Written by
Fact checked by
In terms of sports betting, odds represent the chances of a team or individual winning a particular matchup. The odds are also what you get paid on a winning bet.
West Virginia sports betting operators post odds for all kinds of sports contests, allowing you to bet on pro and amateur games and competitions from all over the US and around the world.
This live odds feed page has the current odds for most major sports betting markets here in West Virginia. It also includes explanations for:
- How odds work
- How to calculate payouts
- How and why these odds will sometimes change
Live Sports Betting Odds WV
See our full live sports betting odds feed for real-time odds on pro and college sports. Use the drop-down menus to select another sports or to see the moneyline/totals odds. Click on any odds to claim your bonus bets.
How to read betting odds
West Virginia sportsbook odds are posted as either positive or negative numbers. Positive odds indicate the underdog in a matchup and represent how much you can win for every $100 bet. Negative odds indicate the favorite in a matchup and represent how much you’ll have to bet to win $100.
For example, the West Virginia Mountaineers might be -170 moneyline favorites over the Maryland Terrapins in an NCAA football game. The Terrapins might be +150 underdogs.
What that means is you’ll have to bet $170 to earn $100 plus your bet back on the Mountaineers. Additionally, you can earn $150 plus your bet back for every $100 you bet on the Terrapins if they manage to win.
Basic sports betting odds explained
There are odds attached to every bet you can make at a WV sportsbook. Here’s a look at the basic bet types available for most sports and an example of how the odds work for each.
Moneyline
Moneyline betting asks you to pick the outright winner of a game. Most games have a favorite and an underdog for you to choose from, unless oddsmakers give both teams an equal chance of winning.
You lock in the odds when you place a bet on either side and if your pick wins, you get paid at those locked-in odds, no matter what happens to the line ahead of the game.
The example listed above is a moneyline wager. In it, the West Virginia Mountaineers are -170 moneyline favorites over the Maryland Terrapins. The Terrapins are +150 moneyline underdogs.
That means every $170 bet on the Mountaineers will pay $100 plus your bet back if the Mountaineers win the game. It also means every $100 bet on Maryland will pay $150 plus your bet back if the Terrapins win.
Point spread
Point spread betting asks you to pick the winner of a game with a line set by oddsmakers factored into the final score. It’s a popular way to bet on football and basketball and serves to even up the odds between teams.
For example, the moneyline might be West Virginia Mountaineers -170 and Maryland Terrapins +150, making the Mountaineers big favorites. However, the point spread of the game might be Mountaineers -14.5 (-110) and Terrapins +14.5 (-110).
In this case, the Mountaineers would need to win by 15 or more for point spread bets on the team to win, and point spread bets on the Terrapins would win if they win outright or lose by 14 points or fewer. However, both bets would pay -110 odds.
Over/under (totals)
Over/under or totals betting asks you to pick whether the total final score of a game will land over or under a line set by oddsmakers. WV sportsbooks generally set these lines with the same odds on both sides.
For example, the over/under on the West Virginia Mountaineers and Maryland Terrapins might be 59.5 (-110).
That means you’re betting that the Mountaineers and Terrapins will combine to score either 60 points or more, or 59 or fewer. The winning side will pay -110 odds no matter what happens.
Props
Props are wagers on games within the game, or the probability of a certain thing happening that falls outside of the final score. You might find a prop on the West Virginia Mountaineers posting a total yardage over or under a certain number, or a prop on whether they will win the coin toss.
Futures
Futures are generally season-long bets placed on a team to win a championship, it’s division, conference or the like. For example, you might find a futures market where you can bet on the WVU Mountaineers winning the Big 12 Conference.
You book futures at currently posted moneyline odds that are adjusted throughout the year alongside a team’s chances of completing the feat in question.
Parlays
Parlays combine two or more individual bets into one. Parlays pay better odds than individual bets because of the difficulty of stringing together a group of winners.
Why odds and lines change at sportsbooks
These days, WV sportsbooks set lines for upcoming matchups almost immediately after a team’s or individual’s most recent game. Sometimes even before then. However, these odds and lines are hardly static and can change quite drastically ahead of game time.
Sportsbooks set lines at a point where they believe the exact same amount of money will be bet on either side. They make their money off the juice and don’t have to sweat the outcome.
The initial line posted at a WV sportsbook might change ahead of game time for several reasons.
First, news about an injury to a major contributor might force sportsbooks into action. If that player missing the game affects the team’s chances of winning, the lines and odds will be adjusted accordingly.
Next, there’s the weather. If there’s a chance of extreme weather that will have an impact on gameplay, totals lines and odds will surely be changed.
Finally, betting can force sportsbooks to change a line.
Like we said before, sportsbooks are hoping to get the same amount of money bet on both sides of a wager and make their money off the juice. If there’s heavy early betting on one side or the other, they will adjust the line and odds to try to get it equal.
Using the same example from above, let’s say the West Virginia Mountaineers are -170 moneyline favorites over the Maryland Terrapins (+150). However, the public is betting heavily on the Mountaineers at those odds.
WV sportsbooks will react by moving the odds to try to attract more action on the Terrapins and less on the Mountaineers. Changing the moneyline to West Virginia Mountaineers (-200) and Maryland Terrapins (+175) might do the trick, as Mountaineers bettors will want to avoid such a big risk and more people will be attracted to the big payday Terrapins bets are now offering.
What does fading the public mean?
When sportsbooks move a point spread line because of heavy betting on one side, that gives you the opportunity for a bargain.
Let’s say the Mountaineers are 14.5-point favorites over the Terrapins, but so much money is being bet on Maryland, WV sportsbooks are forced to move the line down to 10.5 points.
There’s no earthly reason why oddsmakers’ original line isn’t right and no on-the-field reason why the Mountaineers shouldn’t still be considered 14.5-point favorites. However, that change in the line gives you the opportunity to bet the Mountaineers and give away four fewer points than you would have otherwise had to.
This is called fading the public. It’s an effective betting strategy that allows you to bet on oddsmakers’ original predictions being correct and get a few points for free, depending on how much a line changes.
How to calculate bet payouts at sportsbooks
The odds posted at WV sportsbooks will tell you all kinds of things, including what oddsmakers believe a team’s chances of winning are.
You can also take these odds and calculate what your potential payout might be on any size bet using some simple math.
There are two formulas you can use to calculate potential payouts: one for positive American odds and one for negative American odds.
Here’s the formula for positive American odds:
Bet x (Odds/100) + Bet = Potential Payday
Here’s the formula for negative American odds:
Bet / (Odds/-100) + Bet = Potential Payday
Let’s use the West Virginia Mountaineers -170 and Maryland Terrapins +150 moneyline example again.
A $10 bet on the Terrapins would set you up for a $15 profit and $25 payday. A $10 bet on the Mountaineers would give you the chance at a $5.88 profit and $15.88 payday.
Whether you’re looking at positive or negative odds, you can calculate potential paydays rather quickly by doing the middle part of the equation first. That’s the equation in parentheses. Then, either multiply or divide your bet size by that number and add that number to your original bet size to see the potential payday.