How To Bet On Point Spreads

How To Bet On Point Spreads
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The point spread is a margin of victory and you as a bettor determine which side will beat the margin. Learn more about what it means to cover the spread.
There are many ways to bet on sports but one of the most popular ways for football and basketball is called the point spread. The point spread is a margin of victory and as a bettor, you determine which side will beat the margin.
If this all sounds a bit foreign to you, this will be point spreads explained . We’re going to elaborate on exactly what the point spread means, go over the lingo and give you concrete examples of spread betting, so that you have a full understanding of point spreads after reading this article.
A spread is merely the margin of victory or a handicap in a given game. When you bet on the moneyline , you simply predict the outright winner of the game. When you bet the point spread, you’re betting on a margin set by the oddsmaker and you have to decide which side will “cover” or beat the spread.
The easiest way to explain this is with an example. We’ll use one of common NFL point spreads to take a closer look:
For point spread betting purposes, the first thing you’ll want to do here is notice either the ‘+’ or ‘-‘ sign as that will give you an important indication.
The plus sign indicates that this team will be receiving points. In this case, the Patriots will receive 2.5 points. The minus sign indicates that points will be losing points. In this case, the Cowboys will be losing 2.5 points.
What this means is that if you bet the Patriots, they are able to lose the game by two, one, tie or win the game, and you’d win your bet. As for the Cowboys, they’d have to win the game by three or more for you to cover.
A very basic way to do the math is to take the final score and add and subtract the points. For example, if the final score is. If you bet Dallas -2.5, then their final score of 30 – 2.5 = 27.5, which still beats out New England’s tally of 27 points. If the final score was Dallas 12, New England 10, you can see that New England +2.5 would put them at 12.5 points, which beats Dallas’ 12. That’s how does point spread work.
Now that you know how the spread works for each side, to play the point spread, all you have to do is determine which side you want to bet on. If you bet on Dallas -2.5, that’s one way to play the spread on that game. The other way would be to bet on New England +2.5.
If you’re calling in a bet over the phone or speaking to a cashier at a casino (in Vegas, etc.) then you’d merely say “I would like to bet on Dallas on the spread” or “I’d like to bet Dallas -2.5”. That’s how you play the point spread.
If you’re wondering how to read a point spread with the numbers after the spread itself, we’ll explain. Keep in mind that there are betting odds associated with each point spread. We’re going to show you what those mean and how to calculate them. Going back to our previous example, at a sportsbook like Bovada or BetOnline almost all point spreads will look like this:
As you can see, what’s been added here is the odds at the end of it. With -110 odds, that means for every $110 you bet on New England or Dallas, you’d win back $100 if they covered the spread.
The ‘-‘ sign denotes how much you have to bet to win $100. If there was a ‘+’ sign, that would denote how much you’d win if you bet $100. In other words, +150 means that if you bet $100, you’d win $150.
Keep an eye on how much sportsbooks charge for point spreads. Some books like Heritage Sports have low juice, so you can bet -105 on the spreads, which means you’ll save yourself a lot of money in the long run. The standard is -110, though.
The oddsmakers take a number of factors into account when it comes to setting a point spread. Those factors would include:
From a sportsbook’s perspective, the goal of a point spread is to split the action on both sides. The oddsmakers want to come up with a number where they can get equal bettors thinking the two sides can win, so that they can just get their “juice” (commission). Here’s what that looks like:
$1,100,000 of bets on the New England Patriots at +2.5 -110 $1,100,000 of bets on the Dallas Cowboys at -2.5 -110
What this means is that whoever ends up covering the spread, the betting sites pay out $1,000,000 in losses but collect $1,100,000. That $100,000 difference is what they’re going for every time.
The most popular way to bet on football and basketball is with the point spread and betting on the moneyline (the outright winner without worrying about points) is typically secondary. They’re known as spread betting sports. However, in the NHL and MLB, betting the moneyline is the primary way to bet on the games but there is still a point spread.
With hockey, you’ll see what’s called a puckline, which is a -1.5 and +1.5 line. Baseball will see something similar as they have a run line, which is -1.5 and +1.5.
Tennis is another sports where the main way to bet on the matches is the moneyline. However, if you bet on the point spread, it can be a spread on sets (I.E. a player has to win by 1.5 more sets than the other) or more commonly, a spread on games. So if a player is -7.5 games, they would have to win something like 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 to cover the spread.
If you’re wondering how the point spread works in boxing, we’ll explain. While most people tend to bet on the moneyline in boxing, you will occasionally see a spread on rounds won – especially for big championship bouts. This will be based on the official judges’ scorecards.
That means to beat the spread. The team that wins on the spread is the team that “covered”.
A forecasted number projected by the oddsmakers for which a stronger team (favorite) is supposed to defeat the weaker team (underdog).
The team that’s expected to cover the spread.
The team that’s not expected to cover the spread.
Betting on a team on the point spread on either side.
This allows you to move the point spread around a little bit by a 0.5 point, one point and sometimes more.
A push is when you tie on the point spread. You’ll get your money back. While some point spreads are on a half-number, many are on a whole number. So if the spread is -3 and a team wins by exactly 3 points, that’s considered a push.
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Last Updated:
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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.

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How To Bet On Point Spreads

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