Point spread football explained

Point Spreads. In its simplest form, a point spread refers to how many points a team is favored over point spread football explained opponent. It's not as simple as. When your bet results in a push, you get your money back. Betting the spread is more popular in higher scoring sports like football and basketball where there. A point spread is assigned based on the projected outcome of the game. Home-field advantage is a huge factor in the point spread. For example. For example, if the stronger team, or favorite, is a perceived six points better than a weaker team, the stronger will be given an NFL bet spread of This.

What is point spread betting? How to bet the spread

How does point spread work in football? The point spread is the expected final score difference between two teams. It is represented as both a negative and positive number; if the spread is 3 points, you'll see that as both -3 and +3. The team that is the favorite to win gets the minus-number (-3); the underdog gets the plus-number (+3).

What does minus 1.5 spread mean in football? What does a spread of -1.5 mean? A spread of -1.5 means that the team must win the game by 2 points/goals/runs or more for the spread bet to win.

How Do I Read Sports Betting Odds This Football Season?

Because the most common scoring plays in football are field goals worth 3 points and touchdowns worth 7 points including the extra point , the spread on football games often revolves around either 3 or 7. It is common to see a spread of In the first example above, the spread was 76ers First, if the Owls win the game outright, then those bets would win.

But if the Wildcats won the game by 9 points or fewer, then Temple bettors would still win their spread bets, because Villanova did not win by more than 9. The run line is usually set at 1. In baseball run lines , the odds for betting on the underdog are usually negative less than even money because sportsbooks believe it is more likely for the underdog to win the game or lose by 1 run than it is for the favorite to win by 2 runs or more.

Point spreads in soccer are very similar to baseball. They are usually set at 1. In this example, the Galaxy needs to win by at least 2 goals for spread bets on the Galaxy to win. When a team covers the spread, that means bettors who placed spread bets on that team won their bet. In our first example above 76ers -5 , if the 76ers won the game by 6 points or more, that means they covered the spread.

A push means that the favorite won the game by a margin equal to the spread. In our example, if the 76ers won by exactly 5 points, then all spread bets on that game would push. Online Sportsbooks often include 0. Since scoring in major sports does not include half-points, it is impossible for a spread bet to push when the line includes a half-point.

This 0. In our example, if the spread was 76ers A moneyline bet is a bet on the outright winner of the game. A point spread bet is a bet on the margin of victory. One reason to bet on the point spread instead of the moneyline is to get better odds for betting on the favorite. One of the main benefits of betting on the point spread is that the odds are usually pretty close to even money e.

This means that you have to risk less money to win the same amount as placing a bet with longer odds e. Point spread football explained Betting on the point spread also means that watching a game can remain interesting even when the final outcome is no longer in doubt. If the Eagles are However, you remain interested in what happens because if the other team scores a late touchdown to bring the margin down to 13, suddenly the Eagles are no longer covering the spread, even though they still have a big lead and are likely to win the game.

That is an example of how spread betting can lead to frustrating end-of-game situations. Imagine you placed a spread bet on Eagles The game is tied with 1 minute left and the Eagles are driving down the field. How to bet on the NFL point spread. What do plus and minus odds mean. Why bet the point spread vs the moneyline?

Learn more about NFL betting. Home field advantage in the NFL is currently considered to be worth between 2 and 3 points though this is not a written rule, making the Rams around a point superior side to the 49ers at a neutral venue. Both the spread and the odds offered might be different at various books and at different times in the buildup, as weight of money and sentiment ebbed and flowed in the NFC Championship game.

The 49ers settled at with a handicap advantage of 3. The game was closely contested, but the Rams edged the game by The NFC Championship game gave a masterclass in how point spread betting can enhance the usual money line betting, where a side may be an unattractively short priced favorite.

The first objective of a spread is to bring the sides much closer to a coin toss odds compared to the price for a side to merely win the game. More obviously, the spread gives an equitable betting opportunity to both teams even when the game appears to be a large mismatch.

When the very best of teams plays the very worst, points spreads can be upwards of The importance of half points was also highlighted in the NFC Championship game between the Rams and 49ers. In spread betting, you have two options: the favorite or the underdog. The favorite will be displayed with negative odds, which is a minus symbol - followed by a number Spread betting sounds confusing, but it really isn't.

If the Los Angeles Rams are If the spread numbers are both 5. If the spread was At The odds for the Rams to cover 3. The negative sign tells you that you will need to stake more than your potential profitable return. The spread set is strongly related to the money line odds and then sentiment moves either the spread or the odds available about the two sides.

The difference between A team might be The point spread will usually be the first market listed. One oddsmaker might have the Lakers as -3 while another has them at -2, and that small difference can make a huge long-term difference. Betting the point spread is always about finding value. That means not always betting the teams with the best records. There might be an NFL team that is , but goes at covering the spread.

A point spread can shift in the run-up to a game for a variety of reasons. A key player getting hurt or scratched from a game can shift the line dramatically. In some sports like the NFL, the betting volume can be so overwhelming from the public that sportsbooks might adjust the odds to attract more action on one side or put themselves in a more favorable position to turn a profit.

The NFL is one of the sports where point spreads are most important. But the difference between As such, getting the best number possible in NFL betting is very important. In terms of betting strategies, matchup analysis is also most important in the NFL. Injuries are also important to factor in, especially when there are cluster injuries in a position group. There are some nuances to understand with run line betting.

You may notice that home teams often have better odds on the The home team is more likely to win by a single run because if the game is tied going into the ninth then the home team will win as soon as they plate one run.