How do you read a spread line?

For example, if a spread is (-7.5) points, your team needs to win by eight or more. If you bet on an underdog, they can lose by fewer than the assigned spread or win outright for you to win. For example, if a spread is (+5.5) points, your team can lose by 5 or fewer or win outright.

How do you read a spread?

What does +7.5 spread mean?

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.

What does a +1.5 spread mean?

A spread of +1.5 or -1.5 basically indicates both teams are pretty much evenly matched—essentially, a +1.5 underdog has just about as good of a chance to win as a -1.5 favorite (at least in the eyes of oddsmakers).

What does +6.5 spread mean?

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.

Sports Betting: How to Read Point Spreads

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 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 2 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 a negative 4.5 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 pick against the spread?

As we explained with moneyline betting, a negative (-) number of points indicates the favorite and a positive (+) number of points indicates the underdog. To “cover the spread,” favorites must win by more points than the spread, while underdogs must not lose by more points than indicated.

What does +3 and mean in spreads?

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 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.

How do point spreads work?

For point spread betting purposes, the value of the point spread is added to the team's total as part of the wager. Bettors who choose the underdog win their wager when that team either wins the event outright OR loses by an amount less than the point spread.

What does a +200 money line mean?

What does a +200 money line mean? A +200 money line would mean that if you placed a $100 bet, you would win $200. It also tells you that the team is not expected to win, as it is the underdog in the game.

What does a +1 spread mean?

This means that the underdog must win outright or lose by exactly one point to cover the spread. Alternatively, a +1.5 spread means that the favorite must win by two points, runs, etc. or more.

How do you read MLB spreads?

Baseball odds are shown using a "Money Line." The Money Line: Odds for a game based on $1. A "minus" (-) preceding the number indicates the team is a favorite. A "plus" (+) preceding the number indicates the team is an underdog.

What does a +4 point spread mean?

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. However, if the underdogs lose by more than 4 points, the bet is a loss.

What does it mean to cover a negative 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.

Is it better to have a negative or positive spread?

There must always be a positive and a negative. It's not possible to have two of each sign for a spread. The team with the negative (-) number is the favorite, or team predicted to win the game. The team with the positive (+) number is the underdog and is expected to lose the game.

What is point spread for dummies?

The point spread is the number of points sportsbooks believe the favorite to better than the underdog. Example: If you bet $100 on the favorite (Chiefs) to cover the spread at -9.5. The favorite would have to win by 10 points or more to win your bet. If you bet $100 on the underdog (Texans) to cover the spread at +9.5.

What does +7.5 mean in football bet?

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.

How do football spreads work?

In spread betting, the favorite has to win by a certain number of points for the bettors who pick them to cash in. Spread betting is a go-to wagering option for sharp sports bettors compared to other betting types like NFL moneyline betting, totals betting, NFL futures, or player prop bets, for example.

How do you bet moneyline vs spread?

If you place a bet on the moneyline, that means you think the team you bet on will win the game. If they win, you win, no matter the score. While a point spread requires the team you bet on to win by a specified margin, moneyline does not.

Why would you bet a negative money line?

The minus sign shows you which team is favored. When you bet on the favorite you get worse payout odds on your bet since they're more likely to win. The team with a negative number (like -110) is the favorite. The number next to the minus sign is the amount you must bet to win $100 in profit.

Why is spread better than Moneyline?

With underdogs, covering the spread requires winning the contest or losing by a less than the point spread. Potential profits with underdogs are higher with moneyline bets, but the point spread provides a margin for error and a way to win money on the team that loses a game.