If I Bet On An Even Spread

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Home»Betting»Sports Betting Guide»Sports Betting Guide: What Is A Point Spread and How Does It Work?
A point spread in sports is a way for oddsmakers to make a matchup between two unbalanced teams more balanced by giving points to or taking points away from each team.
The favorite in a matchup, indicated by a minus (-) sign, will have a given number of points taken away from its final score, while the underdog, known by its plus (+) sign, will have the same number of points added to its final score.
Be sure to check out our sports betting glossary to assist you with some of the terms used in our sports betting guides.
NFL spread betting is probably the most common and popular way to bet on football as it adds some excitement and better odds over just picking an outright winner. If you are new to betting the NFL altogether, be sure to check out our great How to Bet on the NFL guide.
Here is an example of a point spread for an NFL game and how it would look:
As you can see, Dallas is the 4.5-point favorite, which means the Cowboys would need to win the game by five points or more to win the bet. Conversely, New York is a 4.5-point underdog, which means to win the bet the Giants would need to win outright or not lose the game by more than four points.
If the Cowboys win 20-17, they win by three points and do NOT cover the 4.5 points, but the Giants have “covered the spread” by staying within 4.5 points. 
Point spread wagers often will be put into parlays in which you make multiple bets on one slip for a larger payout. If you have a few games that you’d like to wager on and want to see how a payout changes by adding or subtracting games, feel free to play around with our odds calculator to help you learn how odds work.
There are certain point spreads that bettors should be aware of that are known as “key numbers.” These spreads are directly related to how points are scored in football such as a field goal (three points) or a touchdown (seven, assuming a successful one-point conversion). The three main key numbers in NFL point spread betting are 3, 7 and 10, representing a field goal, a touchdown and a field goal plus a touchdown.
The two most common margins of victory are three and seven points because of the type of scoring in the NFL. This is why you should shop around at different sportsbooks to find better lines to maybe gain an edge over the key numbers like getting a +3.5 spread as opposed to just +3 – you can get a quick look at the different books at our NFL odds page.
You can also “buy” points with a “teaser bet” in which you can move a +7 line to +8 but the odds may shift from -110 on the +7 to -135 at +8, meaning less of a return on your winning ticket. You can have key numbers on OVER/UNDER totals as well.
The most common betting line for a point spread is -110. A -110 line on either side is like paying a tax or commission to the sportsbook. Bettors would pay 10 percent (aka juice) to the sportsbook, which is essentially a fee for brokering the wager. So, the -110 indicates that a bettor must risk $110 to win $100. Some sportsbooks will even reduce the juice for you, which means you can earn the same $100 payout but risk less money to do it.
For example, if you see -7.5 (-107), then you only need to wager $107 to win $100 (saving you $3). If you see -7.5 (-102), then you only need to wager $102 to win $100.
There are three potential outcomes of your point spread wager: you win, you lose or you push (a tie). Typically, a point spread has odds of -110 for either side of the bet. In the example above between the Cowboys and Giants, the point spread is 4.5 points, while the odds are -110, meaning you would have to wager $110 to earn a profit of $100, or a profit of $0.91 for every dollar you bet.
A losing bet is quite simply you betting on the Cowboys -4.5 and they only win by four, for example. You lose the money that you placed on that bet.
A push wouldn’t happen in the example above because a team can’t win by half a point. It is very common, though, to have a betting line of +3/-3. Let’s say a favorite wins by exactly three. That is called a push and you simply get your money back with no profit and no loss.
PK or Pick’em means that the matchup is so close that there’s neither a favorite nor an underdog. Whatever team you pick to win when betting on the point spread simply has to win the game and the margin of victory doesn’t matter. In these cases, there may not even be a point spread available for the game and you can only bet on the moneyline.
This is a very common occurrence in sports betting and sportsbooks have the full right to shift the spread or odds for any given match prior to its start. Many factors can influence a change of the spread such as injuries, the number of bets coming in for either team or the weather, to name a few. Depending on the timing of placing the bet, the bettor can also have an advantage or a disadvantage depending on which way the spread has shifted.
Here is an example of a change in the spread:
If bettors had wagered on Dallas on Monday, they would be at a disadvantage compared to bettors who waited until Thursday because the Thursday bettors now only need Dallas to win by four points instead of five. But it can also go the other way:
If bettors had wagered on Dallas on Monday, they would now have the advantage over the bettors who waited until Thursday because the Thursday bettors need Dallas to win by eight points or more instead of only five.
Yes, in fact, sportsbooks also release spreads for different points in the match like after the first quarter or first half, which is called live betting or in-game betting. Oddsmakers will set spreads for those different checkpoints and it’s up to you as the bettor to determine which team will lead or trail by a certain number of points after that unit of time.
Here is an example of a first-half spread:
As you can see, Dallas is a 2.5-point favorite to lead the first half by three points or more whereas New York is a 2.5-point underdog, which means the Giants would need to be ahead or not trail by more than two points at the end of the first half.
