Vegas Mma Odds Explained
There is no question that one of the fastest-growing sports in the world has been mixed martial arts, and the Ultimate Fighting Championships have been the cornerstone to that growth. With the popularity of the sport, it’s no surprise that more and more betting odds have followed that growth. UFC wagering odds routinely produce great interest with the main card fights, highlighted of course by the main events and title fights that are held every few months all over the world.
Bettors can cash in via a number of different wagers to each fight, from the overall fight winner to props such as how and when a particular fight will end. While that might sound like a lot to process, don't worry – we explain it all on this page so that when the next UFC event comes up on the schedule, you will be ready to make an informed and profitable bet on the action.
- Learn more about the UFC, UFC weight classes, UFC rankings, UFC odds, UFC betting, and how to bet on UFC fights. T&Cs apply, 21+, NJ only.
- In addition to having UFC betting odds, explained, we have also prepared for you these UFC betting tips. These will help you put into action everything you know about MMA betting and odds. Tips for UFC betting are especially important because it is so different from other mainstream sports.
- Using Vegas Odds to Calculate Fighters’ Chances You can use Vegas odds to calculate the favorite’s chance of winning the fight. It’s done through this formula: Percentage = (Vegas Odds / (100 +.
- 2 days ago The Ultimate Fighting Championship is back in Vegas, and UFC Odds are now available. Read on for our complete betting guide taking a first look at Leon Edwards versus Belal Muhammad in the UFC.
UFC Fight Odds Explained
The UFC is back for another card in Las Vegas with Curtis Blaydes squaring off against Derrick Lewis in a pivotal Heavyweight matchup. We’ve got plenty of fights to check out and break down the UFC odds and betting picks for UFC Vegas 19. UFC Odds + Betting Picks UFC Vegas 19: Blaydes vs.
The most basic betting element of any UFC match comes down to the odds for either fighter to win the contest. This will be a straight moneyline, as no handicapping “point spread” is needed here. You simply pick a winner, risk whatever amount of money you wish, and if your guy (or gal) wins, you’re paid at the moneyline’s advertised rate.
Of course, one of the things you might want to consider is the fact that different sportsbooks almost always have different payouts for fighters in any given event. Thus, it makes good sense to be a member at several books so you can browse multiple boards to find the best odds values for any specific wager you wish to make. This is called “line shopping,” which is something that will certainly play to your advantage. Indeed, shopping lines is the biggest edge any novice UFC bettor can get, and it’s something every seasoned sports bettor does as a matter of course.
How To Read The Over/Under Betting Odds In The UFC
Most often, the betting line for the over/under round total essentially boils down to whether or not the fight will go the distance or end early. If it's a five-round fight, you will typically see the betting line set with an over/under total of 4.5 rounds. For main event fights, of course, there tend to be several more options for how many rounds the fight will or will not go, and the payouts generally vary quite a bit depending on the outcomes that you pick.
In almost every case when considering a standard UFC matchup, the “favorite” (or most probably) odds will be that the fight will go to a decision and will not be decided in the ring. That’s simply because most fights end in a decision. In a matchup like that, if you take a wager on the fight ending early, you have a very good chance of profiting far more than you risk, which is always good. Underdog picks like this are particularly profitable when applied to multi-bet parlay tickets.
UFC Betting Props Explained
Like with any sport we see, props can cover quite a bit of disparate, in-game action. In terms of the UFC prop odds, some of the more common ones that you will see include those that concern the exact outcome of the fight. Will it be a draw? A decision? Knockout? Submission? There are a few different ways in which the fight can end, so expect some varying payouts as well.
Props aren’t all about the fight result, though, as other factors can come into the picture as well. It really depends on the fight and what's at stake. If it's a standard Saturday night contest with mid-tier athletes and broadcast on cable TV, you won’t get too many props to choose from. However, if it’s a championship title fight between two superstars slugging it out on PPV, you will see an immense amount of props for almost every tiny detail of the matchup.
UFC Future Betting Odds Explained
UFC futures are a bit different than you might see in other sports. If a fight is scheduled months in advance, those betting lines are still considered fight lines, and not futures. For UFC futures, it almost has to be a mythical matchup. What we mean by this is that a matchup would be set down by a futures line to be fought by this date, usually well in advance because matchups are determined several months out to allow for plenty of time to train and prepare.
The futures matchups are usually the ones that fans most want to see, such as the biggest names and ticket/PPV draws to the sport. If there is no action then the wager is returned. But if the bet is set for a particular date and it passes without a fight, the wager is lost. Essentially, UFC future betting odds are typically about whether or not a desired but as-yet-unannounced fight is actually going to happen in a given scheduling window.
