If you’ve ever looked at a sports betting business or walked into a sportsbook, you’ve likely been bombarded by a wall of numbers. While point spreads get a lot of attention in football and basketball, the money line is the purest form of sports wagering. It asks a simple question: Who is going to win?
There are no points to cover, no handicaps to worry about in terms of the final score—just a straight-up contest between two sides. However, not all teams are created equal. This is where the number (+120) comes into play.
When you see a +120 money line, you are looking at the underdog. In the language of American odds, the “plus” sign always indicates the team that is perceived as less likely to win. The number following that plus sign tells you exactly how much profit you will make on a $100 wager.
Let’s look at the classic example mentioned in the intro: The Dallas Cowboys vs. The Philadelphia Eagles.
If the Cowboys are listed at +120, the oddsmakers have determined that Philadelphia is the superior team (the favorite) for this specific matchup. To entice people to bet on Dallas, the bookie offers a better payout.
It sounds simple, but understanding the nuance of this number is critical, whether you are the one placing the bet or the one taking it.
Why +120? Why not +150 or +200? These numbers aren’t arbitrary. They represent the implied probability of an event occurring. A money line of +120 implies a roughly 45.5% chance of winning. If the number moves to +150, the implied probability drops to 40%, meaning the team is a bigger underdog.
As a bettor, you are looking for “value”—instances where you think the Cowboys have a better than 45.5% chance to win. But if you are the bookie, your perspective is entirely different. You are looking at risk management.
Now, let’s flip the script. Most articles tell you how to bet. But let’s talk about the person accepting the wager. Let’s talk about you as the potential bookie.
When you see a +120 money line, you aren’t hoping for a payout; you are hoping for a defense. If you accept that $100 wager on the Cowboys (+120), you are essentially saying, “I believe the Eagles will win, or at least, I believe the market suggests the Eagles will win.”
If the Cowboys lose (which the odds suggest they might), you, the bookie, keep the $100. That is your revenue. However, if the Cowboys pull off the upset, you are on the hook for that $120 loss.
This dynamic creates the thrill of the industry. You aren’t gambling on the game in the same way the player is; you are gambling on the math. Over time, favorites win more often than underdogs. That is a statistical fact. While you will occasionally have to pay out that $120 to the lucky winner, the goal of a bookie is to take enough volume on the other side (the Eagles) to cover your risk.
You might be wondering, if I pay out more on underdogs, how do I make money? The answer lies in the favorite’s odds. If the Cowboys are +120, the Eagles might be -140.
This difference—the gap between what you pay out and what you take in—is the “vig” or “juice.” It is the fee for your service, and it is how bookies generate massive wealth over the long term.
Historically, being a bookie required a sharp mind for mental math, a thick ledger, and a lot of patience. You had to set the lines yourself. If the quarterback for the Cowboys got injured in practice, you had to know about it instantly and adjust your +120 line to +150 or +200 before your players hammered you with bad bets.
It was a high-stress job that required 24/7 attention.
That era is over. Today, the barrier to entry for becoming a bookie has been completely shattered by Pay Per Head technology.
The term “Pay Per Head” refers to the business model. Instead of buying expensive software or hiring a team of oddsmakers in Las Vegas, you rent a fully functional sportsbook service. You pay a small weekly fee for each player (each “head”) that actually places a bet that week.
If you have 50 players, but only 20 bet this week, you only pay for those 20.
But what do you get for that fee? You get a turnkey operation that rivals the biggest commercial sportsbooks in the world.
So, the technology handles the lines, the grading, and the website. What is left for you to do?
Sales and Relationships.
Becoming a bookie today is less about math and more about networking. You are essentially a marketing manager for your own private casino. The beautiful thing about sports betting is that you don’t really have to “sell” the product. The product is the NFL. The product is March Madness. These things sell themselves.
Your goal is simply to be the venue where people place their action.
Start with your inner circle. Friends, coworkers, the guys you play softball with, old college roommates. Betting is a social activity. When the Cowboys are playing the Eagles, people are already talking about it.
That conversation is your opening. “If you think they’re going to win, I can give you +120 on them right now. I just opened a private book.”
It’s casual, it’s personal, and it’s effective. You aren’t a faceless corporation; you are a guy they know and trust. That trust is your currency.
One of the most powerful tools in a bookie’s arsenal—and one supported by all major Pay Per Head sites—is the Free Play bonus.
Let’s say you have a friend who is hesitant. They like watching games, but they’ve never bet. You can offer them a $50 Free Play.
Why do this? Because it gets them in the door. It teaches them how to use your website. It gives them the dopamine hit of a win or the excitement of a sweat. Once a player realizes how easy it is to bet on your PPH site, they are far more likely to deposit their own money for the next game.
It is important to address the reality of gambling: The house always wins.
This isn’t just a saying; it is a mathematical inevitability. While a player might hit that +120 money line on Sunday, they might lose three -110 bets on Monday and Tuesday. Humans are emotional bettors. They chase losses. They bet on their favorite teams regardless of the stats. They bet because they are bored.
As the bookie, you are the calm center of the storm. You are utilizing the Pay Per Head software to facilitate their entertainment.
If you have one player betting $100, the variance is high. If he wins a +120 bet, you are down $120. But if you have 20 players betting, the law of large numbers takes over.
Regardless of who wins the game, the losing side pays the winning side, and you keep the difference (the juice). The more players you have, the more stable your income becomes.
This is why the business is so lucrative. You aren’t trying to beat the player; you are simply providing the platform. The players will eventually beat themselves. Your job is to settle up every week, collect the losses, pay the winners, and pocket the net profit.
If you understand that +120 means a $120 profit on a $100 bet, you already know enough math to start. The heavy lifting—the line setting, the software development, the server maintenance, the security—is all handled by the Pay Per Head provider.
Your roadmap is simple:
The sports betting industry is exploding. The money lines are waiting. Are you going to be the one paying the juice, or the one collecting it?
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