What does a minus 3.5 spread mean?

Therefore, -2 means that a team must win by more than two points in order to cover the spread. If they win by exactly two points, the bet would push and the stake would be returned with no winnings. Similarly, -3.5 means the team must win by more than four.

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 2.5 spread mean?

The team must lose by 2 points or less or win the game in order for the bet to win. For example, let's say the Buffalo Bills (-2.5) and the New England Patriots (+2.5) are playing each other. Patriots +2.5 would win if the Patriots win or lose by 2 or less. The Bills -2.5 would win if the Bills win by 3 or more.

What does minus 3.5 mean in football?

A team with a negative spread number must win by more than that amount. If the line is Cardinals -3.5, they must win by 4 points or more to win the bet. A positive spread (ex: Bengals +3.5) means one can win the bet if that team loses by less than that amount.

What does plus minus mean in spread?

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 is the "Spread" in Sports Betting

What does a negative 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 is a +4.5 spread?

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 a negative spread work?

In simple terms, a point spread is a bet on how much the favorite team will win by. 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.

What does +4.5 mean in football?

A bet on Over 4.5 Goals is a bet that 5 or more goals will be scored during the match. In other words, if a scoreline has five or more goals in it, Over 4.5 goals will win. A winning score could be 3-2, 2-3, 3-3, 5-0, 0-5, 4-1, 1-4, 2-5, etc.

What does away +3.5 mean?

Handicap Away +3.5 means a bet on an Away team to not lose by no more than 3 goals, scores, points, runs, and so on and so forth. In this case, corresponding winnings will be also obtained if an Away team manages to draw or even win a match.

What does a 3.5 spread mean?

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.

How do you read a negative spread?

What does minus 5.5 spread mean?

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. Moneylines just require your team to win the game outright — the winning margin does not matter in this type of bet.

Is a negative spread good or bad?

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 spread bad?

Betting on a team with a negative point spread means they are the favorites. If they still seem likely to win and cover, they can start to pay out pretty well. Some hate the idea of trusting the underdog team to stay competitive in a matchup.

What does +7.5 mean in football spread?

To beat the spread, they must close the point gap to within 7.5 points or win outright. Once the game is over, you can take the Patriots final score and add 7.5 points. If they now have more than the opponent, your bet is a winner.

What is the +1.5 spread?

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. The +1.5 is the standard “run line” in MLB betting. Many baseball games are decided by fewer than two runs.

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 does 5.5 spread in football mean?

For example, let's say the Dallas Cowboys (+5.5) are playing the New England Patriots (-5.5). If you bet on the Cowboys, they don't have to win, they just have to lose by 5 points or less. If you bet on the Patriots, they have to win by at least 6 points.

What does minus 8.5 spread mean?

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 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 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 +1.5 mean on a bet?

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 minus 10.5 spread mean?

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 a negative 4.5 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.