Sports Betting Odds: Compare Lines and Learn How to Read Odds

TheLines is the top site in the industry for sports betting odds and wagering information.

Bettors can compare odds and betting lines from the best sports betting sites and betting apps for a variety of major events and leagues, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS, and dozens more.

Sports Betting Odds, Explained

Betting odds are available for NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college football, and college basketball bettors to wager on in 2026.

For example, here is what you can expect to find when wagering on football odds:

Sports betting is becoming more widely available, so new bettors are regularly joining the action for the first time. As such, an overview of the most common betting terms is in order.

Favorites vs. Underdogs

In American odds, betting favorites have a three-digit number with a “minus” sign preceding it in moneyline bets. This number quantifies how much the bettor would have to wager on that team (or player) to win $100 in profit. The minus sign is indicative of the fact that when placing money on a favorite in a moneyline bet, the bettor will have to wager an amount greater than the one that he/she will potentially win.

Conversely, underdogs have a three-digit number with a “plus" sign preceding it in moneyline bets. This number reveals how much the bettor will profit if they wager $100 on that team in a moneyline bet. The plus sign is indicative of the fact that when placing money on an underdog in a moneyline bet, the bettor will potentially win an amount greater than the one he/she puts in.

Incidentally, $100 is the figure because it is a round number that helps illustrate how a moneyline wager works. Moneyline wagers are accepted in all amounts.

To illustrate how a moneyline wager would work, let's utilize an NFL example:

Cowboys vs. Giants

In a Cowboys-Giants game where Dallas is listed as the favorite, the moneyline might be listed as such:

• Cowboys (-150): A bettor who wishes to wager on the Cowboys to win the game outright will have to bet $150 to win $100 in net profit ($250 total). Therefore, if the Cowboys win the game, the bettor receives their original $150 back, plus $100, for a total of $250.
• Giants (+180): A bettor who wishes to wager on the Giants to win the game outright will profit $180 if they wager $100. Therefore, if the Giants win the game, the bettor receives his/her original $100 back, plus $180, for a total of $280.

Types of Sports Betting Odds

One of the biggest betting events in the U.S. surrounds Super Bowl odds and the hundreds of associated prop bets. The NFL is the most popular league to bet on in the country.

Although point spread bets are more of a “mainstream” wager for football fans, moneyline bets are likely much more straightforward for a novice bettor to grasp.

A wager of this type is simply a good, old-fashioned bet on which team (or player) will prevail in a sporting event. Typically, when one places a moneyline wager on the team favored to win the game, it will “cost” the bettor more than when placing another type of wager. Most daily baseball bets come via a moneyline wager. View MLB odds for every game at TheLines.

Point Spreads

Point spreads are one of the most popular forms of sports wagers, and they might be the most commonly known to a sports betting novice. The point spread is essentially the projected margin of victory or defeat for the two teams in a given matchup.

• For example, if the Cowboys and Giants are squaring off and the point spread is Cowboys -3, that means Dallas is expected to win by at least three points. Those betting on the Cowboys and “giving up” those points are banking on Dallas to outscore the Giants by at least that much in that game.
• Conversely, those who bet on the opposite side – the Giants +3 – are banking that, even if the Giants lose, it will be by fewer than 3 points.
• If the Cowboys win the game by exactly three points, the line is considered a “push”. Bettors who wagered on either side of the game get their bets refunded.

Payouts on point spread bets depend on the odds assigned to either side of the wager. A favorite may nevertheless have better payout odds than an underdog, depending on the size of the spread. To utilize another NFL betting example, say the Rams are listed as 14-point (-14) favorites over the 49ers. Despite the fact that Los Angeles is clearly expected to win the game, the odds of a two-touchdown or greater win in football are worse than one by a lesser margin.

Therefore, your payout if you bet the Rams to win by 14 or greater might be -105 (must bet $105 to win $100). Alternatively, your payout if you take the 49ers to cover – i.e., lose by less than 14 points – might be slightly worse at -115 (must bet $115 to win $100)

Point spreads are set by oddsmakers with the idea of getting wagers to come in on both teams as evenly as possible. Sportsbooks naturally want to avoid being “overexposed” to one side of a wager as much as possible. This helps prevent some potentially sizable losses for the casinos.

