Beat the Odds

Compete against other participants to see who can accumulate the most points by picking the winners of NFL or MLB games using Moneyline odds (not point spreads). To participate, you'll need to register a username and password.

Choose "NFL" or "MLB" from the selection list and click "Make (or Change) Picks". You'll be asked to pick the winners of a specified number of games for a weekend of NFL games or a day of MLB games. For MLB, odds for a particular day are posted between 8:00pm and 10:00pm the prior evening. For NFL, odds for a particular weekend are posted the prior Wednesday.

There's no money involved with this game, but the points you receive will be equivalent to placing a $100 bet on each game. When making your picks, check the Points column. If your team wins, that's how many points you'll receive. If they lose, you'll receive -100 points. Your total points at the end of the contest will be equivalent to your net profit or loss for your "bets".

At the end of the contest, click "Results" on the navigation bar above to see the results of your picks. To see how you did relative to other participants, click "Ranking". To return to this page from any other page, click "Beat the Odds".

With a Moneyline bet, unlike with points spreads, you simply pick who you think is going to win the game. But your payout will vary, depending on whether you pick the favorite or the underdog, and whether the favorite is heavily favored or not.

The favorite is listed with “-” (minus) Moneyline odds, and the underdog is listed with “+” (plus) Moneyline odds.
For teams with "+" odds, the payout formula is:   (Odds/100) * Wager + Wager
For teams with "-" odds, the payout formula is:   (100/Odds) * Wager + Wager

Example #1: The Chiefs are playing the Bills, and the Chiefs are slight favorites.
You might see odds like: Chiefs (-135), Bills (+115)

Let's assume you bet $100 on the Bills:
- If they win, your payout is   (115/100) * 100 + 100 = $215.   So, your profit is $115.
- If they lose, your payout is $0. And your profit is -$100. (i.e. You lose your $100 bet)
Now, let's assume you bet $100 on the Chiefs:
- If they win, your payout is   100/115 * 100 + 100 = $187.   So, your profit is $87.
- If they lose, your payout is $0. And your profit is -$100.

Example #2: The Eagles are playing the Lions, and the Eagles are heavy favorites.
You might see odds like: Eagles (-1000), Lions (+500)

Let's assume you bet $100 on the Lions:
- If they win, your payout is   (500/100) * 100 + 100 = $600.   So, your profit is $500.
- If they lose, your payout is $0. And your profit is -$100.
Now, let's assume you bet $100 on the Eagles:
- If they win, your payout is   100/1000 * 100 + 100 = $110.   So, your profit is $10.
- If they lose, your payout is $0. And your profit is -$100.