In sports betting, how much a team wins by is usually all that matters. The most popular way to bet for the two most popular sports, basketball and football, is with the point spread, also known as. Easily the most popular type of betting for NFL football is “spread” betting or more commonly known as betting against the spread. Bettors who are new to NFL betting or betting in general may be a little confused with NFL spread betting, but it is pretty easy to understand once it is explained to you. The Point Spread: Betting the spread For those new to sports betting, the point spread is the simplest, most straightforward approach to placing wagers. Sports books set a predetermined margin of. Simply put, covering the spread is the goal of every bettor who has placed a point spread bet. This SI Gambling 101 feature explains what it takes to cover the spread. What is a Point Spread? Spread betting is a derivative strategy, in which participants do not own the underlying asset they bet on, such as a stock or commodity. Rather, spread bettors simply speculate on whether the.
There are many types of bets, but the most common are: moneyline bets, spread bets, total bets, parlays, teasers and futures. In the beginning we will explain how to read betting lines and then we will deal with different types of bets.
Betting line
Betting line usually shows current odds or moneyline, point spread (handicap) and total for a particular event. For example we can have a line like this:
| Bet Number | Team | Moneyline | Spread or Handicap | Total Points |
| 461 | Bengals | +150 | +6 | over 44 |
| 462 | Patriots | -170 | -6 | under 44 |
Sportsbooks can stuff a lot of numbers in a betting line and sometimes even don't indicate what they mean. When you learn what all these numbers mean you won't be confused any more.
The -170 and +150 are money lines which are used in moneyline bets.
The -6 and +6 are the point spread which are used in a spread bet.
The over 44 and under 44 are the total points which are used in the total bet.
The minus sign (-) always indicates the favorite. The plus sign (+) always indicates the underdog.
Moneyline betting
What Does Spread Mean In Betting Nfl
Money line bets are on the winner of the event. In the example the -170 for the Patriots means that you have to risk $170 to win $100. The moneyline on the Bengals is +150 which means that a $100 bet on the Bengals would win $150, if the Bengals win the game. Of course when you bet $100 on the money line bet and win $150, you will receive $250 on payout.
Spread betting or point spread betting
Spread bet is a bet on score difference between two opponents. In the example above the Patriots are favored to win by 6 points and that is marked with -6 next to their name. So you can make two spread bets: 1) that the Patriots will win by 7 or more points or 2) that the Bengals will lose by 5 or less points. If the Patriots win by exactly 6 points, then the spread bets would be a push and the initial stakes would be paid back to the bettors. Usually with a spread bet the bettor stakes $110 to win $100.
Total bet
These are bets on the number of points scored in the game by both teams combined, including points scored in the overtime. In the example above the bettor bets whether the total points between the Bengals and the Patriots will be over or under 44. Like in the spread betting the odds are -110, that means risk $110 to win $100.
Parlay
The parlay is a bet on multiple sports events in which all teams must win or cover for the bettor to win and yield huge payout. If just one game doesn't win you lose the entire bet. If one or more games end push then these games are ignored. If you win all other games you get paid according to the games you won.
Teaser bet
A teaser is a special type of parlay in which the point spread on each game moves a particular number of points in the player's favor. Price of moving the point spread are lower odds.
Futures
Futures are bets on future events. At the beginning of the season, the bookmakers give odds for teams who will win the championship. Futures are really difficult type of bet just for wise guys.
In the NFL the best team will win the vast majority of the games. Spread betting is the most popular NFL betting option because spread betting handicaps the favourite team, which puts both teams on a more even playing field. This allows wagers on favourites to cover the spread to payout much more than money lines and also allows wagers on underdogs to have an equal chance of winning. NFL spread betting is very easy to understand and this page will explain it in detail.
Spread Meaning In Betting Horse Racing
In NFL spread betting the oddsmakers set a number of points that one team is favoured by in the game. This is also known as the games handicap. For a wager on the favourite to payout the favoured team must win the game by more points than the spread amount. This is known as covering the spread. For a wager on the underdog to win, the team must either win the game straight up or lose be fewer points than the spread. This is known as beating the spread. For example, if a team is favoured by 7 points, then the favourite must win by more than a touchdown to cover the spread and the underdog must either win, or lose by less than a touchdown in order to beat the spread.
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NFL Spread Betting Example
Oakland Raiders +10 (-110)
Denver Broncos -10 (-110)
In this example, the Denver Broncos are 10 point favourites over the Oakland Raiders. The (-) sign beside the spread amount indicates the favourite because they are essentially having 10 points taken away from them, while the (+) sign indicates the underdog because they are basically having 10 points added to their score.
In this example a wager on the Broncos will payout if they win by more than 10 points, while a wager on the Raiders will payout if they lose by fewer than 10 points or if they pull of the big upset and win the game outright.
Other NFL Spread Betting Information
The most common odds associated with each side of a spread bet are (-110), which means that a $110 bet would win $100. That being said it is possible for the odds to vary slightly if the spread doesn’t perfectly handicap a game. Here is an example:
Green Bay Packers -3 (-120)
Minnesota Vikings +3 (+100)
In this case the oddsmakers feel that it is more likely that the Packers will cover the 3 point spread than it is that the Vikings will beat it. In this case a $120 wager on the Packers covering the spread wins $100, while a $100 wager on the Vikings beating the spread also pays out $100.
In the two examples given in this article the spreads are whole numbers. If the game finishes with the favourite winning by exactly the spread amount then the bet is pushed and the wager is refunded. It is also possible for spreads to include half points (eg. 3.5, 7.5, etc), in which case it would not be possible for the bet to push.