Understanding Point Spreads

Point spreads are used in sports with a high scoring volume such as basketball and American football to give odds makers the advantage when offering wager opportunities. Point spreads in football and basketball are not necessarily a prediction for the game, but figures intended to promote the most possible betting action on both sides of the wager. The spread should be sufficient to give bettors on the favored side confidence to invest in their predictions while remaining adequate to give intrigued bettors hope for an upset

Point Spread

Every game involves two teams, the favorite, or “chalk” to insiders, and the team seen as inferior, known as the “underdog” or “dog.” Point spreads are rendered as plus or minus a number, and the simplest way to explain the significance of the point spread is to add or subtract this figure from the team’s final score. Effectively, a point spread puts the teams on equal footing for wagering purposes, and are adjusted constantly leading up to a game to reflect any new developments with the team or its players.

If the underdog wins the game or match outright or achieves a final score that exceeds the winning team’s point total when added to the point spread, the wager pays out for that team’s bettors. If the favored team wins or exceeds their opponent point total with the added spread amount, their bettors are paid instead. This can lead to surprising twists of fate in games that are decided early from a competitive standpoint, as teams must maintain a lead of at least the listed point spread for a wager to pay out and teams commonly win “straight-up” while losing bettors big against the spread.

Money Line

The other number that commonly appears next to the point spread is the money line, and for favorites it indicates how much money a bettor would have to wager to win $100 while for underdogs it shows the amount that bettors will win with a successful $100 bet. Like point spreads, money lines can vary between bookmakers, particularly in areas where team loyalties are split, and more information on money lines is located here.

The plus or minus number on either side also indicates the bookmaker’s share of the wager, essentially a fee for brokering a large number of wagers. Although the standard fee is 10 percent (shown as -110), a  few select sportsbooks even allow players to earn a standard $100 payout for less or even provide the opportunity for new bettors to place wagers for free.