What is a minus 3 spread?

A -3 spread is one of the most common betting lines you see in football, especially in the NFL. The reason: It's the most common margin of victory. When betting a -3 spread—also known as betting a “3-point favorite”—you will subtract 3 phantom points from that team at the end of the game.

What does a minus 3 spread mean?

A minus 3 spread means that the team that is favored is expected to win by 3 points. This means that if you bet on a team's spread at -3, then the team must win by at least 3 points for you to win your bet.

How does +3 spread work?

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 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 NBA?

If the underdog wins the game outright then the wager cashes also. For example, let's say the Los Angeles Lakers are a -3 favorite vs the Celtics. This means the Celtics are a +3 underdog. Spread.

Point Spread Betting Explained: Sports Betting 101

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 does a minus 5 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 negative 2 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 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.

What does a +2 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.

What does minus 3.5 spread mean?

A + means that team is bet is an underdog. 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 spread 3 way mean?

A 3-way bet is a bet on an event that has three possible outcomes: Team A wins, Team B wins, or a draw. The odds on a 3-way bet will always be higher than odds on a similar two-way bet considering there is an additional outcome. Therefore, when one places a 3-way bet there is only one way to win and two ways to lose.

What is a +7 spread bet?

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 it mean to cover a negative spread?

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 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.

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.

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 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.

What does +2.5 spread mean?

A 2.5 point spread means that the two teams match up pretty favorably, with one as the slight favorite. 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 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 is a negative 2.5 Spread?

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.

How do you read a spread?

How do minus bets work?

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. The number next to the minus sign is the amount you must bet to win $100 in profit.

How do football spreads work?

Bettors who choose the favorite win their wager when that team wins by an amount greater than the point spread. For example, if the Colts are favored over the Titans by 5.5 points and the Colts win by 7 points, the Colts have “covered the spread.” Bettors who wagered on the Colts will have won the bet.