Is negative or positive spread better?

When reading a game line, negative points are for favorites, while a positive spread is for the underdog. To visualize, consider the following odds from Super Bowl 57. Due to the question of which side will ultimately cover the listed spread, the game becomes that much more engaging from a betting perspective.

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.

Is a negative point spread good?

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 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 +3.5 mean in a spread?

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.

What is the "Spread" in Sports Betting

What does a minus 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 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.

What does +3 spread mean?

On the other side of the bet, if a bettor chooses the underdog (+3), that team must either upset the favorite and win the game or lose the game, but by fewer than 3 points for the bettor to be successful.

What does a minus 11 spread mean?

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 +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 does a +1 point 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.

Is it good to bet on negative odds?

Odds with Minus Sign (Favorite)

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.

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 Bengals +3 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 +3.5 mean?

Betting the Bengals +3.5 means the bet wins if they lose by 3 points or less, or if they win outright.

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 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 +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.

Is higher spread good?

Higher spreads indicate a higher default risk in junk bonds and can be a reflection of the overall corporate economy (and therefore credit quality) and/or a broader weakening of macroeconomic conditions.

How does a spread bet win?

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 +6 spread mean?

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.

What does minus 1.5 Spread mean in baseball?

The runline is baseball's version of the point spread. When betting on the runline, the favorite is -1.5 runs on the spread, with the underdog at +1.5 runs. Betting on the favorite requires your team to win its game by two or more runs.

What does minus 4.5 Spread mean?

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 often do favorites beat the spread?

This is the breakdown from last season: 133 times the favorite won the game and covered the spread. 97 times the underdog won the game outright. 39 times the favorite won the game but the underdog covered the spread.

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.