Favorite

Every head-to-head market has a favorite and an underdog. The odds are how a book tells you which is which. In American format, the favorite always carries the minus sign, and that number tells you how much you'd need to risk to profit $100. A team at -200 needs a $200 bet to return $100 in profit on top of the original stake, since the book is charging a premium for backing the side that's more likely to actually win. The underdog sits on the other side with a plus number, offering a bigger payout for less certainty. Being the favorite isn't limited to the straight moneyline. The same minus sign follows the favorite into spread betting, where instead of just needing to win, they need to win by more than the number attached to them, something like -6.5 in football. Books set the favorite using team form, injuries, home advantage, and how sharp bettors are moving their own money, and that price can shift right up until kickoff as new information comes in and bets get placed on both sides. Being favored doesn't mean the outcome is close to guaranteed. Far from it. A -200 favorite is only implied to win around two out of every three times based on that price, which still leaves real room for an upset. A heavy favorite at -500 or beyond gets closer to a coin-flip in terms of narrow payout relative to risk, since bettors are laying a large stake to win comparatively little, and one bad break can still turn that bet into a loss.