Bet To Cover The Spread

Bet To Cover The Spread

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Maybe you’re new to betting on sports — Or, you might have dabbled in a March Madness pool at work or bet on the Super Bowl a time or two.
Either way, you’re interested in getting into online sports betting.
You feel like you need a primer on some of the terminology before making any wagers.
When watching football with your friends, you keep hearing phrases like, “The Cowboys won, but they didn’t cover the spread!”
Point spread bets are a popular form of sports betting.
This guide will teach you everything you need to know about “covering the spread” and the best place to make point spread bets online.
When it comes to sports betting, “cover the spread” is a term you’ll hear over and over again.
A point spread is the number of points (typically set by a sportsbook) a team must win by, or stay within, for the bet on that particular team to payout.
So, if the team you bet on has won by or stayed within that set number of points, you have “covered the spread.”
Point spread betting is a way to “even the playing field” when betting on two teams.
If the New England Patriots are 7-1 and they’re playing the Cleveland Browns, who have a record of 2-6, the average person would bet on the Patriots.
But if the spread is Patriots -17, New England has to score at least a couple of extra touchdowns and a field goal for bettors to come away with cash.
This encourages betting action on both sides of the matchup.
ZenSports is the easiest way to place point spread bets online. And it’s available wherever you are –– on Android, iOS, and mobile web.
ZenSports is an online betting market where you’re in control of your bets. You can wager how you want to, and there’s no middleman, meaning you don’t have to deal with bookmakers.
With ZenSports, you can create and accept bets on any game or match , whether those bets are point spread bets , money line bets, or over/under bets.
Still have questions about covering the spread? No problem. We’ll break it down even further.
Let’s take a look at a few FAQs when it comes to spread betting.
When it comes to sports betting, “the spread” is a common abbreviation for the point spread, which is the betting line (or odds) for wagering on either the favorite or underdog in a game.
You may hear “the spread” and “the line” used interchangeably.
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
The team favored to win the game (in this case, the Seahawks) always has a “-” in front of the point spread while the underdogs (the 49ers) have a “+” in front of the points spread.
Let’s say you take the 49ers +7. This means in order for you to win the bet, the 49ers need to either win the game or lose by 7 points or less. If the Seahawks beat the 49ers 24-21, you still win the bet because the Seahawks didn’t “cover the spread.”
A +7 spread is commonly seen in football betting as 7 points is the total of a touchdown (6 points) and a point-after-touchdown or extra-point (1 point).
This is a common way to score in football.
If you’re following how a 7 point spread works, you might find a 7.5 spread a bit confusing. A 7.5 spread means the favorite needs to win by at least 8 points.
That’s because you can’t score half points, half goals, or half runs in sports.
The half-point ensures there is a clear winner in a bet. If the final score lands exactly on the spread, it is a tie (or a push) .
In the case of a push, bettors typically receive their money back. So, by adding a .5 to the spread, sportsbooks ensure there is no chance for a push.
Back to that 7.5 spread — Let’s say you bet on the favorite in a football game. Since there are no half points in football, you need them to win by 8 points or more to win the bet.
If your team wins by 7, you’re out of luck. You lose the bet.
A 3 point spread means the favorite must win by at least 4 points (winning by exactly 3 would result in a push) in order for a bettor picking the favorite to win the wager.
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.
A 2.5 spread means the favorite needs to win by at least 3 points in order to cover the spread.
Again, the .5 added to the spread means there won’t be a push.
If the point spread is 1.5, it means the favorite needs to win by 2 or more. That could mean 2 points, goals, runs, etc.
A 1.5 point spread is common in sports where scoring is more difficult, and final scores are often significantly lower than you might see in a basketball or football game.
A 0 point spread means there is no favorite or underdog in the game, match, etc.
This is often called a “pick ‘em” bet or a “moneyline” bet.
This means whoever you bet on to win the game, must simply win for you to cash in. They don’t need to win by a certain number of points, runs, or goals.
For example: The Texas Rangers are taking on the Houston Astros in a Lone Star Series matchup. There’s a 0 point spread in this rivalry game, meaning the money line is even.
You bet on the Rangers. The Rangers lose by a run, meaning you’ve lost the bet.
