3. Moneyline

3. Moneylines The second way to bet on a favorite or an underdog is on the moneyline. A moneyline bet requires you to just pick the winner of the game, and uses American odds to calculate the payout. American odds are centered around winning $100. So if you're betting a -200 favorite, you need to risk $200 to win $100, or any fraction of that — $20 to win $10, $2 to win $1, etc. If you're betting a +200 underdog, you will win 2x your money for every dollar wagered — $100 to win $200, $10 to win $20, $1 to win $2, etc. Back to Colts-Texans. Oddsmakers believe Indianapolis is the much stronger team. So to bet the Colts just to win the game, you need to risk a substantial amount. The Colts are -375 — that means you need to risk $375 to win $100 or $37.50 to win $10. The Texans are +300. If you bet $100, you'll win $300. Or if you bet $5, you'll win $15. So why do you have to risk more on the favorite than you'd win on the underdog? This is called the juice, and it's how sportsbooks maintain their edge over bettors.