Mobile UFC Betting Apps
With the overturn of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA, 1992), several states have already implemented their own brick-and-mortar sports betting venues, and these feature odds for plenty of MMA and UFC fights. However, only a few states with legal sports betting have implemented online sports betting for state residents. However, that doesn’t mean that you’re out of luck if you can’t make it to a physical wagering facility or if you don’t live in those states. Instead, you can use a legal online sportsbook from your iPhone or Android device.
Sites like Bovada, SportsBetting, 5Dimes, and others all offer this service free to their members, and best of all, none of these sites requires you to download any special, proprietary apps to get access to the betting boards on the go. In the future, the App Store and Google Play may allow these sites to have proper mobile betting apps for UFC contests, but for now, these “web app” solutions are definitely the way to go.
Live UFC Betting
The wave of the future, in most sports, has been live betting, allowing fans and bettors alike the opportunities to wager on aspects of a given contest as the game or event plays out in real time. However, this is less common in combat sports like UFC matches, and for good reason. That isn’t to say that the bigger fights won’t have live odds, but oftentimes, the various outcomes are covered before the fight actually starts.
Still, many legal online sportsbooks will have live odds of a limited nature for big bouts, with round-by-round odds changing dynamically depending upon the betting public’s consensus re who is winning and who is losing. As technology advances, there will be more and more live betting in UFC matches, but for now, you can enjoy this on a limited basis with the more marquee fights on the calendar.
Bovada Sportsbook - All Lines On UFC Action!
The thing that many people fail to realize with Bovada is that every sport you can think of is on this site. UFC is one of the top sports that players can place their wagers on and this also means that alternate lines and UFC odds are available. With banking methods that are safe to use, Bovada is the best book for UFC action. This makes it much easier for players as they can go on one account and all they got to do is just sign up and place their bets.
Knowing that you can go back to the same account is a great thing because now this means that a lot of bonuses and other prizes could be offered because of the consistency of coming back to the same Bovada account. Simple things like sign up for a banking method could easily reward players some type of money. The more money on the account, the more UFC bets can be placed at all times. Take the time out to check out Bovada so that you can see all that it offers including betting on UFC and other sports.
SportsBetting Sportsbook - UFC All On SportsBetting
SportsBetting already is known as one of the biggest online sportsbooks out there for players to sign up for and it goes unnoticed that UFC is one of the top sports that is offered on this sportsbook. Many bettors glance at the big sports like the NFL, NBA, and others but UFC has plenty of fights that players find a way to capitalize and win big on these matches. With different matchups, all the time, expect to see some betting odds that would be hard to not bet on.
There are also features here on SportsBetting that make players account much easier to use like mobile betting features which let you use your mobile phone to have access to your account. This is a major plus because with UFC fights set up to go off at any time, if you’re not home, it is still preferred to have an access to the account in case any bets want to be placed at any time. Features also include the live betting feature as well which would let you place a bet during the fight. These are just a few things that you can choose from so it is best to check out the whole site and see what other things that SportsBetting offers
MyBookie Sportsbook - UFC A Option On MyBookie
UFC matches are very exciting to watch and sometimes end very fast. Just a few rounds in and the referee is stopping the fight because of the domination. This means that bets placed on MyBookie are already won just as soon as they are placed. Known for other sports, MyBookie has proved to be one of the best online sportsbooks out there. This is why most players refer their friends to sign up which also earns them some type of bonus that they can use in the future. MyBookie does things to show their appreciation for their account holders and adding UFC to their sports is one of them.
Having all these sports also means having a lot of different features like mobile betting and live betting to make sure all prop bets are offered. This will continue to be something that players will like with MyBookie because of the more betting options, the more money can be made. UFC fans have no worries when it comes to what matches will be on their site because every match that occurs will have plenty of prop bets ready for them to choose from. Keep in mind that all players have to be is 18 and older to sign up for an account. Once you have an account be prepared to watch a lot of UFC fights and win a lot of money on them as well!
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The big board at any Vegas sports book is a sight to behold. A slick cross between the New York Stock Exchange and a McDonald’s walk-up menu, the boards are updated moment to moment and bet to bet, giving a sports gambler all the data he needs to make a smart bet.
These boards are copied and pasted into the newspapers or shrunk to fit computer screens and smartphone apps but nothing measures up to the real thing. Hundreds of games, thousands of bets. All listed above you.
The big boards in Vegas tell us many things. The favorites. The underdogs. The payout. Where the money is. Knowing how to read Vegas Odds is important to every gambler not just to place a bet, obviously, but to place a smart bet. And that’s all good gamblers want to do. They want to make smart bets, win 60-70 percent of the time, and move on to the next bet.
But how do the big boards in Vegas work? What are they telling us? And what can we derive from them? It is just as important to know the odds you’re gambling with as it is to know the sport you’re gambling on. Making a smart bet is the goal. And smart gamblers use all the information available in order to do so.
