How do football spreads work?

Bettors who choose the favorite win their wager when that team wins by an amount greater than the point spread. For example, if the Colts are favored over the Titans by 5.5 points and the Colts win by 7 points, the Colts have “covered the spread.” Bettors who wagered on the Colts will have won the bet.

What does a +7 spread mean?

The underdog odds will be +7, meaning the team can win outright or lose by less than seven points to win the bet. A loss by exactly seven points would cause a push bet.

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 is a +7 spread in football?

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 does +3.5 mean in a spread?

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. Miami Dolphins -3.5.

Point Spread Betting Explained: Sports Betting 101

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.

How do you read a spread?

What does +6.5 mean in football?

For example: Green Bay –6.5 means that Green Bay is the favorite and must win by at least 7 points. Chicago +6.5 means that Chicago is the underdog and has been “spotted” or “given” 6.5 points; if Chicago loses by 6 or fewer points, it is a winning bet (if Chicago pulls an outright upset, it is also a winning bet).

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 a team +6.5 mean?

Let's say Team A is -6.5 and Team B is +6.5. The minus means that Team A is the projected favorite and the plus means that Team B is the underdog. With Team A, they'll have to win by 7 or more points for you to win your bet and Team B will need to win or lose by less than 7 for you to win your bet.

What does +4 spread mean?

Cincinnati was a 4 point underdog. This appeared as Bengals +4. That means the Bengals would have needed to win the game outright or not lose the contest by 5 points or more. The final score was Rams 23, Bengals 20, so bettors who bet Bengals +4 would have won their bets considering Cincinnati only lost by 3 points.

How does a +7.5 spread work?

If you bet on them to win, they must beat the opposing team by at least 7.5 points. On the opposite side of the wager, the New England Patriots are the underdog to win. To beat the spread, they must close the point gap to within 7.5 points or win outright.

How do you read a negative spread?

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 +7.5 mean in football odds?

An underdog could be expressed, for example, as +7.5. That means that if the team wins the game, or loses by seven or fewer points, then those who bet on that team won. If they lose by eight or more points then the favorite has covered the spread, and those who bet on the underdog lose their money.

What does spread minus 9 mean?

The negative value -9 indicates the Giants are favored by 9 points. The positive value (+9) indicates the Jets are underdogs of 9 points. 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.

Is spread better than Moneyline?

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. Moneyline bets have a wide range of odds.

What does minus mean in football odds?

A "minus" (-) preceding the number indicates the team is a favorite. A "plus" (+) preceding the number indicates the team is an underdog. Bet No. Team.

How do you cover a spread?

To cover the spread, a bettor must either bet on the favorite or the underdog, and to win their wager, the team must cover the point spread—or, win by more than the point spread.

What is a 9 and 10 in football?

9 Striker (usually a target player) 10 Centre-forward (usually a fast poacher)

What does +8 mean in football?

8 – Central Midfielder – The unsung hero of the team, central midfielders are integral in practically every play on the field, from offense to defense.

What does 49 mean in football?

The “49ers” is the nickname for those who flocked to northern California in 1849 hoping to take advantage of the gold rush.

Is spread the same as Moneyline?

If a bet is on the winner of a game, that is called a moneyline bet. If you're betting that a team will win or lose by a certain amount of points, that is called a spread bet. If you combine multiple outcomes into one bet, that is called a parlay.

What happens if the spread is 3 and they win by 3?

A spread of -3 means that that team must win by over 3 points to cover while a spread of +3 means that the team must win or lose by less than 3 points to cover. If a spread is +3 and the team loses by 3, the bet would be a push.

What does spread moneyline and over under mean?

It is the person who sets the odds, moneyline, or point spread for football games. Over/Under Bets: This refers to a bet on whether the combined total of the points scored by both teams will be more or less than a set number.

What is plus minus in NFL?

The minus sign (e.g.-130) always indicates the favorite and the amount you must bet to win $100. The plus sign (e.g.+120) always indicates the underdog and the amount you win for every $100 bet.