In a moneyline bet, all your team has to do is win to win your bet. This is unlike a bet with a point spread, where teams have to win by a certain number of points. In a moneyline bet, all your team has to do is win.
But this is the catch with moneylines. In a moneyline bet, you have to risk more to win if you take the favorite, and you can win more if you are the underdog.
Hypothetically-speaking, Boston is playing Philadelphia in basketball. Philly has been playing great, and Boston has been playing poorly. So Philly is a pretty heavy favorite. The moneyline might read something like this…
| PHILADELPHIA | -300 |
| BOSTON | +300 |
This means that, if you wanted to bet on the favorite Philadelphia to win, you would have to risk $300 to win $100. If you wanted to bet on the underdog Boston, you would have to risk $100 to win $300.