College Football Moneyline Bets
by Predictem.com Staff
Another way to bet college football games is to do so using the moneyline. These bets are wagers in which your betting on one side or the other but with no point spread.
In order to compensate for the spread, odds are applied to each side to make it fair. So, if your betting on the favored team, you do NOT need to cover any spread, you just need the team to win by one point in order to have the bet cash.
Conversely, with the underdog bet, you have to win the game straight up in order to cash. Since the odds of this aren’t good, you are given a good payout on an underdog moneyline bet.
Let’s take a look at an example of a point spread bet and how the moneyline odds would compare once the spread is taken away:
Let’s say that that Arizona State is coming into Oregon to play the Ducks. The game spread is Arizona +10/Oregon -10.
You want to play the moneyline, so the point spread gets wiped out and now your facing odds that look like this:
Arizona +325
Oregon -450
If you wanted to take Arizona State, you would bet $1.00 to profit $3.25 (You get your $1.00 risked in addition to the $3.25.)
If you took the Oregon Ducks, you’d be laying $4.50 for every $1.00 your looking to profit.
Low risk/big stake to win less on favs and low risk big payout for underdogs. Which would you rather take? We advise neither. In our estimation, the only time to play a moneyline bet in college football is when your looking at a team that is an underdog of say 4 points or less. Instead of laying -110 to win $100 and getting 4 points on a game where you probably won’t need it, we’d rather lay $100 to win $170 which is almost like getting 2-1 odds.
Wondering how to turn point spreads into moneyline odds? Check out our odds conversion chart.
Looking for a sportsbook that offers moneyline bets on ALL games? Check out 5Dimes.