What Is A Point Spread Bet? Beginners Guide

This point spread betting guide explains how to read and understand spreads and explains mistakes to avoid when making your spread wagers. Remember that when you see a sportsbook offer a bet with -110 odds (bet $110 to win $100), that is standard and represents an even line. The sportsbook adds juice (or vig) to its betting lines so it can make money for offering the betting action. Point spread betting is one of the most popular betting types among new and experienced bettors. Also referred to as spread betting, it’s a form of handicapping that levels the playing field between two teams.

If too much money floods the underdog, the spread shifts (e.g., from -4.5 to -5.5) as a way to lure bets back to the favorite. It is better to choose moneyline in MLB, NHL, and soccer when taking favorites because the price is too high in the NFL or NBA. For example, if you took the Chiefs moneyline and they were favored by 7 points, you’d likely be laying (-400), which means you’d be risking four times your bet.

Small negative odds such as -115 indicate a slight favorite, whereas a very large negative number such as -800 indicates a heavy favorite. Conversely, the odds for a slight underdog will be a small positive number, and the odds for a huge underdog will be a large positive number. Conversely, if you thought the Clippers had a good chance of pulling the upset, a winning bet of $50, $100, or $300 would result in a profit of $63, $126, or $378, respectively. If the Browns are a -7 favorite at one sportsbook, but you see them at -6.5 at a different one, then you’ll want to take the latter since a touchdown win will cover rather than push.

Covering the Spread

If you’re ready to start betting on the point spread, look no further. We’ve got spread betting strategies for bettors just starting out. Experienced bettors can also benefit from these tips, but you may want to stick around for our advanced strategies a little later. For the Dolphins to cover the spread, they must win by four points or more. If they won by three points, they would fail to overcome the 3.5 deficit. For bets on the Jaguars to be successful, they must either win the game outright or lose by three points online casino license curacao or fewer.

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The black numbers in the example are used to indicate which team is the favorite and which is the underdog. Using an example from the 2024 NFL season, the New York Jets were -390 on the moneyline against the Denver Broncos (+310) in Week 3. These odds mean you would need to wager $390 on the Jets to win $100. Both teams will have “-” odds with point spread wagers, but the point spread will be notated with +7 or -7. When examining moneyline wagers, the team listed with “-” odds is considered the favorite and more likely to win. As such, the lines vary and aren’t like the NFL, NBA, or college football.

If they lose by exactly 7, it’s a push and your stake is refunded. When wagering against the spread, you bet on the team that will cover the betting line, and not necessarily win the game. Obviously, by taking the favorite, a bettor believes that a team will not only win the game but also win the game by a certain number of points to cover the betting line. But when wagering on the underdog, that team does not necessarily have to win the game to cover the line. For examples of point spreads and how those bets are won, please keep reading below where we give real-life examples explain betting odds for the spread in detail. They reveal how bookmakers perceive each team or event and indicate your potential return on a winning wager.

Point spread betting always involve a sporting event between two teams. The Rams won the game 23-20, but Bengals bettors cashed in on the point spread. Los Angeles had to win the game by five points or more in order for the Rams to cover the spread.

A point spread is assigned based on the projected outcome of the game. So, if you see odds of 2.50 and want to wager $10, this would be $25 as 10 multiplied by 2.5 is $25, or $15 in profit. The “-” odds indicate the favorite or the more likely outcome, whereas “+” suggests the underdog or the less likely outcome. The Steelers now need to win by three or more and have the same odds as opposed to needing to win by four or more to avoid a push. After looking, you find three sportsbooks have the same odds, one is -3.5 and -110, and one is -2.5 and -110.

If you’re betting the underdog, points will be added to the spread, whereas if you’re betting the favorite, points will be subtracted from the spread. Unless you’re looking at Live Betting, the runline always uses a 1.5-point spread, with the favorite getting -1.5 and the underdogs getting +1.5. In our example, the Yankees are 1.5-point home favorites, which can be deduced from their negative spread and placement underneath the Away team. Bettors win choosing the underdog when the underdog wins outright OR the underdog loses by a margin LESS THAN the point spread.

