Ten cent line

A ten cent line is a betting line with a ten cent difference between the odds of the favorite and underdog. The risk required to profit $100 betting on the favorite and the potential profit of a $100 bet on underdog is exactly $10. Ten cent lines are sought after by sports bettors due to the lower bookmaker commission compared to standard twenty cent lines.

Examples

Ten cent lines are most frequently seen when betting on baseball. In the MLB match below the Baltimore Orioles are favored with -140 American odds; a bettor would need an initial risk of $140 to profit $100. The Detroit Tigers are underdogs with +130 odds; a $100 bet yields a potential profit of $130. The amount of commission a bookmaker is charging on a given line is revealed by subtracting the price of the favorite from that of the underdog. In this example $140 - $130 = $10 which means it is a ten cent line.

Team		Moneyline
	Baltimore Orioles	-140
	Detroit Tigers	+130

Finding ten cent lines can be difficult. Betting sites prefer to issue twenty cent lines for most sports as they have more vig and therefore a larger house advantage. Using a similar example now with a twenty cent line, a bettor now needs to risk $145 to profit $100 on Baltimore at -145. Underdog Detroit at +125 will only return a $125 profit on a $100 bet. In this situation $145 - $125 = $20 revealing a twenty cent line.

Team		Moneyline
	Baltimore Orioles	-145
	Detroit Tigers	+125

House Advantage

A sportsbook's house advantage comes from the amount of commission applied to the lines. The larger the margin between the risk required to profit $100 on the favorite and the profit from a $100 wager on the underdog the larger the house's advantage is.

Type of line	Examples	House advantage
10-cent	-150 / +140	2.38%
15-cent	-145 / +130	3.49%
20-cent	-155 / +135	4.54%