What does a minus 3 spread mean?

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 a negative 3 point 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 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 does +3 spread mean in football?

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 covering a +3 spread mean?

In sports betting, to cover the spread means that a team has beaten the point spread devised by a sportsbook. 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.

What is the "Spread" in Sports Betting

What is a minus 3.5 spread?

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 +3.5 mean in a spread?

A spread of -3.5 means that that team must win by 4 points or more to cover while a spread of +3.5 means that the team must win or lose by 3 points or less to cover. There is no possibility for a “push” in this situation since teams cannot score a half-point.

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.

What does a minus 2.5 spread mean?

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 is 3.0 spread mean?

A minus sign (-) means this team is the favorite and a plus sign (+) means this team is the underdog. For example, let's say that in a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Spread is 3.0. If you bet on the Chiefs (-3) and want to win the bet, the Chiefs need to win by more than 3 points.

How do you read a negative spread?

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 do you win a minus spread?

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.

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.

What does +2 mean in a spread?

For example, a bettor can place a wager on the first quarter between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics. The Celtics are favored by two points against the spread. Bettors would be forced to either back Celtics -2 or Heat +2 with an exact difference of two points representing a push.

What is a minus 6 spread?

The favorite is the team projected to win the game. They are assigned a point spread with a minus symbol (-) in front of the number, such as Pittsburgh Steelers (-6.5). If you were to bet on the Steelers to cover the spread in this instance, Pittsburgh would need to win by seven or more points for you to win your bet.

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 does +7.5 mean in alternate spread?

What Does a +7 Spread Mean? A spread of +7 means the underdog must either win the game or lose by fewer than 7 points to win the bet. Let's say an NFL game is listed like this: Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers.

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 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 negative 13.5 spread mean?

You would generally see that listed as -13.5 for the Chiefs or Broncos +13.5. A minus symbol (-) always indicates the favorite, while a plus symbol (+) means a team is the underdog. This means that the Chiefs are expected to beat the Broncos by at least 14 points.

What does a minus 11 spread mean?

When a casino accepts a spread bet, it gives the player the odds of 10 to 11, or -110. That means that for every 11 dollars the player wagers, the player will win 10, slightly lower than an even money bet.

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 the +1.5 spread?

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.

What is +8.5 spread?

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.