Jimmy Boyd in 
Whether you’re new to sports betting or a seasoned bettor, understanding dime lines is crucial – especially for baseball.
A dime line (also known as a 10-cent line) refers to a moneyline where the difference between the favorite’s odds and the underdog’s odds is just 10 cents.
In practical terms, if a baseball team is a -140 favorite, a dime line sportsbook would list the underdog at +130, since 140 minus 130 equals 10 (cents).
This low “spread” between the odds is a form of reduced juice, meaning the sportsbook’s commission (vig) is smaller than on a standard line.
In this article, we’ll explain how dime lines work in MLB betting, compare 10-cent lines to traditional 20-cent lines, and explore how reduced juice (like -105 odds in other sports) can boost your long-term profitability.
What is a Dime Line in Baseball?
A dime line is simply a moneyline with a 10-cent gap between the favorite and underdog prices.
This term is most commonly used in baseball betting.
For example, imagine the New York Yankees are -140 favorites against the Toronto Blue Jays.
On a true dime line, the Blue Jays would be +130 as the underdog.
In betting terms, this means you’d risk $1.40 to win $1 on the Yankees, or risk $1 to win $1.30 on the Blue Jays.
The 10-cent difference (from -140 to +130) is what gives the dime line its name.
Why does this matter?
Because the smaller the gap, the less “juice” (or vig) the sportsbook is taking.
Dime lines are the best odds you’ll find for baseball moneylines – they minimize the house cut, giving bettors more favorable payouts.
If your sportsbook isn’t offering dime lines for MLB, you’re essentially giving away money to the house that you could be keeping . It’s that important.
Dime Line vs. 20-Cent Line: What’s the Difference?
Not all sportsbooks use a 10-cent line for baseball. Many bookies (including a lot of Las Vegas books) use 15-cent or 20-cent lines instead.
A 20-cent line means there’s a wider 20-cent gap between the favorite and underdog odds, which translates to higher vig (house advantage).
Let’s illustrate the differences with an example of MLB odds for the same game:
- 10-cent line (dime line) – Favorite: -140, Underdog: +130 (house edge ~2.4%)
- 15-cent line – Favorite: -143, Underdog: +128 (house edge ~3.5%)
- 20-cent line – Favorite: -145, Underdog: +125 (house edge ~4.5%)
In this scenario, the dime line offers better payouts on both sides: you’d lay less juice on the favorite and get a higher payout on the underdog compared to the 20-cent line.
Regardless of which side you bet, the odds are always more bettor-friendly with a dime line.
You’ll lose less on losing bets (favorites) and win more on winning bets (underdogs) when the line only has a 10-cent spread.
By contrast, a 20-cent line pads the sportsbook’s margin.
The favorite is more expensive and the underdog payout is lower – that extra 10 cents is essentially going into the book’s pocket.
Over the long run, that higher juice dramatically increases the cut the house takes (about double the house advantage of a dime line in the example above).
In other words, a 20-cent line makes it harder for you to profit because you have to overcome a larger built-in disadvantage.
Real MLB Example: Let’s say the San Francisco Giants are listed at -121 against the San Diego Padres.
A dime line book might have the Padres at +111, whereas a 20-cent line book might offer Padres at only +106 for a Giants -126 line.
The dime line gives you an extra 5 cents on the underdog. It doesn’t sound like much, but those nickels and dimes add up fast. Getting the 10-cent line instead of a 20-cent line is like always paying $3 for a gallon of milk that costs $4 elsewhere – over a full season, those savings pile up as extra money in your pocket instead of the sportsbook’s.
The bottom line is simple: you win more when you win, and lose less when you lose on a dime line .
Reduced Juice (-105) in Other Sports
While dime lines are talked about mostly in baseball, the concept of reduced juice applies across all sports betting.
In sports like football or basketball, you won’t see a moneyline with a favorite and underdog in the same way (since point spreads are common).
Instead, sportsbooks typically set equal odds on both sides of a spread or total, usually -110 on each side.
That -110 means you must risk $110 to win $100, and it reflects roughly a 20-cent line worth of vig (10 cents of juice on each side).
Some sportsbooks, however, offer reduced juice lines such as -105 on each side of a spread.
This is analogous to a dime line because the total gap is 10 cents (-105 vs -105) instead of 20.
When a book offers odds like -105 instead of -110, you’re getting a much better deal.
It might not sound huge, but consider the effect on your required win rate: at standard -110 odds, you need to win about 52.4% of your bets to break even, whereas at -105 odds you only need to win roughly 51.2%.
That 1.2% difference drastically improves your chances of making money in the long run.
In fact, cutting the juice from -110 to -105 halves the bookmaker’s advantage on a typical bet.
Over countless wagers, this can be the difference between a winning and losing bettor.
To put it in perspective, imagine you make 100 spread bets at -110 and win exactly 50 of them (50% win rate).
You’d finish down about -$500 because the losses cost slightly more than the wins pay.
If those same 100 bets were at -105 odds and you went 50-50, you’d only be down about -$250.
By just shaving off 5 cents of juice, you saved $250 in losses on those 100 bets.
That’s why reduced juice betting is so powerful – it lowers the bar for profitability.
The concept is the same with moneylines in other sports (like hockey or underdog moneylines in football).
A tighter line (closer together odds) means less vig.
For example, a hockey game might have a favorite -150 and underdog +140 at a low-vig book, versus -150/+130 at a high-vig book.
The reduced-juice option always saves you money on the bet.
