How do you win 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. For example, let's say Seattle is a 13-point favorite over Denver.

What does +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.

How does +3 spread work?

When betting a -3 spread—also known as betting a “3-point favorite”—you will subtract 3 phantom points from that team at the end of the game. If the team is still ahead after those points are subtracted, they cover the spread. Example: Kansas City Chiefs -3.

What does a +3.5 spread mean?

If you bet on an underdog, they must either win the game outright or lose by a smaller margin than the assigned point spread. So, for example, if I bet on the Philadelphia Eagles (+3.5) and they lose by three or fewer points or win the game outright, I would win my bet.

How does spread work?

Bookmakers set a spread with the hopes of getting equal action on both sides of a game. For example, the Colts are a -3 point favorite against the Texans. The -3 points is the spread. If you want to bet the Colts on the spread, it would mean the Colts need to win by at least three points for you to win the bet.

Point Spread Betting Explained: Sports Betting 101

How do you read a bet spread?

Do you win if you hit the spread?

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.

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 minus 3 point spread mean?

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 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 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.

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.

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 +200 mean for odds?

They are American money line odds; for example, +200 signifies the amount a bettor could win if wagering $100. If the bet works out, the player would receive a total payout of $300 ($200 net profit + $100 initial stake).

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.

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.

What is plus and minus in spread?

The “+” and “-” are put in front of odds or lines, indicating the favorites and underdogs. The favorites will be marked with a minus sign, whereas underdogs get the plus sign. This is the case for all types of bets, including moneylines and point spreads.

How do you win a minus spread?

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. If the team has a plus, that means they're the underdog and they'll have to either win the game or lose by less than the specified number for you to win.

What does +6 mean in point spread?

Underdogs are represented by the (+) value. The 6 point value is how many points either team could win, or lose by. If you think the Packers will win by MORE than 7 points, then you'd bet on the favorite in this case, meaning that the Packers have to win by 7 or more points in order for you to win your bet.

How do payouts work on spreads?

Points spread betting: outcomes

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 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 a minus 7 spread mean?

A favorite will always be surrendering points, i.e. a -7 spread for the Buffalo Bills against the Miami Dolphins means that oddsmakers have labeled the Bills as the favorite by seven points.

What happens if a team wins by exactly the spread?

Spreads and odds might adjust after you place your bets. Your wagers will be settled based on the numbers at the time of bet placement. If the final score of a game lands exactly on the margin of the spread — i.e., 30-27 for a three-point spread — then the bet is a push, and the sportsbook will refund wagers.

What happens when the spread hits exactly?

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.

Is it smart to bet the spread?

Without spread bets, if you think a team is going to lose, you aren't able to intelligently bet on them. If you think that a team is greatly underestimated but is still going to lose, you're out of luck. But thanks to spread bets, you can bet on teams that you're confident are still going to lose the game.