For a brilliant summary for reading Vegas Odds 101, listen to our Sports and Vegas Odds Podcast episode where Ryan breaks it all down for you:
American Odds
Vegas Odds Mma Tonight
Vegas odds are often referred to as “American Odds” because Americans always have to be different. We ignore the metric system. We call football, soccer. We drive on the wrong side of the road. Why would sports gambling be any different?
American odds are presented in the form of a $100 bet. They’ll indicate the amount you need to wager to win $100 or the amount you’ll win if you bet $100. So, for a favorite, the odds will begin with a minus (-) sign. This is the amount you need to bet in order to win $100.
On the other hand, the underdog’s odds will begin with a plus (+) sign. This is the amount you will receive if you were to bet $100. This does not mean you have to bet $100. Or mean that you can only bet as much as $100. See, Americans have to be different. Hang in there because we have some examples forthcoming.
These odds will come into play a few ways depending on the type of bet you place. The moneyline, the point spread, and the totals (over/under) are all bets available on the board. Let’s look at how to read them in Vegas with the odds.
The Moneyline
Simply put, a bet on the moneyline is an odds bet. It’s where “American odds” can easily be seen. With a moneyline bet you’re simply picking the winner and the payout is determined by the odds.
Obviously, a bet on the favorite is going to pay out less than a bet on the underdog. Let’s look at an example of a moneyline bet with an NBA game and how it would appear in Vegas. The Pacers/Cavs line.
- Indiana Pacers +350
- Cleveland Cavaliers -440
The Pacers are the underdog on the moneyline at +350. The Cavs are the favorites on the moneyline with -440. This means a $100 bet on the Pacers to win pays $350. And that you would have to wager $440 on the Cavs to win $100. This ratio holds true for a wager of any amount. A $10 bet on the Pacers pays $35 while a $10 bet on the Cavs pays $2.27. So on and so forth.
The Point Spread
The most common and popular of sports bets is the point spread. As simply as we can put it, the point spread is the number the oddsmakers use to handicap the favorites to even-up the final score of the game. This in turn sparks more interest, which leads to more bets, which brings in more money. Again, the Pacers/Cavs line.
- Indiana Pacers +8 -110
- Cleveland Cavaliers -8 -110
First the -8. As noted, the Cavs are the favorites so they are giving points (8) to even up the final score. In order for the Cavs to win the bet and cover the point spread, they’d have to win by nine or more. If the Pacers stay within seven points, the Cavs fail to cover the eight points and lose the bet. If the Cavs win by eight points, it’s a “push” or a tie and all bets are returned.
Now the (-110). This number is the odds a bet on the point spread will pay out. Just like on the moneyline, since the Cavs are the favorites, you’ll have to bet $110 to win $100. You’ll notice a favorite covering the spread pays out much better than a favorite on the moneyline. You’ll also notice the favorite and the underdog have the same payouts with the point spread. This is what makes playing the point spread so popular.
Some teams are evenly matched and there isn’t a point spread at all. This would be a “pick’em” or “pk” on the big board. And the odds on the moneyline would match as well. These are “EVEN” odds. When playing the point spread the payout number will vary. -110 is about industry standard but you’ll notice -105’s, -115’s, and even as high as -125’s on point spread bets at times. More on this later but it is important to note these variations.
Totals
The totals is a bet on the total number of points (or runs or goals) scored in the game. The oddsmakers will set the number and bets are placed on whether or not the total score is OVER or UNDER that number. The number appears on the big board next to the underdog like so:
- Indiana Pacers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers 212.5 -110
The number set for this game is 212.5. Since the .5 has eliminated the chance of a push, an OVER bet will win if the total score is 213 or higher. An UNDER bet pays if the total score is 212 or lower. And, again, the payout for a win is -110.
Totals bets are seen as something of a sucker’s bet. Despite your opinion on the matter, we have to admit they are a little strange. You are wagering on what the total score will be. Not picking a winner. Picking a score.
So, it’s different than a normal who’s-going-to-win-the-game-and-by
-how-much kind of bet. However, this number is providing the gambler more information about how the oddsmakers feel about the game and that is important when making a smart bet.
Placing a Wager
The other set of numbers you will see on the big board are the rotation numbers. These are numbers assigned to teams so the sports book can easily distinguish one for the other. They appear to the left of the teams in a game on the big board as such:
How Does Ufc Vegas Odds Work
- 101 Indiana Pacers +350 212.5
- 102 Cleveland Cavaliers -440 -8(-110)
These numbers simply help the sports book as well as the gambler keep track of the bet. Listed on the big board are dozens of sports, hundreds of teams and thousands of bets that can be played. It’s a good idea to keep them as organized as possible. There are at least six professional teams in New York by itself after all. Like the horses’ numbers at the track, rotation numbers just cut down on the confusion when placing a bet.
