Three bets cover most of what’s on a sportsbook’s main page: the moneyline, the spread and the total. Pick the winner, pick the winner with a handicap, or pick how many points get scored. They sound simple, and they are, until a hockey game goes to a shootout or a football game ends exactly on the number. This guide covers how each bet works, the Canadian variations (puck line, run line, 60-minute lines), how pushes and overtime settle, and how to compare the price on each. Examples use decimal odds with American in brackets; our odds guide covers both.
- Moneyline: pick the winner. Hockey and baseball moneylines usually include overtime.
- Spread: a handicap. Puck line and run line are usually 1.5 goals or runs.
- Totals: over or under a combined score. Whole numbers can push; half points never do.
- 60-minute lines are three-way and ignore NHL overtime and shootouts.
Moneyline: pick the winner
The moneyline is the simplest bet there is. You choose who wins. The favourite is priced short, the underdog long, and the odds tell you how likely the book thinks each result is.
Worked example, illustrative odds: Toronto at 1.67 (-150) against Montreal at 2.30 (+130). C$30 on Toronto returns about C$50 if they win, roughly C$20 profit. C$30 on Montreal returns C$69, C$39 profit. Toronto’s price implies 60.0%, Montreal’s 43.5%. Add them and you get 103.5%; the extra 3.5 points is the bookmaker’s edge, a margin of 3.36%. Our margin guide shows the full calculation.
What the moneyline includes depends on the sport. In hockey and baseball, the standard moneyline usually includes overtime and extra innings, and in the NHL regular season the shootout too. In soccer, the main result market is three-way (home, draw, away), because draws are common.
Spread: the handicap
A point spread gives the underdog a head start. The favourite has to win by more than the spread; the underdog has to lose by less than it, or win outright.
Worked example, illustrative: an NFL favourite at -6.5, priced 1.91 (-110). The favourite must win by 7 or more. The underdog at +6.5, also 1.91, covers if it loses by 6 or fewer or wins. Spreads exist to make both sides roughly even, so both are often priced around -110. That symmetry makes the margin easy to read: 4.55% on a -110 / -110 line.
Puck line and run line
Hockey and baseball use the same idea with a fixed handicap, usually 1.5:
- Puck line (NHL): the favourite at -1.5 must win by two goals or more. The underdog at +1.5 wins the bet by winning the game or losing by one.
- Run line (MLB): the same at 1.5 runs.
Because the handicap is fixed, the price moves instead of the line. A strong favourite might be priced long on the -1.5 puck line even though it’s short on the moneyline. Our hockey betting page and baseball page cover those markets sport by sport.
Totals: over or under
A total (over/under) sets a line for the combined score, and you bet on which side of it the game finishes. The teams don’t matter, only the sum.
Worked example, illustrative: an NBA total of 221.5, both sides at 1.91 (-110). A 112-108 game adds to 220, so the under wins. A 115-110 game adds to 225, so the over wins. Totals are popular in basketball and football, and the basketball page covers how they move with pace and injuries.
Pushes and half points
When a spread or total is a whole number, the game can land exactly on it. That’s a push: the bet is void and your stake comes back.
| Line | Final result | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Favourite -3 | Wins by exactly 3 | Push, stake returned |
| Favourite -3.5 | Wins by 3 | Underdog side wins |
| Total 45 | 24-21 (45 points) | Push, stake returned |
| Total 45.5 | 24-21 (45 points) | Under wins |
Settlement as defined by standard spread and total rules; individual books’ terms can differ.
Half-point lines (-3.5, 45.5) can never push, which is why books lean on them. In football, half a point can be the difference between a push and a loss; the NFL betting guide and the football page cover how that plays out in spreads.
Inside a parlay, a pushed leg usually drops out and the parlay pays on the remaining legs. That’s common practice, not a universal rule, so check the book’s terms; our parlay guide covers it.
⚠️ NHL overtime: what counts
Hockey is where settlement trips people up most. An NHL regular-season game is 60 minutes in three 20-minute periods. If it’s tied, there’s a 5-minute, 3-on-3 overtime, then a shootout. Playoff overtime is full 20-minute periods with no shootout.
Books split their hockey markets into two families:
| Market | Includes OT and shootout? | Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard moneyline | Usually yes | Two-way |
| Puck line (±1.5) | Usually yes; shootout winner credited one goal | Two-way |
| Totals | Usually yes; shootout counts as one goal | Two-way |
| 60-minute (regulation) line | No | Three-way: home, draw, away |
| Period bets | No; that period only | Varies |
Industry rule summaries; individual books’ house rules vary and should be checked.
