Las Vegas Odds & Betting Lines Explained

How to Read Las Vegas Odds?

It is essential to know how to read Vegas odds in order to make a bet at sportsbooks in the US. Let's look at an example of a typical Vegas betting line:

In order to know how to read Vegas betting lines, it is best to divide a line into individual sections:

• Rotation Number
  Vegas oddsmakers will assign a unique number to each betting line on their boards. With dozens of sports and hundreds of teams appearing on one board, rotation numbers help the bettor and the sportsbook avoid confusion over which team you wish to place a bet. For instance, California has 19 major professional sports teams, and nine of those are based in Los Angeles.
• Teams
  This denotes which team you wish to bet on. A Vegas betting board usually states at the top which sports league the odds are for, so make sure you look at this first to avoid confusion later.
• Point Spread

  Basically, point spread is the number of points a sportsbook predicts a team will win or lose by. The team favorited to win will have a minus sign next to their point spread, and the team labelled as the underdogs will have a plus sign.

  

  Seattle
  Seahawks

  -10

  

  Jacksonville
  Jaguars

  8

  The example states the point spread is 10 points. The Seattle Seahawks are favorited by 10 points against the underdogs, the Jacksonville Jaguars.

  To win a point spread wager on the favorite, the Seattle Seahawks must win the game outright by more than 10 points. If you bet on the underdogs, the Jacksonville Jaguars must win the game outright or lose by 9 points or less.

  If either team wins/lose by the exact amount the bookmaker predicted, the wager is considered a 'push' and is "cancelled".

• Over/Under, or Total
  These terms refer to the total number of points a bookmaker thinks the two teams or players will score combined in a specific match. If you think the two teams will score more than the sum the bookmaker predicts, you choose the 'over' bet. If you think the two teams will score less than the total the bookmaker expects, you choose the 'under' bet. This section of the Vegas line frequently employs the .5 system to stop ties between the gambler and oddsmaker from occurring. Matches frequently equal the over/under odds sportsbooks provide, so oddsmakers add a half-point to these odds to counteract this. If an oddsmaker and gambler tie and no .5 has been added to the odds, then this is called a 'push' and the sportsbook will refund the gambler their money.
• Moneyline

  This refers to American or moneyline odds, which factor in the favorites to win and the underdogs of the game.
  Learn more about moneyline odds in our betting odds guide.

• Straight
  A bettor will make a 'straight' or 'straight up' bet if he/she wants to place an individual bet.
• Vigorish/Vig/Juice
  In essence, this is the amount you pay the bookmaker for the opportunity of making a bet. Sportsbooks usually add the juice directly into the odds and is defined in either monetary or percentage form. The juice is a dynamic statistic as bookmakers change it depending on the odds given.
• Overround

  While the overround and vig are closely related, they perform two separate functions. The vig is the amount a bookmaker charges a bettor to make a wager; the overround appears when the sum of two implied probabilities in a match exceed 100%.

  For instance, if Team A has a 60% chance of winning, and Team B has a 44% chance, when combined that is 104%. So, the overround is 4%. If the bookmaker changes the odds, this will affect the overround, and have a knock-on effect on the vig, too.