Does 3 points cover a spread?

In football and basketball sports betting, it is a common rule of thumb to use 3 points as a placeholder for home field advantage. This means that if two teams are evenly matched (Even odds), then the spread would likely be the home team minus 3 to account for home field advantage.

What does a 3 point spread mean?

What Does a 3 Point Spread Mean? A 3 point spread means the favorite must win by at least 4 points (winning by exactly 3 would result in a push) in order for a bettor picking the favorite to win the wager.

How does +3.5 spread work?

A spread of +3.5 means a team must win outright or lose by fewer than four points to cover the spread. A +3.5 spread is particularly enticing in football because, as noted earlier, 3-point victory margins are extremely common. An example of a +3.5 spread: New England Patriots +3.5.

What counts as covering the spread?

In sports betting, to cover the spread means that a team has beaten the point spread devised by a sportsbook. Each team has a favorite and an underdog, and if a bettor wagers that the favorite will win by more than the point spread, thereby covering the spread, then they'll win their bet.

How much do you win if you cover the spread?

A point spread bet has three potential outcomes: win, loss, or push. If bettors choose correctly and win, a sportsbook will pay the bettor in full amount based on the “price” of the wager, which is most commonly -110. That means a bet for $110 would win $100, or $11 would win $10, and so on.

What is the "Spread" in Sports Betting

How does +3 spread work?

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 a negative spread mean?

A point spread is a bet on the margin of victory in a game. The stronger team or player will be favored by a certain number of points, depending on the perceived gap in ability between the two teams. A minus sign (-) means that team is the favorite. A plus sign (+) means that team is the underdog.

What does +7 spread mean?

If the spread is set at +7, this means that to cover, the underdog must either win the game outright or lose by fewer than seven points. For the favorite to cover, they must win by more than seven points.

What happens if the spread is exact?

A push in sports betting occurs when the point spread or point total hits the exact number in which you bet. For example, you can bet the Dallas Cowboys as a -7 point favorite to beat the Green Bay Packers or the Packers as a +7 point underdog.

Can a team lose and still cover the spread?

To place a bet on the favored Giants means they must win by at least 10 points to cover the spread. The underdog Jets can lose by eight points and still cover the spread.

What does +3.5 mean?

Betting the Bengals +3.5 means the bet wins if they lose by 3 points or less, or if they win outright.

What does a minus 3 spread mean?

A minus 3 spread means that the team that is favored is expected to win by 3 points. This means that if you bet on a team's spread at -3, then the team must win by at least 3 points for you to win your bet.

What does minus 1.5 Spread mean?

The team with -1.5 is the favorite, while the team that is +1.5 is the underdog. In this particular spread, the two teams are pretty close. Point spreads can vary, but this is one of the most common point spreads. It essentially means that the underdog pays out as the winner, but also if they only lose by one.

What does +3 spread mean NBA?

NBA Point Spreads Explained

An NBA point spread is how many points a team can either win or lose by to win a bet. For example, if the NBA spread is (-2) your team will need to win by at least three points to win the bet.

What does a +4 point spread mean?

Common Example of Point Spreads in Action

For example, with a 4-point spread, the favorite team must win by more than 4 points for bettors to get paid. Conversely, the underdogs can lose by 1, 2, or 3 points (or win the game outright) and still win the bet.

How does point spread payout work?

Unlike the money line, where you're just betting on a team to win or lose, the point spread sets one team as the favorite and one team as the underdog and sets a line that is subtracting from the favorite's points total to level the playing field.

What happens if a team covers the spread exactly?

If your team covers the goal spread, you win. The payout is based on a "Money Line". The Goal Spread: When betting on hockey, the team you bet on must "cover the spread." This means the team must win or not lose by a predetermined margin of goals.

Is the spread always even money?

While a point spread requires the team you bet on to win by a specified margin, moneyline does not. However, point spread bets typically have odds somewhat close to even money, meaning you would win about as much as you bet if you won.

What happens if spread is exact in parlay?

If a game in a parlay pushes -- meaning the score lands exactly on the spread or total -- that leg of the parlay is removed, and the rest of it will stand. So a three-team parlay (+600) with two wins and one push will just become a two-team parlay (+260).

What does a minus 6 spread mean?

The favorite is the team projected to win the game. They are assigned a point spread with a minus symbol (-) in front of the number, such as Pittsburgh Steelers (-6.5). If you were to bet on the Steelers to cover the spread in this instance, Pittsburgh would need to win by seven or more points for you to win your bet.

What does minus 4.5 Spread mean?

In basketball, you might see a point spread of -4.5/+4.5, which means the favored team will need to win the game by five points or more for your bet to cover the spread. If you bet on the underdog, they simply need to win the game or lose the game by less than four points. If they lose by five, your bet won't cash.

How does +6.5 spread work?

Now, let's use an example of a team that is a 6.5 point underdog, or +6.5. For the underdog to win the point spread bet, they can either win or lose by less than 6.5 points. If the underdog team wins by 30 points or loses by less than 6.5, then the outcome is the same.

What does a minus 4 spread mean?

Betting Line

Following this example, the Chiefs are at -4.5. This means that in order to win on the point spread or cover, Kansas City would need to win the game by five points or more.

What does a negative 3.5 Spread mean?

A + means that team is bet is an underdog. Therefore, -2 means that a team must win by more than two points in order to cover the spread. If they win by exactly two points, the bet would push and the stake would be returned with no winnings. Similarly, -3.5 means the team must win by more than four.

How do you win a point spread bet?

In simple terms, a point spread is a bet on how much the favorite team will win by. If the team has a minus sign, that means they're the favorite and they'll have to win by the specified number or more for you to win your bet.