Point spread betting is a popular form of betting, especially with basketball and football, since these are two sports where more points are scored throughout the game than in other sports like baseball and hockey. Therefore, it’s essential to understand how point spreads work before placing a wager.
Always pay attention to line movement and monitor point spreads on multiple sportsbooks to get the best bang for your buck, as this will help put you in the best position to succeed as a point spread bettor.
What is a point spread?
A point spread, or simply “the spread”, is a sports betting number made by oddsmakers at sportsbooks that serves as a handicap between two opponents. Because not all teams are equal in skill, oddsmakers use spread betting to level the playing field.
The point spread is quickly becoming part of the mainstream sports conversation, used in sports betting as the great equalizer when it comes to comparing teams. It’s most often used in NFL and college football betting, as well as NBA and NCAA basketball. In baseball, the spread is called the run line, and in hockey, it is called the puck line.
How does a point spread work?
Once the point spread is set, you can bet on either side of it. Take the NFL for example. If the Titans are a 7-point favorite over the Jaguars, it’ll be presented as “-7″ at your sportsbook. That means the Titans need to win by more than seven points for you to cash your: Titans -7. The “minus” 7 is because you take their score at the end of the game and subtract seven points from it.
If they win by exactly seven, that’s a “push” and you get your initial wager amount back.
Conversely, the Jaguars would be +7 in that situation and would need to lose by fewer than seven or win outright for you to win your bet. The Jaguars wouldn’t need to actually win the game, as taking them +7 just means you think they’ll keep it closer than a touchdown. If they lose by three on a last-minute field goal, you’d win the bet. The point spread function is a handicap that puts two uneven teams on equal footing. Without the spread, it would be difficult to bet on a college football game between an SEC powerhouse and a small FCS school because in that type of mismatch, the SEC school would be a massive money line favorite.
How To Place Bets With The Point Spread?
The entire process of betting can be simplified by using an online sportsbook.
To begin, either create an account or log in to your existing one. Next, simply choose the sport you want to bet on and go to that page. You’ll then see all of the lines and games for the upcoming days. The next thing you’ll do is decide whether you want to bet on the favorite or the underdog. Once you know, go ahead and click on that team. From there, decide how much you want to bet and place it.
Keep in mind that once your bet is placed, you can’t back out.
Common Example of Point Spreads in Action
For example, with a 4-point spread, the favorite team must win by more than 4 points for bettors to get paid. Conversely, the underdogs can lose by 1, 2, or 3 points (or win the game outright) and still win the bet. However, if the underdogs lose by more than 4 points, the bet is a loss.
Let’s look at a specific example to see how sportsbooks advertise point spreads and how they work:
Los Angeles Rams -7
Minnesota Vikings +7
In this example the Rams must win by more than seven points to cover the spread while the Vikings can lose by six or less points or win the game outright for them to cover the spread.
Sports Betting Spread Types
NFL (Spread)
When it comes to NFL betting, the favorite is assigned a spread for the projected winning margin. They need to win by more than the spread for you to win your bet. If you take the underdog, you can win your bet if they win outright or lose by fewer points than the spread allows.
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NBA (Spread)
The favorite is assigned a spread for the projected winning margin. They need to win by more than the spread for you to win your bet. If you take the underdog, you can win your bet if they win outright or lose by fewer points than the spread allows.
BetMGM is the best NBA betting app to place spread bets. This sportsbook has some of the best NBA promotions that you should take advantage of after signing up. Use code GAMEDAY to get BetMGM’s excellent signup offer.
NHL (Puck line)
The favorite is assigned a puck line of (-1.5) and the underdog of (+1.5). In this case, if you bet the favorite, they have to win by two or more goals. You will likely have a payout ranging from (-130) to (+200) for a favorite on the puck line.
If you bet on the underdog, this means that they can lose by one goal or win outright for you to win the bet. Betting on the underdog on the puck line is a costly decision, as it’s usually priced (-170) or higher.
The NHL betting site to place spreads bets is FOX Bet. They have very competitive odds and plenty of promotions.
MLB (Run line)
The favorite is assigned a run line of (-1.5) and the underdog of (+1.5). In this case, if you bet the favorite, they have to win by two or more runs. You will likely have a payout ranging from (-130) to (+200) for a favorite on the run line.
