Football lines are a very exciting style of betting, because they offer a higher risk as well as a higher reward than spread betting. Spread betting is a type of betting in which bookmakers create a point handicap in order to give a bet on either team in a football game a roughly equal chance of winning. However, in football lines, bets pay out based on the odds a given team has of winning a match. Bookmakers choose a favourite and an underdog for each match, and then create odds for both teams. The underdog, who the bookmakers consider less likely to win a match, is given odds represented by a negative value. The favourite, who bookmakers think is likely to win a match, is given odds represented by a positive value. Most odds posted for money line betting will look something like this:
Team A: -200
Team B: 150
Or:
Team A: 450
Team B: -400
In the first example, we see two teams that are fairly closely matched. Team A is the favourite, while Team B is the underdog. A two hundred dollar bet placed on Team A would pay out one hundred dollars if they won, while a one hundred dollar bet placed on Team B would pay out one hundred and fifty. The second example shows a match with a larger disparity between the teams, with Team A (the underdog) paying out four hundred and fifty dollars for a one hundred dollar bet, and Team B paying out only one hundred for a four hundred dollar bet.
Obviously, it might seem more profitable to bet on the underdog every time. However, the odds posted for teams are designed to reflect their chances of actually winning a game. Keep in mind that the bookmakers that create football lines are professionals whose jobs consist of determining the likelihood of a given team winning a given match. That said, bookmakers are human and thus do make mistakes, and there have been plenty of big upset victories in the past. Betting on an underdog will typically result in a loss, but in the event of a win can be a very profitable venture.
If you are a fan of football, then football lines can make the sport even more exciting. Nothing makes a game tense and keeps you on the edge of your seat more than having some money riding on a victory. In fact, many players like to bet against their favourite teams, because this means that if their team wins, they get to celebrate a win, and if their team loses, they get a chunk of cash, which goes a fair way in reducing the hurt of a loss.