Betting on the point spread is also quite popular when betting on basketball. View NBA odds for every game today here. Also, be sure to check out the best basketball betting sites.

Totals (Over/Under)

Totals, or “over/under” bets, are another fairly simple concept to grasp, even for the inexperienced bettor. In a totals wager, the bettor is simply putting money down on whether or not the cumulative point/run total of the two teams in a game will be more or less than the total set by the sportsbook.

Totals bets are usually set with odds of -110, meaning the bettor must wager $110 to make $100 (utilizing the “100” figure as the example once again).

A totals bet for a Yankees-Red Sox game might be listed as follows:

• Over/Under 9 runs (-110): The sportsbook has set the projected total number of runs to be scored between the two teams at nine. Bettors who wager that the two teams combined will score either more or less than that total will need to wager $110 to win $100.

As with the point spread example provided above, there is also the possibility of a “push” when it comes to totals (Over/Under) bets. In our Yankees-Red Sox example, this would occur if the cumulative run total is exactly nine. Bettors would receive refunds on their original bets in such an instance.

Parlays

Parlay bets are wagers that involve at least two games. There are various forms of parlay bets based on the different bet types already discussed above. In other words, bettors can place point spread parlay wagers, moneyline parlay wagers, and totals parlay wagers.

For a parlay to lead to a payout, there cannot be a losing bet within it. “Pushes” won’t disqualify a parlay wager from cashing, however. Parlays also survive eventualities such as a rainout in baseball or a tie. However, the payout in those cases is calculated by excluding that game, meaning it will be less than if all of the "legs" of the parlay had been valid.

Odds for a parlay vary by sportsbook. Once a parlay bet is placed, however, the odds and lines are locked in. That’s the case irrespective of any other changes to the point spread, projected totals, or moneyline involving any of the teams within the parlay after the parlay wager has been made.

The more teams wagered on in a parlay, the better the payout. As with all other wagers, the more difficult the bet appears to be, the larger the reward if it hits.

Teasers

Teaser bets are a form of parlay wager that excludes moneyline bets. In a teaser, the bettor can manipulate a point spread or total within a certain predetermined range in order to improve their odds of winning the bet. Naturally, a teaser will pay out less than a conventional parlay because of the greater probability of the bettor coming out on the winning side.

The one requirement for a teaser bet is that the line or total movement must apply to each team in that parlay. However, it can be applied in different "directions".

An example of an NBA teaser on a two-team parlay at a new sports betting site that incorporates the above would be the following:

• In a Heat-Nets matchup where Miami is favored by 3.5 points, the bettor moves the line an additional four points up to 7.5 points and bets on the underdog Nets to lose by less than that amount.
• In a Warriors-Pelicans game where Golden State is favored by 7.5 points, the bettor likewise moves the line four points, except in the other direction. Therefore, the Warriors' projected advantage goes down to 3.5 points, and the bettor then places a wager on the Warriors to cover that spread.

Futures Bets

A futures bet is any bet made on an event that has an outcome that will occur in the future. Most futures bets involve odds for a team to win a championship or division, but there are other futures wagers available for various sports. In golf, for example, a bettor can wager on a golfer finishing in the Top 10, Top 20, or Top 30 of a future tournament.

Futures odds are set by an oddsmaker based on the potential outcomes.

How to Compare Odds and Shop for Betting Lines

It's important to compare sports betting odds, as it is one of the most important strategies for maximizing value and improving potential returns.

Odds can vary between sportsbooks due to differences in market perception, the bookmaker’s margin, and timing of line updates. Bettors should understand the three main formats — decimal, fractional, and moneyline — to quickly evaluate potential payouts.

Line shopping involves checking multiple sportsbooks before placing a bet to find the most favorable odds, which can significantly increase long-term profits, especially for frequent bettors.

By learning how to read odds, track line movement, and compare offerings across multiple sportsbooks, users can make smarter, more informed betting decisions while getting the most from every wager.