• A favourite at -2.5 is meaningfully different from one at -3.5, even though the difference is just one point, because crossing through 3 changes how often the bet will win or push.
• Those of us who have been burned by the dreaded backdoor cover, or even watched the team we bet at -7 fall behind 14-0, know that spread bets can go sideways quickly.
• For example, bet365 Sportsbook might have received a sharp bet on Penn State and have high liability on them.
• For example, say you were making an even wager with a friend of yours on the spread of the Broncos-Jets game from before.
• A Champions League match might display decimal odds on Bet365, fractional odds on Paddy Power, and American odds on international platforms serving multiple markets.

The shorter the odds, the smaller the payout, and the greater the odds, the larger the payout. A key reason why is the lack of a good understanding of betting odds. A common misconception among sports betting newcomers is that it is a quick and easy way to make a ton of money. Yet only a small minority of sports bettors manage to show a long-term profit. The hook is a gambling slang term meaning a half-point, and it’s important to find those spreads that feature a hook when you are spread betting. If you’re a hockey bettor wagering -1.5, you can rejoice when the favorite hits the empty net.

However, by using the “half-point,” sportsbooks can ensure a clear win or loss at the end of the game. This half-point is sometimes called a “hook,” so don’t be thrown off if you see that term used instead. This betting market also means Denver can “win” against the spread even if the Broncos lost outright. With the spread total at Denver +8.5, a spread bet on the Broncos would pay out if Denver either won outright or lost by fewer than nine points.

If you were to wager $100 on this parlay and each bet won, you’d win $600. So, if you bet on the Steelers at -5.5, you need them to win by six or more. If they were +5.5, they either need to win outright or lose by five or less. The point spread is a winnable bet, but you have to learn to bet numbers instead of betting teams. It’s easy to get trapped into betting good teams, not realizing that the spread is a great equalizer. Like baseball, the point spread in hockey goes by a different name.

There’s risk involved in all sports betting, and it’s important for bettors to understand these risks and bet responsibly. However, there’s no evidence to say a point spread bet is riskier than any other sports bet. For example, DraftKings Sportsbook set the point spread for a matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys at 7.5.

Additionally, a bet on the favorite becomes more exciting to follow as covering the spread is a taller task than winning outright. Negative odds indicate the amount of money you need to wager to win $100. Also, because the amount of money you need to wager to win a given amount is more than the profit you will make if the bet wins, to win $100, your bet will need to be for more than $100. Low odds, and negative odds particularly, reflect a sports betting outcome that the oddsmaker considers likely. Mobile betting apps and online sportsbooks automatically calculate the potential payouts of wagers in the slip. As such, bettors can quickly see how much they stand to win or risk on every bet before they place it.

Understanding how odds translate to payouts is essential for any bettor. Point spread bets typically come with odds around -110, but you will also see -105, -115, -120, and occasionally even money (+100) or better. Covering the spread means your team performed well enough against the handicap for your bet to win. If you bet on a favourite, they must win by more than the spread.

In hockey, it’s called the “puck line,” and like baseball, it’s usually set at -1.5 or +1.5. In baseball, you’ll rarely see a betting market labeled “point spread.” Instead, it’s called the “run line.” The run line functions the same way as the point spread. You’ll find a point spread in football, as I laid out above in the examples of the Nittany Lions. These point spreads can be any number depending on the gap in power between the teams. They could be as low as 1.5 or dozens of points, especially in college football where the imbalance between teams can be quite large.

Once it changes in the predicted direction, not only does that bettor have a positive EV bet, but it also opens up opportunities to middle the bet or place an arbitrage bet. For more definitions of common sports betting terms, check out the ScoresAndOdds dedicated glossary page. That’s where the line opened, but then later in the week, much closer to game time, the line changed to the following. In summary, the point spread is a calculated prediction of how much a team will win or lose by. If you need help with gambling problems, resources are available through the National Council on Problem Gambling and similar organizations worldwide.