How-To
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How to read a full NFL odds listing: what each number on the row means, how American, decimal, and percentage prices convert, why sportsbook prices add up past 100%, and what a spread and total imply about the score.
The row: an NFL listing shows three bets on one line, the point spread, the total, and the moneyline, each with a price. “-3.5 (-110)” is a spread of 3.5 points at a price of -110.
Implied probability: every price converts to the win rate it needs to break even. -110 is 52.38%, -185 is 64.91%, and +155 is 39.22%.
Formats: American, decimal, and percentage prices all describe the same thing. A 64.91% price is 1.5405 in decimal and -185 in American odds.
Over 100%: a sportsbook’s two sides add up to more than 100%, and the excess is its margin. Both sides of a -110 spread sum to 104.76%.
About 100%: on Novig, which quotes prices as percentages, the two sides of a game sit about half a point over 100%, and a pre-game straight trade carries no fee.
The score: the spread and total together imply a score for each team. A 3.5-point favorite in a game with a 47.5 total projects to about 25.5 to 22.
An NFL odds listing puts three bets on each team’s line: the point spread, the total, and the moneyline. Here’s a hypothetical game laid out the way most sportsbooks show it:
Team | Spread | Total | Moneyline |
|---|---|---|---|
Dolphins | +3.5 (-110) | O 47.5 (-110) | +155 |
Bills | -3.5 (-110) | U 47.5 (-110) | -185 |
The road team is listed first and the home team second, so this is Miami at Buffalo. Each cell carries a number and a price, except the moneyline, which is only a price.
Spread: the Bills are 3.5-point favorites. A bet on Buffalo -3.5 wins if the Bills win by four or more. A bet on Miami +3.5 wins if the Dolphins win or lose by three or fewer. The point spread guide covers pushes, half points, and key numbers.
Total: 47.5 is the combined points line. The over wins at 48 or more total points, and the under wins at 47 or fewer. The totals guide covers how totals are set.
Moneyline: a bet on who wins, with no points attached. The Bills cost more to back because they’re the favorite.
Price: the number in parentheses is what the bet costs. At -110, a bettor risks $110 to win $100.
The two numbers in the spread column always mirror each other. Buffalo -3.5 and Miami +3.5 are the same line seen from each side. The total is one number shared by both teams, so sportsbooks often put “O” on one row and “U” on the other.
US sportsbooks quote American odds. A minus price is what you risk to win $100, and a plus price is what $100 wins. Decimal odds are the total return per $1 staked, stake included. A percentage price is the implied probability, so there’s nothing to convert.
American | Decimal | Implied probability | Profit on a $100 stake |
|---|---|---|---|
-185 | 1.5405 | 64.91% | $54.05 |
-110 | 1.9091 | 52.38% | $90.91 |
+100 | 2.0000 | 50.00% | $100.00 |
+155 | 2.5500 | 39.22% | $155.00 |
All four columns describe one price, and it takes a single formula to go from one to another:
Minus American to probability: odds / (odds + 100). -185 is 185 / 285, or 64.91%.
Plus American to probability: 100 / (odds + 100). +155 is 100 / 255, or 39.22%.
Decimal to probability: 1 / decimal. 1 / 2.55 is 39.22%.
Probability of 50% or more to American: -100 x p / (1 - p). 62.5% is about -167.
Probability under 50% to American: 100 x (1 - p) / p. 38% is about +163.
Implied probability is also the break-even rate, which is why it’s worth converting every price. A bettor who backs -185 favorites needs them to win 64.91% of the time to come out level, and a -110 spread bettor needs 52.38%.
Novig stopped showing American odds in August 2026 and now quotes contracts as percentages. A contract pays $1 if it wins, so a 62.5% price costs 62.5 cents a contract, and the price is the implied probability without any conversion. Novig’s odds calculator converts its percentages to American and decimal odds for bettors who think in sportsbook prices.
Add the implied probabilities of both sides of the example game:
Bet | Side A | Side B | Sum |
|---|---|---|---|
Spread | Bills -3.5 at -110: 52.38% | Dolphins +3.5 at -110: 52.38% | 104.76% |
Total | Over 47.5 at -110: 52.38% | Under 47.5 at -110: 52.38% | 104.76% |
Moneyline | Bills -185: 64.91% | Dolphins +155: 39.22% | 104.13% |
In a fair market the two sides of a game would sum to exactly 100%. Each row here doesn’t, and the excess is the sportsbook’s margin, also called the vig or juice. It’s how the book gets paid without charging a separate fee: both sides pay a little more than a fair price.