The shootout detail matters for totals and puck lines. However many shooters score, the winner is credited with one goal. A 3-3 game decided in a shootout goes into the books as 4-3, a total of 7.
A Canadian example shows how much the definition matters. Ontario’s OLG PROLINE records a hockey tie on regulation plus the 5-minute overtime, excluding the shootout. A bettor who backed three ties in a parlay lost it because one game was decided in overtime, so no tie was recorded. Different book, different rule, same lesson: read what the market settles on.
Soccer: three-way results and handicaps
Soccer adds a wrinkle to all three bets. The main result market is three-way, usually called 1X2: home win, draw, away win. A soccer “moneyline” without the draw is a different market, and the three-way version carries its margin across three outcomes. The 1X2 example in our margin guide (1.90 / 4.76 / 3.17) works out to 4.93%.
The soccer version of the spread is the Asian handicap. Whole-goal lines refund the stake on an exact result, the same way a push works. Quarter lines split your stake in two: a bet at -0.25 is half on a 0 handicap and half on -0.5, so a draw returns half the stake and loses the other half. Research on 84,230 European matches by Hegarty and Whelan found Asian handicap bets carry lower margins than 1X2 bets. Our soccer page and soccer betting guide go deeper.
Which bet fits which view
- You think a team wins, margin doesn’t matter: moneyline.
- You think a favourite wins comfortably: spread, puck line or run line on the favourite, at a longer price.
- You think an underdog keeps it close but may not win: the underdog with the points.
- You have a view on pace or scoring, not on who wins: the total.
- You think a hockey game is heading to overtime: the draw on a 60-minute line, the market built for that view.
Each of those is a different question about the same game, and each carries its own price.
CFL rules that change the lines
The CFL changed two rules in 2026 that affect betting markets. A missed field goal that goes wide of the posts no longer scores a single point (the rouge), and regular-season ties are gone: after a second overtime mini-game, teams alternate two-point converts from the 3-yard line until someone wins, per the CFL’s rule changes. Our inference: fewer cheap single points and no draws make older CFL scoring data a weaker guide for totals and three-way markets. The CFL betting guide covers the rest.
Comparing the price on each bet
🧮 Margin on the core markets
| Moneyline -150 / +130 (illustrative) | 3.36% |
|---|---|
| Spread or total, -110 / -110 | 4.55% |
| NHL 60-minute three-way (illustrative) | 6.38% |
The same game can be bet several ways, and each one carries its own margin. Converting both sides to implied probability and adding them up takes thirty seconds and tells you which version is cheaper. The odds converter does the conversion for you.
🍁 Before you bet
Knowing what a market settles on stops nasty surprises; it doesn’t make any bet more likely to win. The sports betting guide covers how betting works outside Ontario and Alberta, and the betting glossary defines every term here. Everything we cover is for players aged 19 or over outside Ontario and Alberta. Set your stakes before the puck drops, and see our responsible gambling page for every provincial helpline.
FAQ
What is a moneyline bet?
You pick the winner, with no handicap. The favourite pays less and the underdog more. In hockey and baseball, a standard moneyline usually includes overtime, extra innings and the NHL shootout; a 60-minute line doesn't. Check the market label before you bet.
What is the puck line in hockey?
The NHL's version of a point spread, usually set at 1.5 goals. The favourite at -1.5 must win by two or more; the underdog at +1.5 wins the bet if it wins the game or loses by one. Like the standard moneyline, it usually includes overtime and the shootout.
What happens if a spread or total lands exactly on the number?
It's a push, and your stake is returned. A team at -3 that wins by exactly 3 pushes, and a total of 45 pushes if the game ends 24-21. Half-point lines such as -3.5 or 45.5 can't push, which is why books use them.
Does the NHL shootout count for totals?
On most books' standard markets, yes, but only as one goal. The shootout winner is credited with a single goal for the final score and the total, however many shooters score. Period bets and 60-minute lines ignore overtime and the shootout entirely.
Which is better, the moneyline or the spread?
Neither by default. They price the same game in different ways. Compare the margin on each by adding the implied probabilities of both sides; the lower total is the cheaper bet. Two-way spread and total markets priced at -110 carry a margin of about 4.55%.
