What does +3.5 spread mean in football?

A spread of +3.5 means a team must win outright or lose by fewer than four points to cover the spread. A +3.5 spread is particularly enticing in football because, as noted earlier, 3-point victory margins are extremely common. An example of a +3.5 spread: New England Patriots +3.5. Miami Dolphins -3.5.

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 negative spread mean in football?

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 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.

What does covering a +3 spread mean?

A 3 point spread means the favorite must win by at least 4 points (winning by exactly 3 would result in a push) in order for a bettor picking the favorite to win the wager.

What is the "Spread" in Sports Betting

What does a minus 3.5 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 +3.5 spread work?

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 a negative 2.5 Spread?

For the team getting -2.5 to successfully win the bet against the spread, they will need to win by three or more points. The team with +2.5 odds would have to either win, or lose by two points or less.

What does minus 1.5 Spread mean?

The team with -1.5 is the favorite, while the team that is +1.5 is the underdog. In this particular spread, the two teams are pretty close. Point spreads can vary, but this is one of the most common point spreads. It essentially means that the underdog pays out as the winner, but also if they only lose by one.

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.

What does a minus 6 spread mean?

A favorite is always represented with a minus sign (-) preceding the point spread. For example, in an AFC East showdown, the Patriots might be -6.5 against the Jets, or a “6.5-point favorite.” The Jets would correspondingly be +6.5 “against the spread.”

What does +4.5 spread mean in football?

Above is an football point spread. Pittsburgh is +4.5, with Cincinnati at -4.5, which means Pittsburgh is a 4.5-point underdog and Cincinnati is favored by 4.5 points. For a bet on Pittsburgh to win at +4.5, they can either win the game outright or not lose by an amount that surpasses 4.5.

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.

What is a +3 spread in football?

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. If the Colts win by two points, you would lose the bet because they didn't hit the key number of three.

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.

What does the 3.0 spread mean in football?

In football, a minus 3 point spread means the team that is expected to win should win by 3 points. For example, take the following game: Kansas City Chiefs -3 (-110) at Arizona Cardinals +3 (-110) In this example, the Kansas City Chiefs are favored by 3 points (-3) at odds of -110.

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.

How do you read a spread?

What does a minus 6.5 Spread mean?

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. The underdog will have covered, and anyone who bet on their point spread will have won that bet.

What does +2.5 mean in NFL?

In sports betting, a team that is +2.5 is a 2.5-point underdog. The team must lose by 2 points or less or win the game in order for the bet to win.

What does +1.5 mean in football?

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.

What does 1.5 point spread mean football?

The Eagles were favored by 1.5 points, which means if you bet them and they won by 2 points or more, you would have won your bet. The Chiefs were +1.5 point underdogs, so if you bet on them they would have needed to either win the game outright or at least not lose by 2 points or more.

What does a +7 spread?

What Does a +7 Spread Mean? A +7 spread is very commonly seen in the NFL due to the scoring of a touchdown and a successful extra point. It can be seen in other sports, as well. 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.

How does the spread payout?

Spread bets typically pay on an almost 1:1 basis against the bettor's stake. Generally speaking, a winning bet will come with a 95.45% return. However, the exact amount of the payout is specified by a second number that you will see displayed next to both team names in a spread bet.

What happens if the spread is 3 and they win by 3?

A spread of -3 means that that team must win by over 3 points to cover while a spread of +3 means that the team must win or lose by less than 3 points to cover. If a spread is +3 and the team loses by 3, the bet would be a push.