What does favorite and underdog mean in betting??

Question

ok so i just started getting into sports betting and i keep seeing these terms everywhere. like people saying they're taking the favorite or riding the underdog but nobody actually explains what it means lol. feel dumb asking but can someone break it down for me

Accepted Answer

nah dont feel dumb its actually pretty simple once you get it. the favorite is basically the team/player thats expected to win - theyll have a minus sign next to their odds like -150. the underdog is who's expected to lose, they have a plus sign like +130. so if you bet on the favorite you gotta risk more to win less, and underdogs pay out more because theyre less likely to win. i mostly bet on My Bookie and they show it pretty clearly with the odds. just remember minus = favorite, plus = underdog and youre good

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Yeah exactly what he said. I actually love betting underdogs tbh, when they hit it feels amazing and the payout is way better. Took me a while to understand it too when I started so don't worry about it

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wait so if the favorite is expected to win why wouldnt everyone just bet favorites all the time??

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because the payout is worse when you bet favorites. like if someones a -300 favorite you gotta bet $300 just to win $100. its basically risk vs reward - favorites win more often but pay less, underdogs lose more often but pay more when they hit

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idk i feel like the whole system is kinda designed to make you lose either way. like even if you pick favorites consistently the juice eats into your profits

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nah bro thats not really how it works. yeah theres juice but if you actually know what youre doing and find value you can definitely profit long term. ive been doing this for 3 years and im up overall. you just cant blindly bet favorites OR underdogs without thinking

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For what its worth the favorite doesnt always have to be by a huge margin. Sometimes youll see lines like -110 vs +100 which means its basically a toss up but one side is slightly favored. The bigger the number the more lopsided the matchup is expected to be.

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Also worth noting that favorites and underdogs can shift before the game starts. If a ton of money comes in on one side the books will move the line. So someone who was a -200 favorite might become -250 or drop to -180 depending on the action

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One thing to add - in spread betting the favorite gives points and the underdog gets points. So if team A is -7 they need to win by more than 7 for you to cash. Different from moneyline where you just need them to win period.

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honestly favorites have burned me so many times. you think youre being safe betting the better team and then they just collapse. lost like $400 last month on heavy favorites that couldnt close out games

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that sucks but thats kinda on you for laying big juice on favorites without managing your bankroll tbh. i bet favorites all the time but i only do it when the line has value and i never go crazy on one bet. its about discipline not just picking winners

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so like what happens if theres no favorite? like if both teams have the same odds

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thats called a pick em or pick. usually youll see both sides around -110 which is basically the book saying its a coin flip. pretty rare for it to be exactly even but it happens in close matchups

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solid explanations in this thread. i was confused about this exact thing like 6 months ago and once it clicked everything else made way more sense. the plus minus thing is weird at first but becomes second nature after a while

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