For sports bettors who are accustomed to placing wagers on sports like American Football or basketball, the moneyline bet is a simple concept. In these sports, betting the moneyline is as simple as choosing which team they think will win the game outright.

This includes the final score after regulation and can include overtime quarters as well if necessary.  But have you ever heard of a three-way or 3-way moneyline? Some sports, specifically soccer and ice hockey, allow bettors to place a wager on three different moneyline outcomes. In addition to a result of either team winning the game, there is the possibility for these games to end in a tie.

Understanding in which bet_types (Moneyline, Spread, Totals, etc) your players are more active, better, and worse at, allows you to apply changes in your sportsbook to decrease their winning margin, as well as making their losses more expensive.

In this article, we will dive deeper into the three-way moneyline bet. We will discuss the different types of 3-way moneyline bets and explain how sports bettors approach these types of bets.

What does 3 Way Moneyline Mean?

As we mentioned, the 3-way moneyline bet allows bettors to wager on a potential tie as the outcome of the game. Obviously the chances of a match ending in a tie are low, so the posted odds for a tie as the outcome of a money line 3 way bet are generally pretty high. Since the posted odds for a moneyline 3 way bet are higher than for a 2-way moneyline bet, savvy bettors can look for potential value in these lines. Let’s take a look at how the 3-way moneyline bet is used in soccer, otherwise known as European football.

What is a 3-way Moneyline in Football (Soccer)?

For soccer fans out there, you know that the sport has one of the highest likely chances of the end result being a tie or draw. Football betting is so popular across regions like Europe, that the 3 way moneyline bet is the norm for these games. Let’s take a look at an example of how you would post the odds for a 3-way moneyline for a football match:

Here is a typical 2-way moneyline bet for an English Premier League match. Nothing wrong with these odds as we can see that Manchester United is the favorite to win the match over Chelsea. Let’s take a look at what the odds for this match will look like when we make this a 3-way moneyline bet.

As you can see the odds of either Manchester United or Chelsea winning the match will rise because of the added option of a draw. Bettors who firmly believe Manchester United will win the match would likely choose to bet the 3-way moneyline as the posted odds of +120 are better than the 2-way moneyline odds of -125.

Soccer Moneylines and Spreads (goals scored) are common bet types you players may choose when it comes to Soccer bets. There are plenty of options our payperhead software can apply to make the most of their action towards your bottom line.

The hardcore soccer fans out there will probably be quick to point out that in tournaments like the World Cup or the Euro Cup, matches play until there is a winner. This means that if the game is tied after the regulation time of 90 minutes plus injury time, then there will be extra time and then penalty kicks if it is still tied after that. In this situation, the draw in the 3-way moneyline bet applies to the score of the match after the initial 90 minutes plus injury time.

What is a 3-Way Moneyline Bet in Hockey?

While ice hockey isn’t as popular as soccer when it comes to the world of sports betting, there are plenty of bettors who love to wager on the NHL. Hockey is another game that used to have a tie as a result, if no winner was determined after an overtime period. This means that the game would be tied after three periods of twenty minutes, and then a five-minute overtime period.

This changed in the 2005-2006 NHL season when the league officially introduced a shootout at the end of the overtime period if the game was still tied. This eliminated the result of a tie between the two teams and guaranteed that each game would have a winner. While you might think this would eliminate the money line 3 way bet from hockey, it didn’t.

Since the shootout came into play in 2005, NHL games have used the same rules as are used for betting on soccer tournaments. The draw result is after the initial three periods or sixty minutes of action. The overtime or shootout do not factor into the result of this bet at all. Let’s take a look at an example of hockey 3-way moneyline odds.

A typical, competitive game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers has the Rangers as a slight favorite to win the game. Now here’s what these odds look like with the tie added in for the three-way moneyline bet.

Again, just as for the football example, the odds of each outcome rises when the tie is added in. If the bettor likes the Rangers to win at -110 odds, then they should love them to win at +180 odds!

Types of Three-Way Moneyline Bets

The flexibility of 3-way moneyline bets allows them to be used for many other types of bets as well. This means they don’t necessarily have to be used for wagers that are placed on the outcome of the game. Here are a few examples of some other types of popular three-way moneyline bets!

Which Team Scores First in a Match

This bet can apply to either hockey or soccer, and is a wager on which team is likely to score the first goal of the game. The favored team to win the game outright is going to generally have lower odds by default in this scenario. Of course, in this situation the draw option is that neither team scores first in the match. This would result in a 0-0 tie.

Here is a typical example of the Which Team Scores First in a Match bet. The No First Goal is always going to be high as it implies the game will end regulation as a 0-0 tie. We can probably surmise that Arsenal is a favorite to win the match given its lower odds to score first.

Half With Most Goals Scored

This is more of a soccer bet as each match has two halves and a hockey game has three periods. This specific bet is one that is placed on whether the teams will score more goals in either of the halves or whether it is the same number of goals in each half. Here is what this looks like.

This is one example of posted odds for this bet. Sometimes the odds for the first half and second half could be the same. In this case, it seems like the bookmakers think both teams will have a defensive first half and turn up the scoring in the second half.

3-Way Moneyline Betting for Beginners

For bettors who are looking for a simpler way to ease into sports betting, then 3 way moneyline betting might be just the ticket. These wagers usually offer improved odds, without having to think too hard about handicapping the game. Here are a few tips that sports bettors use when getting started with 3-way moneyline betting.

Start With Moneyline Betting

For bettors who are just starting out in the industry, they should stick to learning about 2-way and 3-way moneyline betting before trying to bet game totals or point spreads. Moneyline bets can help to sustain their bankrolls when they are just starting out.

Don’t Just Always Bet the Favorites

It might seem tempting, especially if they know that one team has a better record. Betting the underdog in a 3-way moneyline wager can increase the potential winnings under the right circumstances and new bettors are likely to chase the higher odds.

Factor in Rest and Venue

These things can absolutely matter in any sports bet. Is the underdog team resting and playing at home? Is the favorite coming off of a road trip or back to back situation? Take note of things like schedule, venue, and injuries when posting odds for a game.

What is the Difference Between a 2-Way Moneyline and a 3-Way Moneyline?

As you have seen with the examples above, the difference between the two types of bets is more than just simply adding the outcome of a draw.. A jump from a 2-way moneyline bet to a 3-way moneyline bet also increases the posted odds for each potential outcome. Finally, 2-way moneyline bets are used for sports that do not have a draw as a bettable outcome of the game. These include American football, basketball, and baseball. This is why 3-way moneyline betting is used for sports like hockey and soccer.

Does a Moneyline Bet Push On a Tie?

A moneyline push can only happen in a 2-way moneyline bet. In this situation, bettors can only bet on one of the teams winning the game outright. In a moneyline 3 way, no push can take place as the draw outcome would be the winner if that is how the game ended. So yes, a moneyline bet can push on a tie, but only if it is a 2-way moneyline bet.

Conclusion: 3 Way Moneyline Bets

For sports like hockey and soccer, the 3-way moneyline bet can be a way to find excellent value when betting on the outcome of a game. It is also a great way for bettors to get started in learning how to bet on these sports, as it clearly illustrates all three potential outcomes of a given match or even a specific statistic or scoring outcome within the game. Adding in a draw or a neutral outcome helps to boost the odds for the bet and can provide a higher potential payout for new and experienced sports bettors. Thanks to the information in this article, you should now know what a 3 way moneyline bet is, how to bet it, and how to use it to your advantage in sports betting.