Beyond Moneyline & Spread: 3-Way Lines, Run Line, Puck Line & Parlays Explained

Once you're past the three basics — moneyline, spread and totals — a few bet types trip up almost every bettor, because the same idea gets a different name in every sport. This guide clears up the ones people search for most: the 3-way moneyline, the run line, the puck line, and parlays and teasers.

No jargon for its own sake — just what each one means, when it matters, and the trap to avoid.

The 3-way moneyline (and why the draw changes everything)

A standard (2-way) moneyline has two outcomes: Team A wins, or Team B wins. A 3-way moneyline adds a third: the draw (tie). You'll see it in soccer, in hockey (regulation time only), and on quarter/half markets in basketball.

• 2-way: you bet A or B. A tie usually pushes (stake returned).
• 3-way: you bet A, B, or the draw — and if you back a team, a tie means you lose, not push.

That's the trap. On a 3-way line, "my team didn't lose" isn't good enough — they have to win, in the specified time. In hockey, a 3-way moneyline is settled on regulation (60 minutes); a game decided in overtime or a shootout counts as a draw for 3-way purposes, even though someone officially "won." Because the draw absorbs risk, 3-way odds on the favorite are longer (juicier) than the 2-way price — you're paid more, but the bar is higher.

The run line (baseball's spread)

In baseball, the spread has a name: the run line, and it's almost always fixed at ±1.5 runs.

• Favorite −1.5: they must win by 2 or more runs.
• Underdog +1.5: they win, or lose by exactly 1.

Because most baseball games are decided by one or two runs, that 1.5 is a real hinge. Taking a big favorite at −1.5 pays better than the moneyline, but a lot of favorites win by exactly one run and lose the run line. Taking an underdog at +1.5 is the opposite bet: you're paid to believe the game stays close, even if your side loses.

The puck line (hockey's spread)

Hockey's version of the spread is the puck line, also fixed at ±1.5 goals.

• Favorite −1.5: win by 2+.
• Underdog +1.5: win, or lose by 1.

There's a hockey-specific wrinkle: the empty net. Trailing by one late, a team pulls its goalie for an extra attacker — and often gives up an insurance goal into the empty net, turning a 1-goal game into a 2-goal final. That single quirk makes favorite −1.5 puck lines hit more often than newcomers expect, and it's a big reason the confirmed goalie matters so much.

Parlays and teasers

A parlay combines several bets into one ticket: every leg must win, or the whole thing loses. The payout multiplies, which is exactly why the house loves them — a 4-leg parlay looks tempting, but the combined probability is far lower than each leg suggests. A same-game parlay stacks correlated legs from one match (a team's win + the over, say); sportsbooks adjust the price for that correlation, so the "value" is usually smaller than it looks.

A teaser (mostly football and basketball) lets you move the spread or total in your favor across multiple games in exchange for a lower payout — you buy points, and pay for them in odds.

The honest take: parlays and teasers are fun and high-variance, but they multiply the book's margin as much as your potential payout. If you play them, treat them as entertainment, sized small — not as a strategy.

Quick reference

Understanding the bet is step one. Knowing which bet actually has an edge on a given night is where a calibrated model comes in — that's what we publish, before every game, wins and losses on the record.