How does a team win against the spread?

Sports Betting against the Spread FAQs

If you want to bet on the favorite to win and the spread is 6.5 points, the team needs to win by seven more points. If the team you wager on is favored by 6.5 points and ends up winning by three points, you lose the wager due to the team not covering.

How do you win against the spread?

When you bet “against the spread,” it's not enough for the favorite to win the game; now, they have to win by more than a specified amount (the point spread) in order for them to “cover the spread.” Let's go over some of the basics of betting the spread. BET $5 ON NFL & GET $200 INSTANTLY!

What does it mean when a team wins against the spread?

Betting against the spread means you are taking the Underdog and the points in a game. To win you want the “underdog” to either win the game outright OR lose by less than the “Point Spread” you are given. As an example of this we will use the following. The New England Patriots (-7) vs NY Jets (+7).

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.

Who wins if the spread is exact?

Point spreads are either whole numbers, or they can include a half-number like 4.5, for example. When the spread is a whole number, like 4, there's a chance that the favorite will win by the exact number presented in the spread.

What is the "Spread" in Sports Betting

What happens if a team covers the spread 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.

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 a negative spread mean?

In the simplest terms, a negative spread indicates the favorite, which is the side that's expected to win the matchup. A negative point spread really means that team has some work to do. For a negative spread bet to hit, the team has to beat its opponent by a margin greater than the point spread.

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.

What does a minus 10 spread mean?

The +10 means that Team A will have to win by at least 10 points for you to win our bet, while the -10 means Team B has to lose by fewer than 10 points for you to win your bet.

Is it better to bet the spread or win?

Betting on favourites against the spread results in better payouts than when taking the moneyline. With underdogs, covering the spread requires winning the contest or losing by a less than the point spread.

How do you read a spread?

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).

How do spreads 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.

What happens if you match the spread?

In point spread betting, a tie is called a “push.” In the case of a push, all bets are returned to the bettor. If you wagered $100, you would receive your $100 back.

How does +10.5 spread work?

Looking at the underdogs, the Redskins are +10.5 on the spread (10.5-point underdogs), meaning they would have to lose by 10 or less in order for your bet to cash. The Titans are 4.5-point underdogs, meaning they would have to lose by four points or less in order to win.

What does Steelers +7.5 mean?

Taking the points simply means betting an underdog against the spread. Pointspread betting is most common in football and basketball. 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.

What happens if the spread is and they win by 7?

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 negative 7.5 spread mean?

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.

What does +3.5 mean?

A positive spread (ex: Bengals +3.5) means one can win the bet if that team loses by less than that amount. Betting the Bengals +3.5 means the bet wins if they lose by 3 points or less, or if they win outright. Over/Under: This is also referred to as the total.

What does minus 4 mean spread?

The minus sign denotes that that team has to win by more than that margin while the plus sign indicates that the other team can lose by that margin, or win the game, and they cover the spread in either case. Following this example, the Chiefs are at -4.5.

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.

Do you have to win by more than the spread?

The only way you lose a point spread bet on an underdog is if the favorite beats that underdog by a margin greater than the spread. In this case, if the Volunteers win by more than 3 points, your bet would lose. While novice bettors might think that betting on the underdog is smarter, that isn't true at all.

What happens if you bet $100 on a money line?

This means that the bettor would have risked $400 and ultimately gained $100. The positive number shows how much would be gained on a successful $100 bet. A +300 money line, for instance, would mean that if you place a successful bet of $100, you would win $300.

What teams cover the spread the most?

The Cincinnati Bengals covered the most spreads by a team in 2021, covering the spread 14 times.

How do you make money on the spread?

Traders should find a spread-betting company that doesn't trade against its clients. Instead, the company makes its money by matching positions among clients and generating revenue from the spread. Another way spread betting firms make money is when clients pay holding fees to carry a position overnight.