How does NBA spread work?

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 +7 spread mean in NBA?

A +7 point spread means there's a 7 point underdog in the matchup and that another team is favored to win by seven according to the sportsbook. If you place a point spread bet on a team at +7 you'll need that team to lose by six or less in order to win the bet.

What does +4.5 mean in NBA?

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 +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 is a +1 spread in NBA?

The team wagered on has to win the game outright, regardless of the score. 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.

NBA Betting - The Spread Explained

What does +1.5 mean in NBA?

When you see a +1.5 in front of a team's name, that means that they are 1.5-point underdogs in that matchup. Here is what this might look like from a New York sportsbook: Chicago Bulls -1.5.

Is the spread a 50 50?

Rather than picking a team to win outright as you would with a moneyline bet, with spread betting the margin of victory determines the outcome of your wager. The spread is sometimes referred to as the great equalizer because it's designed to turn every matchup into a 50/50 proposition.

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.

What does +8.5 mean in spread bet?

Let's say that a team is favored as 8.5 point favorites or written as -8.5. For the favored team to “cover the spread,” they must win by at least nine points. If they win by eight points or less, it doesn't matter that they won because they didn't cover the spread.

What's +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.

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 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.

How do you bet on NBA spread?

Sportsbooks set a spread, which is essentially an estimated margin of victory to factor into your decision. You can bet on the favorite minus the spread number or the underdog plus the number. For you to win the bet, the side you choose has to cover the spread.

What does +6.5 mean in sports?

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).

Is spread a win or lose?

The point spread: Betting the spread

It's not a matter of a team winning or losing like in a moneyline bet. For a favorite: The favorite must win by more than the point spread. For an underdog: The underdog must outright win OR lose by fewer than the point spread.

What does minus 9 spread 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 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 does +14.5 spread?

In this case, the Bills are favored to win by 14.5 points. We know this because the “-” represents the favorite, whereas the “+” represents the underdog. So the Bills have to win by over 14.5 points to win the bet. Some books may also identify the point spread by using the word “Line.”

What does +12.5 spread mean?

Oddsmakers have assigned a “point spread” to the matchup, which basically gives the underdog team an artificial “head start”. The Point Spread is +12.5 for Charlotte, which means that when they start the matchup and the real score is 0-0, Charlotte will actually be leading 12.5-0 for the purposes of picking a winner.

What is minus 4 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.

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.

Is a negative bet good or bad?

What Does It Mean When Odds Are Negative? Negative numbers (in American money line odds) are reserved for the favorite on the betting line and indicate how much you need to stake to win $100—you generally need to put down more to win $100 on the favorite.

Is 50 to 1 good odds?

50 to 1 Implied Probability

The 50-1 betting odds probability is a 98.04 per cent probability of a particular outcome and 1.96 per cent probability of another outcome. The 50/1 odds implied probability means your selection has a 1.96% chance of winning and a 98.04% chance the selection will lose.

What is a minus 5 spread?

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.

Does NBA go 2 2 1 1 1?

All rounds are best-of-seven series. Series are played in the 2–2–1–1–1 format, meaning the team with home-court advantage hosts games 1, 2, 5, and 7, while their opponent hosts games 3, 4, and 6, with games 5, 6 and 7 being played if needed.