If you bet on the underdog, this means that they can lose by one run or win outright for you to win the bet. Betting on the underdog on the run line is a costly decision, as it’s usually priced (-150) or higher.
Soccer (Spread)
Soccer includes spreads when it’s between two unevenly matched teams. In these types of games, favorites are given spreads between 1-3 goals. This means that they need to win by more than that spread for you to win your bet.
The potential outcomes of a point spread bet
There are three ways your wager can go if you make this type of bet.
- The favorite covers the spread
Bettors win choosing the favorite when the favorite wins by a margin GREATER THAN the point spread.
Example: The Bucks are favored by 4.5 over the Lakers and the Bucks win 108-102, a 6-point margin. They have covered the spread, and people betting on the Bucks will win their wagers.
- The underdog covers the spread
Bettors win choosing the underdog when the underdog wins outright OR the underdog loses by a margin LESS THAN the point spread.
Example: The Cowboys are favored by 7.5 points over the Giants, but the Giants keep the game close and lose by only a field goal, 30-27. The Cowboys have failed to cover the spread, while the Giants did cover the spread.
- It’s a “push” and the bet is voided
A push occurs when the favorite wins by a margin IDENTICAL to the point spread. When that occurs, bettors have the full amount of the wager returned to them.
Example: The Ravens are favored by 1 point over the Steelers, and the game is a nail-biter in which the Ravens win 28-27, creating a margin of victory of exactly one. No team has “covered” here, and bets on both the Ravens and Steelers will be returned. An online sportsbook transaction record may call this a “voided” or “canceled” bet.
How to read a point spread?
Let’s look at the point spread from Super Bowl LIV featuring the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs as an example of how to read a point spread and what each side and number mean.
The handicap
Oddsmakers closely examined both of these teams and determined that the game would likely be decided by a point. They assigned a handicap of 1.5 points. The addition of the 0.5 to this and other such betting handicaps like Over/Under Totals is called a hook. It is simply meant to avoid the possibility of the result ending on the exact number since half-points are not possible in major sporting competitions.
The favorite
The oddsmakers have deemed that Kansas City is more likely to win the match, so they have made them the point spread favorite in this matchup. Bettors can identify the point spread favorites by the minus (-) in front of their handicap. Above, Kansas City has a handicap of -1.5, meaning oddsmakers expect them to win by one or more points. For a point spread bet on Kansas City to win, the Chiefs need to win the game by more than one point. Even if they win by just one point, this bet would lose.
The underdog
If oddsmakers believe the Chiefs are the likely winners, that makes the San Francisco 49ers the likely losers and, therefore, the point spread underdogs. A plus sign (+) in front of the handicap indicates an underdog. The 49ers are the +1.5 underdog in this game, meaning oddsmakers believe they will lose, but only by a point. To win this point spread bet with the 49ers, San Francisco would need to win the game outright or lose by one point exactly. If they lost by two points or more, this bet would lose.
The vig
For many wagers with handicaps, sportsbooks assign a second set of odds that serves as the price of placing the bet. These prices are known as the vig or the juice. For our example above, the sportsbook assigned a vig of -110 to both the favorite and the underdog. This means a bettor would have to wager $110 to win $100.
Covering the spread
Kansas City ended up winning that Super Bowl 31-20. The 11-point margin of victory was greater than the -1.5-point spread, meaning they covered the spread.
To conclude
Point spread bets are good because they allow you to take heavily favored teams without incurring the financial risk involved. For example, let’s say the Chiefs are favored by 10 points against the Raiders. If you were to bet on them to win on the moneyline, you would likely be risking seven times your original bet. In this case, you can take them to win by more than 10 points and only have to pay a (-110) price.
Another reason to consider spread betting is that you can take an underdog without worrying about that team winning the game. For example, if I took the Raiders (+10) against the Chiefs, I would still win my bet if they lost by nine points or fewer. Point spreads allow bettors some options when deciding on who to take in a particular game.
One negative of point spreads is that it can be difficult for a team to win by the assigned margin. You can handicap the game well, only to have your team’s quarterback throw a late interception for a touchdown that would lower their winning margin, causing you to lose your bet.
Another negative is how difficult it is to choose the point spread in hockey or soccer correctly. There are so many one-goal games in these sports that you’ll often find yourself with a bad beat with your team only winning by one goal, which is one of the major downsides of spread betting.