“Give me New York -220 on the moneyline for $50.”
“Which New York, dumb-dumb…”
“Sorry, 303. I’m an idiot”
“Yes, you are.”
Don’t be that guy. This is the proper way to lay a bet in Vegas. Rotation Number, Type of Bet, Amount of Wager. Everyone appreciates a well placed bet and no one likes that guy…
Reading the Big Board
Now that we know how to read Vegas Odds, we need to learn what the Vegas odds mean… That is, what are these numbers telling us in the context of the game we want to wager on. We have studied the teams, we know the rosters. What can the lines tell us to make our bet a smart bet?
Once a game is scheduled and it’s odds are posted, the bets are going to start coming in. Now, it’s in the sports book’s best interest to keep the bets as even as possible. This is why oddsmakers give you a pay out at -110.
Understanding the Vig or Juice
Vegas Ufc Odds
That’s a $110 dollar bet to win $100. Take the favorite and give the points. You’re paid out at -110. Take the underdog and get the points. You’re paid out at -110. OVER or UNDER the same. -110. This is the industry standard and goes back to the mob-only days of oddsmaking.
Where does that $10 bucks go you ask? Well, that $10 bucks on a $100 bet is the “vig” or “juice.” It’s the price for laying a bet. A little bit extra the oddsmaker gets to keep for fronting the wager.
Keeping the bets as even as they can on either side insures their money. Collect from the losers and short change the winners. It’s a brilliant business model only the mob could come up with and only Vegas would still employ.
Now, most betting lines will just give it to you straight. The favorite pays this much, you get this many points, the total is this. What we are looking for are the variations. We can ascertain plenty of valuable intel from these variations.
Why is the payout on this game -115? And why is the payout on this game EVEN? Why is the moneyline different from yesterday? And why is the point spread moving up? The devil is in the details.
Watch As The Point Spreads Move
The most obvious variation is the movement of the point spread. As the bets start coming in, the oddsmakers track which team is receiving most of the betting action. The point spread will move because the oddsmakers will change the line to try to even up the sides. Remember, they want just as many people on one side of a bet as on the other.
More people are taking the Cavs giving the eight points? Raise the point spread to nine. All of a sudden, more bets will come in for the Pacers getting the nine points. Oddsmakers can do the same with the moneyline as well as the total line. And for the same reasons.
But what does this information tell us? The line has moved up even more and now the Cavs are -10 point favorites. This means, despite the oddsmakers best efforts, more wagers have been placed on the Cavs than on the Pacers.
Smart Bettors Know Where The Action Is
Knowing where the money is can help you make a smart bet. One theory is the The-House-Always-Wins-Rule. Basically, this theory suggests you bet against everyone else and with the house because the house always wins. If more people take the favorite, the points they are giving went up and you should take the underdog.
If more people are picking the underdog, the points they are receiving have gone down and you take the favorite. It makes sense in theory but maybe not in practice. Remember, the oddsmakers want the sides to be even.
They aren’t in the business of placing their own opposing bets. What is important is knowing how everyone else is betting and the knowledge that a large segment of the gambling population shares your opinion.
Ufc Fight Odds Vegas
Or if you think the gambling population is foolish, well, you know what to do. However you feel, keep an eye on how the line moves. It may help you make a bet you wouldn’t have or avoid a bet you were going to make.
A Close Look at the Payouts
The payouts on the point spread can vary as well. That standard -110 will turn into -105’s or EVEN’s. Or go the other way to -115’s, -120’s, or -125’s. What is the reason for these variations? It’s a lot like moving the point spread.
The oddsmakers want to even up the bet. There’s only so many points a bookie is going to give. Offering a little more here or a little less there on the payout may be enough to influence the betting action. However, you can tell where the oddsmakers are hedging with these numbers.
If the payout gets better than -110, the oddsmakers have the sides even up, love the point spread and want you to bet it and lose. If the payout gets worse than -110, the oddsmakers know they have a bad number and want to cut their losses.
Vegas Wants You To Gamble – Be Smart
How To Read Vegas Odds Ufc
Making smart bets is the name of the game. The only way to make smart bets is to gather as much information as possible and master how to read Vegas Odds. Get to know every bet as well as you know every team. Get to know all the odds as well as you know every player.
Vegas Mma Odds Explained
Otherwise, you’re just playing the lotto. Remember, Vegas wants you to gamble. It’s going to give you all the information it can in order to gamble. It’s up to you to use it.
Vegas Insider Mma Odds
Test your knowledge on some small starter bets. We’d recommend any of the following for players outside Las Vegas but there are plenty of good options for US players (just make sure it’s not illegal in your state):