Spread betting is most common in football (NFL or college), but you can also make spread bets in other sports, including:
You might notice sportsbooks using different terms for spread bets in other sports, but the concept is the same.
In hockey, the spread is called the puck line. While in baseball, the spread is referred to as the run line; and in soccer, the goal line.
Spread betting is hugely popular in football. Because of how football is scored, 3 and 7 are the most common margins of victory.
Because of that, you’ll often see point spreads at or around these numbers.
Let’s take a look at an example. Let’s say the Minnesota Vikings are playing the Chicago Bears in an NFC Central contest. The Vikings are favored by 7.5.
Team           Line
When reading this bet, it’s important to note that the home team is almost always listed at the bottom. This is good information to have because home-field advantage can sometimes have an impact on a game’s outcome.
Is basketball more your speed? You can make point spread bets on the NBA and college hoops too.
Because teams can be so unevenly matched, point spread betting is a good option for basketball.
It works the same way as football, though you’ll likely see higher point totals in basketball. The average number of points scored by a team in an NFL game is just under 25.
In comparison, the average number of points scored by a team in an NBA game is more than four times that, at almost 112.
Keep in mind that in basketball (as well as other sports), point spreads can constantly change, right up until tip-off (in the case of basketball).
Some reasons for point spreads changing include:
It’s important to note that your results depend on the spread at the time you placed your bet, assuming it is different from the spread at the start of the game.
While spreads vary wildly in football and basketball games, the same is not the case in baseball.
In MLB (Major League Baseball), the run line is almost always set at (+/-)1.5.
This means if you put your money on the favorite, they must win by at least two runs for you to cover the spread/cover the run line and win the bet.
If you decide to go with the underdog for you to win the bet, they must either win the game or only lose by a single run.
Now that you know the ins and outs of “covering the spread,” are you ready to try your hand a point spread betting?
You’ll want to place your bets on ZenSports.
ZenSports is the future of online sports betting. It’s an online betting marketplace that allows its users to place bets without a centralized bookmaker .
Unlike other online betting platforms, ZenSports facilitates peer-to-peer sports betting.
Peer-to-peer betting allows users to create and accept sports bets with anyone else in the world, whether they’re friends, family, or someone you’ve never met.
Simple —There are so many benefits.
Here are just a few of the perks of placing your online point spread bets with ZenSports:
Clearly, when it comes to making wagers on sports, whether you’re betting the spread or sticking to pick ‘em bets, ZenSports is your best bet .
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Last Updated:
Sep 7, 2022 1:35 PM ET

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Betting against NFL point spreads can help you even the odds of football games.
In the world of sports gaming, football spread betting is king, and there’s no market more popular than NFL bets against the spread.
Every Sunday, pro football fans size up the NFL point spreads, which level the playing field between two teams and make even the most one-sided matchups interesting.
Find out what the spread means in football, how to read football spreads and some tips and strategies for tackling the NFL bet spreads for each game on the schedule.
Oddsmakers calculate the perceived difference on the scoreboard between two football teams using formulas, power rankings, and factoring in other elements, like home/away, injuries, weather, and public perception to bridge the talent gap and create equal betting action on either side.
They set the stronger team as the favorite (indicated by a negative value) and the weaker team as the underdog (indicated by a positive value).
For example, if the stronger team, or favorite, is a perceived six points better than a weaker team, the stronger will be given an NFL bet spread of -6.5. This means to “cover the spread” and win the bet, that team must win by more than six points. The weaker team, or underdog, would have a spread of +6.5 which means it must lose by less than seven points or less or win the game outright to win the bet.
Using the table above, we see the Baltimore Ravens are -7.0 favorites facing the New York Jets, who are +7.0 underdogs.
This means a bet on Baltimore would need the Ravens to win by seven or more to win, while a bet on New York would need the Jets to lose by less than seven or win outright to win. If Baltimore wins by exactly seven points, the game is deemed a push, and all wagers are returned.
The odds next to the spreads are the cost of placing a bet and are also known as the vig or juice. Most NFL line betting has a flat rate of -110 for both sides, which means for every $1 you wish to win, you must risk $1.10 ($110 to win $100). For our example above, Baltimore and New York each have odds of -105, which means for every $1 you wish to win, you have to risk $1.05 ($105 to win $100).
