In Betting, What does Plus & Minus Mean?
Ever wondered in betting what does plus & minus mean? You’re not the only one. Join us as we see in betting what does + mean and what does - mean. Information you need to up your game!
You won’t get too far with sports betting unless you figure out what those plus and minus symbols are referring to. After all, they feature in the odds and spreads for every game in the NBA and NFL to the NHL, MLB and beyond. So join as we answer the question, ‘In betting what does + mean?’ once and for all!
In betting what does plus & minus mean?
US sportsbooks use the plus and minus symbols in their betting odds. Such symbols indicate a team’s likelihood of winning a sporting encounter. But it doesn’t stop there, as the plus and minus symbols also indicate what kinds of payouts you could get should you win your bet.
If you want betting 1x2 explained, here you go: if you bet on odds and spreads with a plus symbol, you’ll have a low chance of winning your bet, but the returns could be impressive. Conversely, if you bet on odds and spreads with a negative symbol, you’re more likely to win your bet, but the returns might not be so good.
The plus and minus symbols are part of how the American odds and spreads format works. This is the most common odds and spreads format that you’ll see at online sportsbooks in the US. It’s a format that aims to indicate each team’s chances of victory. This means that, when you decide to take on some lucrative betting deals, you will quickly be able to see which team is the favorite, the underdog, or whether both teams are about equal. Let’s have a closer look at what these plus and minus symbols refer to.
In betting what does + mean?
Here is some great information you’ll need if you ever want to make a success of your betting endeavors in general or even when tackling sportsbook promotions. If you see the plus symbol in a sportsbook’s betting odds and spreads, it means that the team it is referring to the underdog. The higher the number beside the plus symbol, the less chance the team is perceived of winning the game.
Let’s take an example. In an NBA game between the Chicago Bulls and the Philadelphia 76ers, the Bulls had money line odds and spreads of +240 while the 76ers had odds and spreads of -301. The plus odds and spreads next to the Bulls indicated that the sportsbook thought that the Bulls were the underdogs.
However, as it got closer to the game beginning, the sportsbook pushed the Bulls odds up to +300. This shows that the odds and spreads were getting longer which meant that the sportsbook thought that there were even less chance of the Bulls winning than before.
Not only does this plus symbol represent the likelihood of the team winning, but it also determines what kind of payout you’ll get should you win your bet. If the odds and spreads are positive, it indicates how much you’d get in returns had you wagered $100. So if you’d wagered $100 on the Bulls at odds of +300, you’d win $300. Here’s a quick summary:
- The team with the plus sign is the underdog
- The odds and spreads number shows you how much of a return you’ll get if you wager $100
- For odds of +300, a $100 bet will see you getting returns of $300
In betting what does - mean?
We can’t answer a question like, ‘In betting what does + mean?’ without exploring the other side of the equation to see what the minus symbol means. So from the above example, we can guess that the minus symbol indicates that the team is the favorite to win the game.
Our example had the Philadelphia 76ers down as having odds and spreads of -301 to beat the Chicago Bulls in the NBA. As the game approached, the 76ers odds and spreads shifted to become -360. This indicated that the sportsbook thought that the 76ers were looking even more likely to win the game.
The minus symbol in betting odds and spreads indicates what returns you’ll get in a way that’s different to the plus symbol. Here, it indicates how much money you need to wager to win $100. So in this example, you would have to bet $360 to win $100 when backing the 76ers to beat the Bulls. Here’s a quick overview of what we’ve just explained:
- The team with the minus symbol is the favorite
- The minus odds and spreads number lets you know the amount you have to wager to win $100
- So if the odds and spreads were -360, you’ll have to wager $360 to get £100 in returns
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A quick word about -110 betting odds and spreads
The above plus and minus odds and spreads tend to be found when you are betting on the money line, whether you made a pre-game wager or you’re busy live betting. This is where the sportsbook simply gives you odds and spreads for either team to win the game. For example, you could get odds and spreads of +120 for the Boston Bruins to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL.
However, when you get away from the money line odds and spreads, you’ll see that many of the sportsbook’s odds and spreads will tend to be -110. This -110 odds will be seen in anything from a points spread bet in the MLB to a bet on the total number of points scored in an NBA game.
The -110 represents the 10% commission earned by the sportsbook that should be guaranteed assuming that people bet equal amounts on either of the teams. After all, sportsbooks have to stay in business somehow, and the commission or ‘margin’ shows how they do it. Let’s have a closer look at how the plus and minus symbols refer to spread betting.
In betting what does + mean for the spread?
