Betting on The Money Line
The money line is at the same time the most simple, and the most complicated style of gambling in the NFL. At the surface, it is simple. You pick the winner, if they win, you cash your ticket. Easy enough.
However, that is where the pricing of the money line comes into play. You cannot just bet teams to win in the NFL straight up, that is where the point spread comes into play.
So, to suffice for the point spread, oddsmakers make teams pay a premium if they are laying a lot of points. A touchdown favorite will force a bettor to lay $300 to win $100 on the money line. That is because it would be so easy to call a touchdown favorite to win outright. The real risk is whether they win by seven or not, and that is where the payout comes from. Taking them to win is low risk, and a low payout.
Parlaying Favorites on the Money Line
One way to avoid the tax of paying for a heavy favorite on the money line is to parlay them without another favorite. A parlay pays out 13 to 5 with two teams, which means that if you bet 5 on a parlay, it pays out 13. This is close to a 2:1 proposition. This makes sense as you need to bet two teams, and both need to win to cash.
So, with the 13:5 odds you can put two favorites of -200 odds on the money line in a parlay to see a payout close to even. The weighted odds of your favorites put together in a parlay evens out with the odds of the parlay.
At the same time, there is the ability to tease or take six points on each side of the spread. Instead of a 13:5 payout, it is a standard payout because you get six points on each side. When is the proper time to tease a spread, and when is an appropriate time to parlay a money line?
When a spread is less than seven, you want to look for the money line. Teasing a favorite to get an extra point on the other side of pick em is not significant, so you are paying for an extra point or two you do not need.
Taking to favorites of six points or less on a parlay is a more profitable decision than a teaser. However, if a favorite is more than a touchdown favorite, sitting at 7 or 7.5, it is smarter to tease it down. This is because the tease goes through 7, 6, 4, and 3 which is all of the key numbers. Teasing through 7 presents an added value that teasing through zero does not have. This is the long-term difference between parlaying and teasing.
Betting Underdogs
While there are advantages to betting the favorite on the money line, serious payouts can come when betting underdogs on the money line. With the payout for favorites being a lot to win a little, the payout for underdogs is just a little to win a lot.
An underdog on the money line may see a payout of (+200). This would mean that for every $100 placed on the underdog, the payout will equal $200. More significant underdogs will see bigger payouts.
Therefore, underdogs are fun investments to make. They do not need to cash as often, and when they do, the payouts are more substantial. Of course, you have to look for the right underdog to take your chance on.
The home underdog is often a good play. The players may not know the point spread, but they do play up the idea of being doubted. Traveling factors in more than some may think, and you can get the feisty home dog. Of course, situations and spots can guide you to other underdogs as well.
Parlaying Underdogs
With the same idea in mind of parlaying favorites to get closer to an even price, parlaying underdogs can give off an even bigger payout. A 13:5 payout on teams. Parlaying two teams at +200 on the money line turns into a +800 proposition. Again, it does not need to hit as often, but when it does, it is a nice payout.
The last advantage to parlaying an underdog is that you can parlay it with a favorite, to see a bigger payout on the favorite. Here is an example.
The Cleveland Browns are at the New England Patriots. Of course, Tom Brady and the Patriots are going to win against the struggling Browns. But, they are seven-point favorites. However, you see that the Pittsburgh Steelers are +3 at the Baltimore Ravens as well. The Steelers-Ravens rivalry is great, but you do not see the home field having a big factor because of the familiarity and think the Steelers are the better team this year.
If you think that the Steelers can win outright, and they are +150 on the money line, that is a nice pairing with the Patriots, who are -300 on the money line. Adding the two together with 13:5 odds comes out to a payout of close a little over +200. You do not see the Patriots money line as a risk, and now are getting +200 odds on the Steelers money line when it was +150 odds without the heavy favorite involved.
Parlaying heaving favorites with your favorite underdog pick is an excellent way to add a little extra payout and provide more value as a bettor.
To read more about NFL Parlay strategies visit our NFL Totals Betting Strategy page.