ELI5. How do they numbers in sports betting work. I get Oilers +1.5, but what does+160 mean?
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+1.5 is an example of a **spread**. This means that one team is an underdog by that number of points. So if you see Oilers +1.5, it means that they’re slightly more likely to lose the game than their opponents, so the bet is spread so that even if the other team wins, a bet on the Oilers will win if the score is within 1.5 points (so basically 1 point difference, 2 would go to the other team). Spread bets are typically even money if you’re betting casually with friends, or they’ll often be around 10% below even money if you’re doing it with a sportsbook (that 10% difference is called the vig; it’s the house edge for profit).
+160 is an example of ***odds betting.*** With this, there’s no spread, instead the odds change to incentivize people to bet. It’s always in a ratio to 100 – so if you see +160, it means that your bet of $100 would earn you $160 in winnings – you’re betting on an underdog, so you’ll get rewarded more. A negative number like -160 switches the direction – you’d have to bet $160 to win $100, because you’re betting on the more favored side. So in those bets, there’s typically no points spread, it’s win or lose, and the actual payout is adjusted to compensate.
These are known as **moneyline odds.** If there’s a “+” in front, it’s how much profit you’d make on a $100 bet. So, for +160, I would bet $100 to win my $100 back *plus* $160.
If there’s a “-” in front, that’s the amount of money I’d have to bet to win $100 in profit. So, for the odds -160, I’d have to bet $160 to win my bet back plus $100.
+160
You will win 1.6x your bet.
I place a $10 bet on a line at +160 I will make $16 dollars.
-160 means it will be a $16 bet to win $10
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