Runline Betting
The Runline is the baseball equivalent to a Point Spread that you will find in Football and Basketball. It declares one team a favorite and one team an underdog in a baseball game. Let’s say the runline is 1.5 runs; the favored team will have a -1.5 runline and the underdog will have a +1.5 runline.
Essentially, this means that the favored team has to win by 2 runs in order to win on a runline bet. If the underdog wins or loses by 1 run, that team will win on a runline bet. The runline is different then a moneyline. The moneyline is a bet on which team will win without a handicap. The difference is that the runline is always going to have the same odds. Usually, you will have to bet $110 to win $100 with the $10 extra is the juice that a sportsbook charges you for placing the bet.
If this seems a little bit confusing to you because you’re a beginner, it is important that you learn about sports betting before you start placing bets. The last thing you want to do is be confused about a bet that you are placing.
Point Spread Betting
Point spread betting is said to have been invented in the 1940’s by Charles K. McNeil of Chicago. He was a math professor who used it in his own bookmaking operation. Whether or not this true is irrelevant; today point spread betting is the most popular way to wager on America’s two most frequently wagered upon sports football and basketball. The basic idea behind a point spread is in order to make the game closer to a 50/50 proposition a handicap is added.
For example, the opening round of the 2011/12 NFL playoffs had Detroit Lions +10.5 / New Orleans Saints -10.5. How this works is if you wager on Lions at the end of the game you add 10.5 points to the Lions score and then compare it to Saints actual score to determine who wins. Alternatively if you bet on New Orleans Saints then at the end of the game you would subtract 10.5 points from the Saints score and then compare it with the actual Lions score to determine which team wins.
Important to note is that all point spread wagers also have a price. With most all bookies and Las Vegas sports books if the price is not otherwise stated then -110 is assumed (Risk $110 to win $100, which simplifies as $1.10 staked for every dollar you wish to win). This extra price you’re charged is referred to as vig or juice and is how the betting sites and bookies make their profit. When betting online you’ll find prices often are listed and they’re not the same for both sides. For example you might find Detroit Lions -115 / New Orleans Saints -105. The reason for the difference is that bookies strive to find 50/50 propositions on betting lines, but sometimes this isn’t possible as one side is slightly more likely to cover at that point spread than the other.
There a few things about point spreads worth noting. In cases where point spreads have half points involved (example -2.5 / +2.5) there is no way for the game to tie. Point spread don’t always use half points however. In times the point spread is a whole number if the game results in a handicap tie it is considered a push, also referred to as no action. In this case all bets are off and stakes are returned. Additionally I should conclude by informing while point spreads are most popular in football and basketball they are available for other sports as well. For example in hockey and baseball alternatives to the moneyline are offered called the puckline and runline which are bets that use a point spread.
