Quote (lncarnaxim @ Jun 1 2009 04:21pm)
IntroductionHi, I'm lncarnaxim and I will be your pilot for today. 
I've had several inquiries about sports betting and specifically, money lines. What does it mean when people say 4:1? What does it mean when a fighter is listed as -100? Hopefully these questions will be adequately addressed. This snippet will not cover point spreads, parlays, or other facets of betting. One thing at a time here, folks. 
I'll give a few examples of money lines and explain them (hopefully accurately). I also have a section for people that want a quick read or merely want to figure out how this applies to you entitled MMA Betting on D2JSP.
Money Line ExamplesExample 1These odds are made-up. For example if the card reads:
So if you were betting on Anderson Silva, to make $100 you'd have to put up $700 ($800 total = $700 risked, $100 made if you win the bet). If you put $100 on Thales Leites to win, you'd win back $500 ($600 total, $100 risked, $500 made if you win the bet). In this instance, a fair proposition would be to have 6:1 odds on Anderson Silva. So if you and I wanted to bet, I'd put down 600 FG and you'd put down 100 FG. The bet winner takes all 700 FG.
Example 2
Another example with actual odds according to betus.com:
In this instance, putting down $200 on Liddell will get you $100 back + your original investment ($300 total). Putting $100 down on Rua will get you $150 back (or $250 total). The actual odds usually depend on the person with whom you set the bet.
Example 3
Here's a final example using another real-life example from UFC 91:
To make $100 on Randy, you'd have to bet $140. This would get you $240 back ($100 + Original Investment of $140). Lesnar is listed as even, which simply means betting $100 yields $100, sending you home with $200 in your pocket. I think you get this by now.
MMA Betting on D2JSPSo, here's the way I translate these moneylines to get to those ever-familiar ratios. I merely add both numbers (ignoring the positive and negatives) and divide it by 200. Let's briefly revisit our first three examples.
Example 1
Example 1.)700 + 500 = 1200 /200 = 6. So, a betting thread for this fight might have 6:1 odds. Someone would bet 60 FG on Silva and another person would bet 10 FG on Leites.
Example 2
Example 2.)200 + 150 = 350 / 200 = 1.75. This depends on how the person decides to round it, if at all. I personally would keep these odds for the sake of fairness, so I'd probably put up 17.5 FG on Liddell vs someone else's 10 FG.
Example 3
Example 3.)140 + 100 = 240 /200 = 1.2. On this particular bet, you'll most likely see 1:1 odds, which we did.
A Final NotePeople use different betting sites to retrieve money lines. I personally use http://betus.com, some people use http://sportsbook.com. If the person you're betting with gives odds you don't understand, ask him/her for a source and/or check the betting sites. Most people give sources to their money lines and there are also a lot of helpful people on this forum who typically speak up if someone is not giving reasonable odds (like me 
). If you dislike the odds, please voice your disagreement politely (as with all disputes in this forum) or simply don't bet. Also, remember that it is common for money lines to change as an event grows nearer, so don't feel cheated if you happen to notice someone with better odds than you. This should hopefully address a majority of the questions I've received about this subject. If you have any further specific concerns about betting, I can do my best to help you out. Just post or PM.
Thank you boys and girls, have a wonderful day. 
So that it's viewable on the last page as well as the first.