Sportsbooks post their wagering lines on a board, just like the New York Stock Exchange.  Each book has its own style when it comes to how they post a line, but there are enough similarities that one example should suffice to learn what to look for.

Typically, a board is read from left to right, and you will find the rotation number. the teams competing, the point spread, the vig on the point spread, the moneyline, the total game, the vig on the total game. For MLB games you will find the runline. For Hockey games you will find the puckline.  (Different sportsbooks will list these elements in different order.)

 A sample of the lines from WagerWeb, annotated with numbers to aid in the explanation.

1. The rotation number is used to identify the wager.  You don't bet on "New Jersey Nets", you bet on "Number 502".  The same rotation number will be used for a team in the point spread, the money line and the total points columns.

The Teams Competing.  Self-explanatory.  For MLB, a starting pitcher should also be specified.

2. The Point Spread - this is the handicap that one team must overcome for the bet to be a winner. In the above image, New Jersey is a 3.5 point favorite over Milwaukee.  Thus, New Jersey must overcome a 3.5 point handicap for a point spread bet on New Jersey to be a winner on this line. The point spread can be written in a variety of ways.  Internet sportsbooks will typically place the spread next to both teams, but some books will only post the spread next to the favorite, thus the same line at another sportsbook may read: New Jersey (-3.5) / Milwaukee.  It is another method of representing the same spread as the one posted in the image.

Next to the point spread is the juice on the point spread bet.  In this example it is -110. From the sample line, a bet to win $100 on either Milwaukee or New Jersey would cost $110 to post. (More about juice)

3. Moneyline wagers are for picking the winner of an event regardless of the final score.  There is no point spread involved. To compensate for one team being more likely to win than the other the sportsbook assigns odds to the payout. This will encourage more betting on the underdog.  In our example the money line on the underdog Miulwaukee is +145, meaning that a $100 wager will pay $145 if Milwaukee wins.  See more about moneylines here.

4. Also known as Over/Under, it is more properly called the Game Total.The sportsbook is predicting the total points scored in the contest, and the bettor has the option of betting on whether the final number of total points scored will be over or under that amount. In this example the sportsbook has projected that combined score of New Jersey and Milwaukee at the end of the game will be 198 points.

The Vig on the Total Game.  Same as the vig or juice on a point spread.  The vig on the "over" for the New Jersey/Milwaukee game is -110 at this book. Betting $110 on the “over” will win $100 if the final combined score is 199 or higher.

5.  WagerWeb posts the maximum amount they will accept on a wager type at the top of each betting column.  Not all books do this, but its a nice feature.

Runlines and Pucklines are unique to baseball and hockey respectively.  There are typically no point spread wagers offered with these low scoring sports.  In order to reduce the disparity in moneyline wagering, books will assign a 1.5 spread to the game and adjust the wagering risk-payoff numbers accordingly.  To save space, most books post their runlines and pucklines in the point spread column.