American odds explained: what +150 & -110 mean
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A plain guide to the plus & minus signs on US betting odds, with worked payouts, the -110 standard price & conversions to decimal & implied probability.
How American odds work
Betting odds are the price of a bet. According to FOX Sports, US sportsbooks display odds in the American format by default, using a plus or minus sign followed by a number “built around a $100 baseline”.
The two parts do different jobs. Caesars’ moneyline guide says the sign tells you which side is favoured & the number tells you the payout.
Covers, in its odds converter, describes American odds as “presented in hundreds and thousands” & defined by the positive or negative value attached. FOX Sports notes that the $100 is only a reference point: you do not need to stake $100, & every payout scales up or down from there.
What a plus number means
A plus sign marks the underdog, the side the sportsbook expects to lose. The number shows the profit on a $100 stake. In a two-team event, Sporting Life says, “the underdog always has a positive moneyline”.
On FOX Sports’ figures, +150 wins $150 on a $100 bet, for a total return of $250. The total return is the profit plus the original stake. Its Raiders +200 example wins $200 profit on $100, for a $300 return.
The DraftKings betting guide published by Foxwoods gives a New York Giants example at +320. A $100 bet earns $320 profit, for “a payout of $420”.
The maths works at any stake. FOX Sports & Covers both give the example of $10 at +200, which wins $20 profit for a $30 total return.
What a minus number means
A minus sign marks the favourite, the side expected to win. FOX Sports says the number “tells you how much you need to risk to win $100”.
The DraftKings guide published by Foxwoods uses the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at -110. You would bet $110 to win $100, & a win returns the original $110 plus $100, “a total payout of $210”.
Caesars’ Ohio house rules define -150 as meaning “a player must wager $150 for every $100 they wish to win”. FOX Sports scales its own -150 example down: a $10 bet wins $6.67 profit, a $16.67 total return.
Why favourites carry a minus
The likelier the outcome, the bigger the negative number. Covers puts it as “Bets with higher implied probability are given a higher negative value”. Implied probability is the chance of winning that the price suggests. Covers’ example is -400, which needs a $400 stake to profit $100.
FOX Sports adds that at -400 a $20 bet wins just $5. Caesars says “The higher the negative number, the more heavily favored the team”.
At the other end, Covers says lower-probability bets get a positive value. A bet at +400 profits $400 on a $100 stake. Covers calls this “plus money”, because such odds “return more profit than the amount risked on the bet”.
Even money & pick’em games
A price of +100 is even money. The DraftKings glossary from Foxwoods defines it as a bet that returns as much profit as the stake. A $100 bet returns $200, which is $100 profit, listed as +100 in American odds or 2.00 in decimal.
Sporting Life says that where there is no clear favourite & the odds are 50/50, the moneyline is displayed as +100. FOX Sports describes +100 as the price where “Neither side is favored on price”.
Evenly matched games often sit just below even money. Caesars says pick’em games appear at prices like -105/-105 or -110/-110 because “the sportsbook’s commission (the vig) is built into both sides”. The DraftKings guide says a PK, or pick’em, spread set at 0 points is usually shown with both teams at -110.
Why -110 is the standard price
FOX Sports says you will see -110 more than any other price, “especially on point spreads and totals”. A point spread is a bet with a points handicap, & a total is a bet on the combined score. Covers calls -110 the most common American price, “often seen as the juice/vig on points spreads and Over/Under Totals”.
Caesars’ house rules state that point spread wagers “are usually offered at 10 to 11 odds”, meaning “$11 to win $10, or $110 to win $100”. FOX Sports describes the extra $10 per $100 as the sportsbook’s built-in commission, known as the vig or juice.
Because of that commission, FOX Sports says you need to win “about 52.4 percent of your -110 bets just to break even”. It also notes that the implied probabilities on both sides of a -110/-110 market add up to 104.8 percent rather than 100.
Converting to decimal odds & implied probability
Decimal odds show the total return per unit staked, stake included. FOX Sports gives the conversions. Plus odds become (odds / 100) + 1, so +150 is 2.50. Minus odds become (100 / odds) + 1, so -150 is 1.67. Covers lists the same formulas.
For implied probability, FOX Sports uses odds / (odds + 100) for minus prices, so -150 is 150 / 250, or 60 percent. For plus prices it uses 100 / (odds + 100), so +200 is 100 / 300, or 33.3 percent.
Covers puts +200 at a 33.33 percent implied winning probability & -200 at 66.67 percent. Caesars’ house rules say odds can be shown in American, decimal or fractional formats, & “Payout calculation is the same regardless of selected odds format”.
Moneyline odds vs spread odds
A moneyline is a straight bet on who wins. On a moneyline, the signed number is the price itself.
Spread listings carry two numbers. In FOX Sports’ example line, the Philadelphia Eagles are -3.5 (-110). The -3.5 is points, so the Eagles must win by 4 or more, & “The number in parentheses, -110 on both sides here, is the price”.
FOX Sports says baseball & hockey use a fixed spread of 1.5 runs or goals. A run line favourite at -1.5 can carry plus odds such as +130, because winning by two or more is far from guaranteed. Outside the moneyline, a plus sign does not always mean underdog.
Caesars draws the same distinction: “Spread markets typically price both sides close to −110”, while “Moneyline markets reflect true win probability”.
Questions
What does +150 mean in betting?
It marks an underdog & means a $100 bet wins $150 profit. According to FOX Sports, the total return on a winning $100 bet is $250.
What does -110 mean in betting?
You stake $110 to win $100, or $11 to win $10. FOX Sports says it is the most common price, especially on point spreads & totals, & the extra $10 per $100 is the sportsbook’s commission.
What does a minus sign mean in betting?
On a moneyline, a minus sign marks the favourite & shows how much you must stake to win $100. On a spread, FOX Sports notes, the sign can refer to points rather than the price.
How do I convert American odds to decimal?
FOX Sports & Covers give (odds / 100) + 1 for plus odds & (100 / odds) + 1 for minus odds. So +150 becomes 2.50 & -150 becomes 1.67.
Does the payout change if I switch odds format?
No, according to Caesars’ Ohio house rules. They state that “Payout calculation is the same regardless of selected odds format”.
Sources
Sources checked 29 October 2026. Information only. 18+.
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