The Odds and the Money Line

Photograph of Casino tables

The game is a week away and the line has New England favored to win by 4 1/2 points. The money line is New England -180 and plus +165 for the Eagles. Does everyone know what these terms really mean?

On the odds of -4 1/2 the Sportsbooks are saying that New England is 4 1/2 points better if you decide to bet the game. If you’re betting the Pats to win, you have to spend $11.00 to win $10.00 and they have to win by at least 5 points. The way Vegas sees it quietly is they give Brady one point or 2 and the same with his coaches and team and believe with the experience and match ups they will win by a handful of points. They are also showing lots of respect to the Eagles who had a great season despite losing their starting quarterback.

If you’re betting the Eagles, you get + 4 1/2 points. You bet $11.00 to win $10.00 and even if they lost by 4 points or less you win! Not a bad bet if you believe the Eagles are the better team or the game will go down to the wire.

The game opened up with New England being favored by 5 1/2 points to win and there have been some very large bets coming in on the Eagles to drive the odds down a whole point, which is a lot in game theory. If your an Eagles fan you could actually buy 1, 1 1/2, or even 2 points and have the Eagles with 7 or 7 1/2 points and now your up by a touch down before the game actually starts. Right now with the line being -4 1/2, we’re buying 2 points for another bet on New England and be at -2 1/2 points. We only need the Pats to win by a field goal on here.

The money line is strictly about one thing: money. If you want to bet the Patriots to just win the game and do not care to get involved with the odds you have to bet $18.00 and you win $10.00 for a total of $28.00 returned on a $18.00 wager. This particular line is possibly the lowest line to bet the Patriots in years. All they have to do is win. If you love the Eagles and want to bet the money line you will bet $10.00 and get back your $10.00 plus $16.50. This sounds easy but sometimes the sportsbook will make you bet an extra 10% or as we have shown an extra $1.00 for the privilege.

The Super Bowl is a wild game to predict and make a good wager on. There are 2 great teams left and the real question is: which one is better? This is not as we call it a situation game, but in reality a meeting of the 2 best teams. So much depends on matchups, the least amount of turnovers, game strategy and performance, and, finally, luck. There is a better team and will explain why we believe it leans a bit in favor of New England. At this stage it’s also very important to make the right decision on the odds and whether to buy points or not. Perhaps if you really want to dig deep into your wallet think about the money line.

The dice pit at Caesars is all original and gives you a taste of the way things used to be in Sin City. Next time out, take a stroll in a real casino.

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