The popularity of the point spread bet in the NFL is equally shared by NBA bettors and it works essentially the same way. When Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks tip off at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks, the Bucks are going to be -800 on the moneyline but may have a point spread of -13.5 points with odds of -110, with the Knicks coming back at +13.5 with a -110 line.
As seen in the NFL with line movement throughout the week, in basketball, you’ll see the line movement occur much faster in a shorter time frame. When we looked at key numbers in the NFL, it was in regard to scoring. A similar approach can be taken in the NBA but it’s more connected to possessions. Look for key numbers such as five and seven because they tend to represent two- and three-possession games.
Be sure to check out our How to Bet on the NBA guide for more options and assistance in getting you in on the action for basketball.
A puckline is what a spread is called in the NHL, while a runline is associated with MLB betting. In both cases, the spread is almost always -1.5 for the favorite and +1.5 for the underdog, but the betting odds fluctuate a lot more than in NBA or NFL point spreads because the spread doesn’t usually change. There are instances in both the NHL and MLB where you see a 2.5-point runline or puckline but those are few and far between, typically between your league leader and a cellar-dweller.
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What Is A Point Spread?
Betting Odds And Strategy
It’s in the best interest of everyone involved – fans, leagues, teams, players, everyone – if sports are competitive. Nobody wants to watch blowout after blowout. But, sometimes very strong teams or athletes match-up against very weak teams or athletes. Can anything keep these contests interesting? Enter the point spread, known in some places and in some sports as the handicap.
Points spreads can cause some goofy situations in sports fandom and betting. Many are the bad beat stories from otherwise meaningless plays in long-decided games swinging the betting outcome. But at the end of the day, bettors enjoy spread betting, so it’s a staple of the industry.
In this space, we’ll cover what the point spread is, how it works and other minutiae surrounding the most popular form of sports betting.
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The point spread represents first the oddsmaker’s and then the betting market’s best guesses at the numerical separation between two competitors. Sometimes the spread can be as little as half a point. Other times, like Team USA Basketball games at the Olympics, you might find spreads upward of 50 points.
Most times, particularly at high levels of professional sport, the competitors have very close talent levels, and therefore the handicap winds up on the smaller side. Take, for instance, last year’s Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The market favored the Chiefs to win, making the Bucs the underdogs. The Chiefs entered as 3-point favorites.
One would generally denote the situation in text as:
Kansas City Chiefs -3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers +3
The two teams are judged to the be 3 points apart, with the Chiefs “giving” 3 – hence the minus – as the favorite and the Bucs “getting” 3 as the underdog.
Note that because this game took place on a neutral field (at least in terms of tickets sold, since Tampa Bay coincidentally served as the host city), the spread was the actual representation of the difference between the two teams. That is, home field presumably didn’t factor into the spread. In most cases in team sport, one can’t deduce the exact differences in strength between two teams by their point spread alone because of home field being worth some fraction of the spread.
The underdog Buccaneers won 31-9. Obviously, the spread wound up a non-factor.
While the Buccaneers didn’t need the 3 points the betting market gave them in the Super Bowl, the spread does play a role in the betting outcome of the game pretty regularly. If it didn’t, the betting market wouldn’t be doing its job.
For an example of the spread coming into play, look at the other Chiefs vs. Buccaneers matchup from the 2020 season. In Week 12, the Chiefs traveled to Florida for a road date with the Bucs and won 27-24. Pro Football Reference quotes -3.5 as the closing line.
In this case, the Chiefs won the game but didn’t “cover the spread” (win by more than the handicap). Simple arithmetic tells you 27 – 3.5 = 23.5.
Since 24 > 23.5 (the Chiefs’ handicap-adjusted score), Chiefs bets at -3.5 lost. The books kept the bettor’s stake.
By the same token, the Buccaneers lost but covered the spread: 24 + 3.5 = 27.5. Since 27.5 > 27, books graded Bucs +3.5 bets as winners. The book returns the stake and pays out the winnings.
If the game lands exactly on the spread – for example, if KC had won the Super Bowl by 3 – then spread bets will “push.” A push means the book returns everyone’s stake. It’s like the bet never happened.
Now that we know how the point spread works and what it is, let’s take a look at some examples of different spreads available for the 2021 NFL season. Each of the lines below comes from DraftKings Sportsbook, the first couple from Week 1 and the last one from Week 17.
The San Francisco 49ers enter 2021 hopeful of recapturing their Super Bowl form from two seasons ago. The betting market expects them to be one of the stronger teams this year, pegging them as a top-10 contender in the futures odds.
The Detroit Lions, meanwhile, have entered a rebuilding phase after years of failed contention. They traded away former franchise QB Matthew Stafford, hired a new coach with a long contract, and will aim to build a culture while cultivating young pieces they hope comprise their next competitive core.
