What does spread mean in betting? Point Spread Betting Explained

For example, most sportsbooks offer -110 on either side of a point spread or a total points line. It means you will not quite double your money if you succeed, so you need to win around 55% of your bets to generate a healthy profit. Sportsbooks will assign a handicap to the stronger team (the moneyline favorite).

Financial spread betting

The reason bettors don’t win even money on what’s supposed to be a bet is that the book holds a percentage, also known as the vig. The vig on a standard -110 point spread betting is roughly 4.55%, which isn’t too high compared to other wager formats. For example, the house hold on futures bets can easily exceed 20%. Otherwise known as the great neutralizer or simply the handicap, point spreads theoretically level the playing field between two teams. Point spreads can transform a rather ho-hum blowout into a nail-biting affair.

• The exact amount received varies depending on the rules and policies of the spread betting company, and the taxes that are normally charged in the home tax country of the shares.
• Using an example from the 2024 NFL season, the New York Jets were -390 on the moneyline against the Denver Broncos (+310) in Week 3.
• That’s greater than some of the worst bets anyone can make in a casino.
• OddsTrader makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the information given or the outcome of any game or event.
• Taking it all in little bits is one of the greatest ways to approach totals bets.

NCAAF Cheat Sheet: Ole Miss Rebels Stats & Odds

In a state like Pennsylvania with multiple sportsbooks, I highly recommend that you compare and contrast the wager you want to make across multiple sportsbooks to find the best value. Not only do Pennsylvania sportsbook promos vary from operator to operator, but betting 1winofficialindia.com lines can vary as well. When betting the spread on football or basketball, you can monitor the odds to see if they’re about to change. You’ll find a point spread in football, as I laid out above in the examples of the Nittany Lions. These point spreads can be any number depending on the gap in power between the teams.

The point spread functions as the most popular way to bet on sports. A point spread bet sees the sportsbook add or subtract a certain number of points to one team’s final score in a matchup between two teams. These numbers are notated by a “-” symbol for the favorite and a “+” for the underdog.

Meanwhile, the underdog can lose by a specific number of points and still come through as a winner. Yet, games with teams of similar strength might have smaller spreads. When betting, things like team performance and injuries can change everything.

The stronger team or player will be favored by a certain number of points, depending on the perceived gap in ability between the two teams. The final margin of victory determines whether a team covers the spread, affecting betting outcomes and scenarios like pushes. A moneyline bet is wagering on a team to win outright whereas a point spread adds a variable to consider. With the point spread, you need to consider how much a team can win or lose by to still cover. If two bettors wager $11 on each side of a point spread at -110, then one bettor will win $10 and the other one will lose $11.