That also means a sportsbook’s implied probability overstates each team’s chance. Dividing each side by the row’s sum strips the margin out. On the moneyline, 64.91% / 104.13% is 62.34% for the Bills and 37.66% for the Dolphins. The moneyline explainer walks through that calculation and the book’s hold in more detail.
The sum works as a quick comparison, too. When two books price the same game, the one whose pair adds up to less is charging less. The spread shopping guide applies that to spreads at the number and the price.
On a prediction market, the other side of every trade is another user, not a house. Buying one team and selling the other are the same position, so the two prices mirror each other: the price to buy the Dolphins is 100% minus the best price someone will pay for the Bills.
Here’s the same hypothetical game on Novig, which lists NFL Winner, Spread, Total, and Team Totals markets:
Market | Side A | Side B | Sum |
|---|---|---|---|
Winner | Bills 62.5% | Dolphins 38% | 100.5% |
Spread | Bills -3.5 at 50.5% | Dolphins +3.5 at 50% | 100.5% |
Total | Over 47.5 at 50% | Under 47.5 at 50.5% | 100.5% |
The half point over 100% on each row is the gap between the best orders resting on each side of the book. It shrinks or widens with how many orders sit at the top. In one third-party read of an NFL winner market on Novig, the two sides were priced at 36% and 64.5%, a sum of 100.5%.
Novig charges no fee on pre-game straight trades, so the percentage is the whole cost before kickoff. Under its published fee schedule, live trades, futures, and parlays carry a taker fee, which adds to the price a taker pays.
Set side by side, the example game reads like this:
Bet | Sportsbook price | Novig price | Novig price in American odds |
|---|---|---|---|
Bills to win | -185 (64.91%) | 62.5% | About -167 |
Dolphins to win | +155 (39.22%) | 38% | About +163 |
Bills -3.5 | -110 (52.38%) | 50.5% | About -102 |
A $100 profit on the Bills to win costs $185 at the sportsbook price and about $166.67 at 62.5%. These prices are hypothetical, and the gap on any given game depends on where both markets sit at the time. The prediction markets vs. sportsbooks guide compares the two models on regulation, age limits, and markets.
Novig requires users to be 21 and isn’t available in Arizona, Michigan, or Nevada. Its status in Ohio is unsettled after the state’s casino regulator sent it a cease-and-desist letter in October 2026.
The spread is the expected margin and the total is the expected combined score. Together they imply a score for each team, called an implied team total:
Favorite: (total + spread) / 2. For the Bills, (47.5 + 3.5) / 2 = 25.5.
Underdog: (total - spread) / 2. For the Dolphins, (47.5 - 3.5) / 2 = 22.
So the listing projects about Bills 25.5, Dolphins 22. It’s a rough projection, since NFL scores land on a handful of margins and the market prices each line separately. Novig and the major sportsbooks also list team totals, so a listed team total can be checked against the implied one. A listed total a point or more off the implied number means that market prices the team differently from the game lines.
Lines move between the open and kickoff as injury news and money come in. A bet is graded at the number and price taken when it was placed, not the closing line. If the Bills move from -3.5 to -4.5 after a bet on Buffalo -3.5, that bet still needs only a four-point win.
Live odds reprice after every play. On a sportsbook, the margin stays built into each live price. On a prediction market, the taker fee on live trades raises the cost of crossing the book. Either way, the same arithmetic applies: convert the price, add the two sides, and see how far past 100% they go. Current lines for each week are on the weekly NFL odds page, and the parlays explainer shows how the margin compounds when prices are multiplied together.
It means risking $110 to win $100. The implied probability is 52.38%, which is also the share of bets a bettor has to win at that price to break even.
For a minus price, divide the odds by the odds plus 100: -185 is 185 / 285, or 64.91%. For a plus price, divide 100 by the odds plus 100: +155 is 100 / 255, or 39.22%.
The excess is the sportsbook’s margin. A -110 spread on both sides sums to 104.76%, so each side pays a little more than a fair price would charge.
It’s the price of a contract that pays $1 if it wins, and it’s the implied probability with no conversion. A 62.5% contract costs 62.5 cents and is about -167 in American odds.
It’s the score a spread and total project for one team. Add the spread to the total and halve it for the favorite; subtract and halve for the underdog. A 3.5-point favorite with a 47.5 total implies 25.5 points.
Bettors must be 21 or older in most states. Gamble responsibly: if betting stops being fun, the National Problem Gambling Helpline is 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738), and ncpgambling.org has more resources.