How Lower Juice Impacts Your Break-Even Percentage
As hinted above, the amount of juice directly affects the percentage of bets you must win to break even.
The higher the vig, the higher your break-even threshold climbs.
We’ve already seen that dropping from -110 to -105 odds lowers the break-even requirement from ~52.4% to ~51.2%.
That may seem like a small 1.2% difference, but in sports betting even a tiny edge is huge.
Many professional bettors operate on razor-thin margins, so cutting 1% or 2% off the house take can turn a losing strategy into a winning one.
In baseball terms, playing into dime lines versus 20-cent lines has a similar impact on the implied house edge and your long-term expectation.
In the earlier MLB example, the dime line carried about a 2.4% house edge compared to roughly 4.5% house edge on the 20-cent line.
That extra ~2% difference means the sportsbook is extracting twice as much value from your wagers on a 20-cent line.
Consequently, your expected value (EV) as a bettor is much higher with dime lines.
Over hundreds of bets, the cumulative effect of paying less vig on each wager is enormous for your bankroll.
Think of each bet as a transaction where you “pay” a small fee to the book.
A dime line or -105 line is like paying half the fee of a standard line.
Over time, those savings remain in your bankroll as profit (or reduce your losses during cold streaks), instead of going to the sportsbook.
This is why sharp bettors are obsessive about line shopping and always hunting for the lowest juice available. It directly improves their break-even point and expected profits.
Why You Should Shop for Dime Lines (and -105 Odds)
In sports betting, line shopping – comparing odds across different sportsbooks – is one of the smartest habits you can develop.
When it comes to MLB, that means seeking out books that deal dime lines.
If your current sportsbook shows wider spreads (like 15 or 20 cents between sides on baseball moneylines), you’re effectively handing the sportsbook a bigger cut of every bet.
If the difference between the favorite and underdog price is more than 10 cents at the book you’re using, you need to cash out and find a new book.
In other words, don’t settle for a bad deal.
The same goes for other sports: if you can get -105 instead of -110 on an NFL point spread, take the -105.
Over the course of a year, consistently grabbing the half-priced juice will save you a significant amount of money.
Bettors who are diligent about shopping for the best line can increase their long-term profits by roughly 1–2% just by eliminating extra vig.
That might not sound like much, but 1-2% could be the difference between ending the season slightly up versus slightly down.
In a game of inches (or in this case, cents), every bit of edge counts.
Where are dime lines typically offered?
You’ll mostly find dime lines at sharp or high-volume online sportsbooks, including many offshore books.
Traditionally, Las Vegas sportsbooks have used 15-cent or higher lines for baseball, so the dime line trend has been driven by competitive online markets.
Sportsbooks like BetOnline, Bet105 or Bovada have advertised dime lines (sometimes up to a certain cutoff, e.g. up to -150 or -200 favorites) to attract baseball bettors.
The most “player-friendly” books offer dime lines because they know informed bettors demand that reduced juice.
Some elite bookmakers even go further – for instance, the renowned Pinnacle Sports has offered an 8-cent line on MLB games (meaning an even tighter margin than the standard dime line).
These low-vig books are where serious bettors flock, because over the long run, lower juice always beats higher juice.
If you’re not sure whether you’re betting into a fair (low-vig) price or a juiced one, compare the odds.
Look at multiple sportsbooks or an odds comparison site for the same game:
- If you see one book has a matchup at -135/+125 and another has -135/+115, the first book is giving a dime line (10-cent difference) while the second is using a 20-cent line. You’d clearly prefer the book with +125 on the underdog.
- For point spreads, if most books are at -110 but one book is offering -105 on the same spread, that -105 line is the better value (5 cents cheaper).
By doing a quick check, you can identify which sportsbook is taking less vig.
Always bet at the best odds you can find.
Over time, consistently taking even a few cents better on each wager will significantly boost your bottom line. It’s no different than any other purchase – you wouldn’t knowingly pay $120 for something that another store sells for $105, right?
In betting, those prices are just disguised as odds.
Long-Term Profitability and Expected Value
All of this boils down to one key idea: the lower the juice, the higher your long-term profitability (or the lower your long-term losses, for the realists).
Betting is a grind, and the sportsbook’s edge is like a constant headwind you’re fighting.
Dime lines and reduced juice are ways to make that headwind a little gentler.
They give the bettor a fairer shake.
If two bettors each make the same picks over a season but one consistently bets into dime lines while the other bets into 20-cent lines, the dime line bettor will retain a lot more money.
Even if both hit 50% winners, the dime line bettor will lose far less than the other – and if they can hit a modest 53-55% winners, the dime line bettor is much more likely to show a profit while the high-juice bettor might barely break even or lose.
Expected value (EV) on each bet is higher when the vig is lower, plain and simple.
Savvy gamblers know that to beat the books, you need to squeeze out every drop of value you can.
Taking favorable lines (like -105 or 10-cent MLB lines) is one of the easiest value boosts you can get as a bettor.
In summary, dime lines in baseball are a bettor’s friend.
They cut down the house edge and let you keep more of your winnings.
The same principle extends to any sport via reduced juice odds.
Always be on the lookout for those 10-cent lines or -105 style deals, because they directly improve your expected value and break-even threshold.
Over the long haul, shopping for low juice isn’t just a smart move – it’s practically a requirement if you want to maximize your profitability.
So the next time you get ready to bet on an MLB game, ask yourself: “Am I betting into a dime line?”
If not, it may pay (literally) to shop around for a better line.
Your bankroll will thank you later.
