
To figure out how much a winning bet will pay in addition to the amount bet, you have to convert that number into a decimal, then multiply it by the amount wagered. But the odds are often expressed in a, well, odd way: as a positive or negative three-digit number. For the Super Bowl, there will be a raft of proposition bets involving such things as who’ll win the coin toss, how many songs will be played at halftime and who’ll be the game’s most valuable player.Ĭalculating payouts: Sports books pay winners based on the odds set at the time of the wager. Right now, for example, you can place a bet that President Biden will nominate California Supreme Court Justice Leondra R.

Proposition bets: These wagers involve things that may not happen. Those changes affect only new bets, not ones already placed.

More likely, though, is that it will change the point spread. You’d get your money back in the case of a tie, which is why sports books usually set point spreads on half points - + or - 6.5 points instead of 7, for example.Īs with moneyline bets, a sports book could adjust the payouts if the bets come in too heavily on one side of a line bet. Similarly, if you bet on the other team at +7, it merely needs to lose by fewer than 7 points (or win outright) for you to collect. If a team is favored by 7 points, its line will be -7, meaning that if you bet on this squad, it will need to score at least 8 more points than its opponent for you to win. This is where the point spread comes in - the + or - number after a team’s name in the betting line. Line bet: Here, bettors are wagering on whether the favorite will win by at least as many points as the sports book predicts. If you’re befuddled by the avalanche of gambling ads, we’re here to help.
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Wagering on the Super Bowl is illegal in Californiaīetting on football may be legal across much of the country now, but not in California.
