a draw, you could win $100:
(2 – 1) * $100 = $100 ($200 total back)
You might ask, “Why do I win less money when I bet on Brazil than England?” This is because Brazil is the favorite as mentioned above, and hence, they are more likely to win the match according to their stats and previous results/appearances. It simply provides an incentive to bet for the underdog, which all in all, is not a bad team either.
Calculation of American Odds Money Lines
Many times you can choose to display decimal odds as American Odds, as all online sportsbooks will not give you this choice when viewing the available bets.
Using the same example as above, the American Odds would be displayed as:
Brazil (-200)
Draw (100)
England (+200)
- This way, you need to bet $200 to win $100. If you bet on a draw, you should bet $100 and win $100 ($200 total). If you bet on the underdog, England, then you would win $200 for a bet of $100 ($300 total)
- That taken care of, we will now continue with decimal odds from here on
Soccer Moneyline Betting Tips
Moneyline betting is the most widely available form of betting. If you are betting on a match from a big event or a big league, you will likely find a great number of different money lines from online betting sites. You should utilize their availability and search for those money lines that you think will provide the best odds and potential wins. If you are confident that an underdog will win, look for the best underdog payoff. If you want to be safe and bet on the favorite but do not want to risk too much, you can look for the least expensive odds for the favorite.
Star Players
Soccer Betting Lines Explained
Another important online soccer money line betting tip is to pay close attention to the star players or mvp (most important player). Star players, particularly goalies and forwards, can break or make the game. This especially applies to average teams with a few star players during international competitions. If a star player is in his best form and has been doing well lately, then you should consider that the team might do well. If the star players are injured and their team is left with average players playing against a strong opponent, then it might make sense to bet on the opponent.