Thus, even on the road, the 49ers rate as -7.5 favorites at DK Sportsbook. In other words, they’re expected to win by more than a touchdown. Lines of at least a touchdown are relatively uncommon in the closely contested NFL – this is the only such NFL Week 1 line at the time of writing.
One Week 1 game sees 2020 Super Bowl contenders matched up in New Orleans. With Aaron Rodgers back in the fold, the Green Bay Packers once again find themselves among the favorites heading into 2021. If he performs at an MVP level again, there’s no doubt the Packers will have one of the strongest teams this year.
The New Orleans Saints, sans Hall of Famer Drew Brees, are expected to take a step back in 2021. However, they still bring back most of their major pieces on what some considered the best top-to-bottom roster in the league last year. They boast All-Pro contenders at several positions on both offense and defense.
Combine that with home field, and the betting market sees a closely matched contest. Hence, Green Bay entering as favorites, but favorites expected to prevail by just 3 points.
Zoom all the way forward to Week 17 for a marquee matchup between playoff hopefuls and division rivals, the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Browns enter 2021 off a breakthrough season in which they won a playoff game in Pittsburgh. They return all of their core pieces with most of them at an age when they should be improving rather than declining. Hopes are high among the long-suffering fan base.
The Steelers, on the other hand, appear to be a team in decline. After years of success, they lost many pieces from a once-elite offensive line and QB Ben Roethlisberger may be on his last legs. Still, they put together an elite defense last season, so the market sees them quite competitive with the Browns. In fact, it believes home field completely negates the Browns’ talent advantage.
Thus, both teams are priced evenly, often called a “pick’em” and denoted as “pk.” Yet, you won’t just get an even money payout on either team. You must pay a small fee no matter which side you take, which leads us to juice – or vig.
When you’re looking at a line for point spread betting, the handicap won’t be the only number associated with the bet.
Along with the “+7” or some such number, another number will sit alongside it. Generally, this number will be “-110” at an American sportsbook or something like “1.91” at a European book. This is the price you’re laying along with the handicap. In either of these two examples (they’re the same, just denoted differently), you’re laying $11 for every $10 you hope to win.
This fee, known as the vigorish (often shortened to vig) or “juice,” enables the sportsbook to make a profit. Notice if the book offered an even payout with Team A +7 and Team B -7, you could bet both sides and break even. Hence, the vig exists, forcing you to pay a fee in exchange for your bet.
This means bettors must win more than 50% of the time to break even. In fact, on point spread betting at -110, the breakeven point comes out to 52.38%. Check out this page for more math behind the vig in sports betting.
While the above examples (the -110 in American odds and 1.91 in decimal odds) represent industry standard vig, be aware that sometimes books will adjust the vig slightly. In these cases, your breakeven point may move up or down depending on which direction the adjustment happens. Most frequently, this happens when an NFL line edges toward a key number.
For example, imagine in the 49ers/Lions game listed above that the sportsbook became inundated with a flood of Lions +7.5 money. Instead of immediately adjusting the line to +7 they might list the Lions +7.5 (-120). Particularly if the book’s competitors are all still at +7.5, increasing the juice gives the book a middle ground between taking a likely barrage of 49ers money at -7 and continuing to get more Lions money than they’d like to handle.
A line nudging from +7.5 (-110) to +7.5 (-120) bears noting, but spreads often change much more drastically. And these changes can have sweeping impact on your betting experience.
Imagine you see the Lions +7.5 against the 49ers and, for some reason, you’re very excited to back the Lions. However, you normally bet $200 a game and you won’t have that sort of disposable income until you get paid on Friday. After a busy work week, you’re sipping a beer at home, shuffling your fantasy lineup around. You remember that line you wanted to bet, so you open your account and scroll down to find the Lions.
Except, now you see them at +6.5. What happened?
The answer is that +7.5 was the market price when you first looked at the line. But, like all markets, prices change. The typical lifespan of a spread betting price goes something like this:
In theory, the closing line represents the most accurate picture of the probabilities in the event. It reflects the largest set of information.
What sort of information are we talking about? Injuries can change the market, for example. Maybe a few key players have been ruled out for the 49ers or returned from injury sooner than expected for the Lions.
Most often, the information enters the market in the form of bets. Specifically, high-limit bets from sharp, winning players. These bets move the market because the sportsbooks respect the opinions of these accounts. In turn, they respond by moving the line.
In this case, multiple sharp players may have placed large wagers on the Lions at +7.5 and +7, necessitating the move.
How should you react to a move like that if you were planning to bet Lions +7.5 but now your book is dealing +6.5?
Well, you should first ask yourself if you still like the Lions at +6.5. As a general rule, sizable market moves should give you pause. If the sharp players liked the Lions at +6.5, they would likely keep betting them until the line moves further.
If you’re still determined to bet the Lions, you should see if any sportsbooks to whic
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