Let’s say that there was a big NBA game coming up between Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets. It was a game between two poorly matched teams and the Warriors had little chance of winning. This meant that the Warriors had money line odds of +350 which might have paid out well, but you’d be unlikely to win your bet.
So here you could take a look at the points spread odds and spreads that tried to level the playing field. Here, you saw that the sportsbook had odds of -110 for the Warriors to win but that they were playing with a +9.5 points advantage.
As such, you’d stand a much better chance of winning your bets as the Warriors wouldn’t even have to win the game for your bet to succeed. However, it would come at the cost of smaller returns.
In betting what does - mean for the spread?
Points spread betting will also use a plus symbol. So in betting what does + mean for the point spread? Let’s take a look at the above basketball example. Here the Denver Nuggets were the overwhelming favorites to beat the Golden State Warriors. This meant that the Nuggets’ money line odds and spreads were -451 which had a great chance of winning, but you’ll get little in the way of returns.
So here you’d go over to the points spread betting area. This shows you that you could get odds and spreads of -110 if you put the Nuggets at a -9.5 points disadvantage. As such, the Nuggets would have to win the game by 10 points or more for you to win your bet. A much tougher prospect, but you’d have the advantage of some much more potentially lucrative betting odds and spreads.
Plus and minus symbols for totals bets
The odds and spreads of -110 will also feature for totals bets. Here you are betting on whether something will happen more or less than a number of times specified by a sportsbook.
So for an NBA game between Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks, you might see odds and spreads of -110 for the Jazz to score over 217.5 points, while there might be odds and spreads of -110 for the Mavericks to score under 217.5 points.
Just so you know, these points scores feature halves to make sure that the bet is always either a winning or losing result. All of which offers you another great way to take on the sportsbooks!
Still confused about the use of plus and minus symbols in betting? Then don’t worry as there are other odds and spreads formats that could work a little simpler. It’s easy to find betting sites odds and spreads calculator these days. Decimal odds are perhaps the easiest odds format to understand. Here it simply has a number that gets lower as the team’s chances of winning improve. Conversely, a team with little chance of winning will have higher decimal odds, but you’d get better returns should you win your bet.
You may also see some sportsbooks that let you bet with fractional odds that may require a little extra figuring out. All of which shows that there are still a few options remaining if you still can’t understand what a plus and a minus means in sport betting!
Conclusion - Never ask ’In betting what does + mean?’ ever again!
We hope that our guide has clarified a few things about sports betting. Above all, you won’t have to ask rookie questions like, ‘In betting what does + mean?’ anymore as we’ve shown how symbols like this indicate either an underdog or a favorite in a sporting encounter.
This means that you can simply browse a sportsbook’s odds/spreads and figure out which team is worth backing. Plus you’ll be able to understand what kind of payout you should get should luck go your way.
All of which means that you’ll have taken the first step on the path to becoming an accomplished bettor. So be sure to check out our other guides like a detailed sportsbook review that’ll help you take your sports bets up a level at any of our recommended online sportsbooks!
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In betting what does plus & minus mean FAQ
❓What does minus mean in betting?
Make sure that you read our guide to see what the minus means when you see it in some betting odds and spreads. After all, we’ve got an entire guide that’s dedicated to answering the question of, ‘In betting what does plus & minus mean?’ We spent plenty of time examining what the minus means so that you can quickly see whether you should be betting on the relevant odds and spreads.
👀What does plus mean in betting?
We’ve got an entire guide that is devoted to answering the important question, ‘In betting what does + mean?’ Simply read our guide to understand what the plus symbol means and learn what this means for your sports bets. Don’t worry, as we’ll also explore what the minus symbol means so that you get a good idea of what you should be betting on!
☝What does the + and - mean in sports betting?
Lots of newcomers to sports betting will ask a question like, ‘in betting what does plus & minus mean?’ After all, these symbols appear at pretty much all online sportsbooks and it’s not immediately obvious what the plus and minus refer to. Thankfully our guide gets to the bottom of the issue so that you can quickly see what these symbols mean and which betting odds and spreads you should consider betting on.
✨What do odds and spreads of -200 mean?
Read our guide and quickly understand what any betting odds and spreads refer to. Not only will we give you the answer to questions like, ‘In betting what does + mean?’ but we will also see what the implications are for betting on odds and spreads that have the minus symbol. All of which should give you an excellent way of understanding what it means to bet on odds and spreads of -200.
⚡What does minus 1.5 mean in betting?
An online sportsbook will often use a plus and minus symbol in its betting odds and spreads. This is why we have created a handy guide that answers the question, ‘in betting what does plus & minus mean?’ By reading this guide you’ll quickly get to understand what these symbols represent so that you can figure out what -1.5 means when it comes to sports betting.
