How Does Betting The Spread Work

Categories:NFL Betting Online Published by: Adam Hoover

Sports betting differs in major ways compared to old-school gambling games of roulette or blackjack. With these games, it is as simple as placing a bet. If your cards win or your number hits, you win double your bet.

Explore our smart Spread betting app, powered by AI. Start Spread betting on the world’s top-traded shares, indices, commodities, forex pairs and cryptocurrencies all at the touch of a button. Complete with a SmartFeed, bringing the latest most relevant news direct to you. Spread Betting Example. Let’s assume that the price of ABC stock is $201.50 and a spread-betting company, with a fixed spread, is quoting the bid/ask at $200 / $203 for investors to transact on. How Does Point Spread Betting Work? The goal of the point spread is to even the playing field between two teams in a game. When both teams attract an equal amount of betting action, sportsbooks are able to offer higher payouts, especially with games that feature lopsided opponents.

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When it comes to football (American football), on the other hand, your payouts work in a different way.

It all comes down to the spread. There is a point spread and money spread when it comes to football.

What is the Spread?

Betting on the spread is by far the most popular bet when it comes to the NFL or even college football. The reason for this is the fact that the spread bet is easy to understand and also easy to win if you know what you are doing.

The best way to explain betting on the spread is by showing an example of one and dissecting it.

Example:

*This bet is fake and fabricated strictly for this example

Green Bay Packers -7 -110

New England Patriots +7 -110

The Packers are the favorite in this scenario. The “-” in front of the “7” indicates the favorite in a match. The “7” indicates the point spread.

To win this bet, the Packers have to win by 8 or more points. This is referred to as covering the spread.

The Patriots are the underdogs, as indicated by the “+” in front of the “7”. For the underdog to win, they must either win the game or lose by less than 7 points. This is referred to as beating the spread.

In the possibility that either the Packers win by exactly 7 or the Patriots lose by exactly 7, the wager is refunded and the bet is considered void, in a sense.

There are times when there is a point spread that doesn’t have the chance of being voided if there is a winner of the game.

Games ending in a tie do not apply. These spreads will have a half point instead of a whole number. Here’s an example:

*This bet is fake and fabricated strictly for this example

Miami Dolphins -3.5 -110

New York Jets +3.5 -110

The Dolphins are still the favorite, per the “-”. However, the Dolphins must win by at least four points. The Jets can still win the spread if they outright win or lose by 3 or fewer. There is no way for one or the other to win or lose by the select number as you cannot score a half point in football.

The last part of a point spread bet is the -110. This refers to the payout. In sports betting, these numbers are all based on a $100 bet. This keeps it simple to calculate the winnings.

With the point spread bets and over/under bets, -110 is the most common odd you will get. As “-” indicates the favorite, you will be harder to win the most amount of money. With -110, you must bet $110 to win $100.

However, if the bet hits (wins) then you win the $100 as well as you get your bet back.

The total winnings are then $210.

You won’t see it in a point spread bet, but there are also odds with a “+” instead. The “+” is the underdog and it is a more challenging bet, therefore you win more money.

With the odds of +200, if you bet $100 and win, you win $200 plus you get your initial bet returned.

Money Spread

There is another type of spread when it comes to football and that is the money spread. This one is similar to a point spread but much easier. Yes, there is an “easy” way to win a bet. With every football bet that is based on determining the winner, there is always the option of a point or money spread. Here is an example to study:

*This bet is fake and fabricated strictly for the example

New York Giants (-3 -110) +220

SpreadsHow Does Betting The Spread Work

Houston Texans (+3 -110) -170

The numbers in the parentheses are the point spread. The last number resembles the money spread odds. These odds refer to the simple winner. You either bet on the Giants or the Texans to win, no matter the score. The “+” refers to the underdog and the “-” is the favorite, of course. If it is predicted to be a huge blowout and the underdog has virtually no chance, then the “+” odds will be much higher and the “-” odds will be high as well.

Example:

New York Giants (-21 -110) -1100

Houston Texans (+21 -110) +2750

In this scenario, the Giants are 11-0 on the season and the best team in the league. The Texans are 0-11 and are just a shamble of a team. Being a 21-point underdog, it is no surprise that a $100 bet on the Texans pays out $2,750.

Result of a tie

It was stated that bets can end up being “voided”. Both point spreads and money spreads can result in getting a refund if a tie occurs. In gambling terms, this is called a push. If the game would end in a tie on a money spread bet, your wager is refunded.

With a point spread, a push occurs if the game ends a tie. If the spread is a whole number, there is also a push when the favorite or underdog (depending on which one you bet on) wins or loses by the exact number.

How Does A Spread Work

Pick Em

How Does Spread Betting Work Nba

It is uncommon, but sometimes there can be no favorite or underdog when it comes to a point or money spread. This is referred to as a “Pick Em”. In these cases, the odds are both “-”. This is from the odd makers believing the game is too close to call and there is no clear favorite.

Changing Odds

Spread odds are subject to change daily.

There are several factors that can change the point spread or money spread from one day to the next:

  • Injury to player(s)
  • Change of weather for outdoor games
  • An excessive number of bets placed on one team
  • Personnel change- Coaches, GM, players being benched

These odds also change very frequently if you bet live during the game. You can usually bet up until either one team has a massive lead with no time for the losing team to come back and win or the game is ending in a matter of minutes. Betting live is more suited for bettors who love a challenge and want to be kept on their toes.

The spread, also referred to as the line, is used to even the odds between two unevenly matched teams. ... In a spread bet, the odds are usually set at -110 on both sides, depending on the sportsbook and state. That means whether you bet the Colts -3 or Texans +3, you'll win the same amount of money if you win the bet.

As a result, what does spread mean in gambling?

betting the spread

Even, how much does a spread bet pay? Point Spread Payouts Typically, these bets are all paid out at -110. This means that for a $100 wager, you will get $90.91 in profit. If you bet the other side of the game, you will receive the exact same payout.

At all events, what does a negative point spread mean?

Spread

The favorite in a game is listed as being minus (-) the point spread. The worse of the teams playing in the game is called the underdog. The bettor wins if this team wins the game outright or loses by an amount smaller than the point spread. The underdog in a game is listed as being plus (+) the point spread.

What pays more moneyline or spread?

Many people find it more appealing to bet on a winner of a game instead of betting on the end score of the game. Spread betting does offer some nice benefits. ... However, moneyline bets typically offer the chance to win more than is bet, so these are often the choice for many bettors online.

5 Related Questions Answered

How is point spread payout calculated?

Nfl Spreads Explained

If you don't like math and just want a pretty close way of determining your payout on a point spread bet, you're in luck. Just assume you'll be getting about 90% of what you bet back in profit. So, if you bet $10, you should get about $9 in profit. If you bet $30, you should get about $27 in profit.

Can an underdog cover the spread?

For a favorite to cover, it has to win by more than the spread; an underdog covers by winning outright or losing by less than the spread.

Does point spread include overtime?

Does overtime count in a point spread? All point spread bets include overtime.

How do you not lose a football bet?

The best way you can make sure never lose in football betting is to arbing. Like most of you know, different bookies offer different prices, so you can bet on some sport event at two ( or more ) different bookmakers and in the end you will always win, no matter how the match is finished!

How does over under payout?

Over/Under Bet Payouts If you bet $100 on the over, you would win because 86+84=170. 170 is greater than 165.5, so the over wins. ... If you bet the under and the score was under 165.5, you would be paid out the exact same amount for your bet.