This is how football spread betting works, and the sportsbooks collect a profit. If the point spread is calculated correctly and levels the playing field between the two teams, the money bet on the game should balance out on either side.
If one bettor places a wager of $110 to win $100 on the favorite and another bettor places the same amount on the underdog, the sportsbook would have a total of $220 in wagers (also known as the handle).
Suppose the Ravens win the game by more than seven points. In that case, the sportsbook will return the original risk ($110) to the winning bettor along with $100 in profit. That leaves the sportsbook with $10 in profits remaining from the original $220 total wagered on the game.
As mentioned, most football spread bets will have opening odds/juice of -110. However, it is common to see adjusted odds reflect the betting action and football betting sites ’ position on a game. Oddsmakers will also move the football betting spreads to balance the handle, such as moving a -3 favorite to -3.5 or higher to draw money on the underdog.
Note: whatever spread or odds you place your bet at will be how the wager is graded, regardless of how far those football betting lines are adjusted before game time.
Now that you know what a football spread does, here are some NFL point spread betting tips and strategies to follow.
Football scoring happens in factors of three (field goals), six (touchdown), or seven (extra point after touchdown). Those margins usually decide the majority of football games. Because of this, the bulk of NFL betting spreads are set on and around these key numbers : 2.5, 3, 3.5, 6, 6.5, 7, 7.5.
Depending on which side you like, the favorite or underdog, getting the best of the number is vital to successful football spread betting – especially around key numbers. That means getting an underdog at +3.5 rather than +3 or a favorite at -6.5 instead of -7.
As mentioned above, oddsmakers will not only adjust the spread itself but will adjust the odds/juice associated with the football betting spread. Reading and tracking the adjustments to the juice can give you an idea of which spreads could potentially move before kickoff.
If a favorite of -7 (-110) starts to climb to -7 (-115) or -7 (-120), you can assume a spread adjustment to -7.5 will be coming if bets keep showing up on the favorite.
If you want to bet the favorite, you may want to do it right away at -7 and avoid laying -7.5. If you’re looking to bet the underdog in that game, you can wait for that adjustment and get +7.5 rather than +7 – a more advantageous line for the underdog.
Not all NFL injuries are created equal, and only a handful will impact a football spread. The most critical position on the field – and weighs heaviest with oddsmakers – is quarterback.
Suppose a team loses a starting QB to injury. In that case, you can expect a more significant adjustment to their NFL odds than if a running back, receiver, or any other position goes down. That said, cluster injuries with a particular position or unit can also impact how books set the football spreads.
How a team is currently performing is much more important than how they looked during the entire season. Try not to get caught up in standings or rankings when it comes to handicapping the football betting spreads.
Instead, focus on their three most recent games and opponents and if they’re playing above or below their standard heading into this week’s contest – and if the point spread reflects that current form. Results from Week 1 don’t hold much water when betting Week 15 odds.
Covers' team of expert analysts and handicappers research key numbers, matchups, and more to give you the best edge possible, delivering free NFL point spread picks for every game of the season
Make smarter NFL bets with Covers. These guides dive into other ways you can bet on NFL action:
A +3 means that a team is a 3-point underdog and must lose by less than three points or win outright for the bet to win.
Negative NFL odds indicate a point spread favorite, the team with a higher implied probability of winning the game outright.
There are several factors to consider when picking NFL games against the spread, such as home/road success, injuries, current form, and, of course, the size of the point spread.
There is a closer competition level in the NFL than in college football, which means fewer points decide games on average.
Pick’em or pick means that the game is so close that there is not spread, and you choose which team will win outright.

If you choose to make use of any information on this website including online sports betting services from any websites that may be featured on this website, we strongly recommend that you carefully check your local laws before doing so. It is your sole responsibility to understand your local laws and observe them strictly. Covers does not provide any advice or guidance as to the legality of online sports betting or other online gambling activities within your jurisdiction and you are responsible for complying with laws that are applicable to you in your relevant locality. Covers disclaims all liability associated with your
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