Betting on sports can be done in a number of ways. Certain sports are likely to have certain betting formats. Regardless of the sport, it’s rare that two opponents, whether in the form of individuals or teams, are considered evenly matched and 50-50 in terms of who is expected to win. There’s usually a favorite and an underdog.
If you’re gambling with a friend for small amount and a little bit of fun, you might not take this into consideration but instead each put up the same amount of money with no other conditions except who wins. If however, you are betting with a professional, such as a Las Vegas casino sports book, it won’t be that simple.
Football wagers often involve a point spread. Horse racing has odds. If you’re betting on UFC or other MMA matchups, you’ll likely find a betting line. It might seem strange and confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty simple.
Again, there’s usually a favorite and an underdog, so let’s begin with such an example. The favorite is given a minus sign (-), the underdog a plus sign (+). After the sign, there will be a number of 100 or greater. For instance:
Alistair Overeem -180
Brock Lesnar +150
Here Overeem is the favorite to win, Lesnar the underdog. The numbers are where it gets a bit tricky. You have to bet more than you stand to win if going with the favorite (you get your bet back if you win, in addition to the payout). You get paid more than you bet if you go with the underdog and win (also getting your bet back). The numbers are always at least 100, though you don’t necesssarily have to bet a minimum of $100. Minimums and maximums are set by the bookmaker (e.g., the casino).
Continuing with our example is probably the best way to show how this works. If you bet $180 on Overeem and he wins, you win $100 and get your $180 back. If he loses, you lose the $180 you bet. If you bet $100 on Lesnar and he wins, you win $150 and get your $100 back. If he loses, you lose the $100 you bet.
Again, you don’t have to bet a minimum of $100, $180 or whatever number you see next to who you want to bet on. You could bet $18 on Overeem to win $10, you could bet $1.80 to win $1, you could bet $90 to win $50. You could bet $10 on Lesnar to win $15, $1 to win $1.50, $5 to win $7.50, and so on.
Conversely, you could potentially bet more than the base numbers on the line. For instance, $1800 to win $1000 on Overeem or $1000 to win $1500 on Lesnar. Your bet to win ratio for Overeem is 1.8 to 1. Your bet to win ratio for Lesnar is 1 to 1.5. Pretty much any amount can be wagered (within the bookmaker’s limits), you just might need to use some math skills or your calculator to figure your bet versus win amounts.
Occasionally, you will find a line in which the fighters are considered to be equally matched. Here’s an example of what that might look like:
Frankie Edgar -110
Gray Maynard -110
Regardless of who you go with here, you’d have to bet $110 to win $100, $11 to win $10, $55 to win $50, or any 1.1 to 1 bet to win ratio. As always, you get your wager back if you win in addition to the payout and lose your wager if your fighter loses. It might seem odd that you have to wager more than you stand to win regardless of who you choose, but that’s how the casino or whomever is taking bets makes money. It’s called the vigorish or vig. It’s also built into favorite-underdog bets, but might not be as obvious at first.
There is more to betting lines than the above. For instance, betting lines can and often do change. Also, they are not necessarily reflective of who is the better fighter or by how much (though we assumed this to be the case for the sake of simplicity and providing a basic understanding of the subject) but rather how people are betting or how the bookmaker believes people will bet. Such subjects are beyond the scope of this article, but you’ll pick up on these and other nuances if you continue exploring sports betting.
Hopefully you now have a decent understanding of how MMA betting lines work. Whether you use it in Vegas, to get the best odds against your buddies at the next pay-per-view or to make picks without gambling just to see if you can “beat the bookmakers,” good luck!