What Is A Point Spread In Football

When it comes to sports betting lines, you probably are wondering what the lingo of lines, odds, and spreads really mean. Understanding what these terms mean is essential to making proper picks on your favorite teams. For the most part these rules apply to all the main sports such as football, basketball, soccer, and hockey. But there are some key differences when betting against the big leagues like the NFL, NBA, and MLB.

1. College Football Point Spreads Free
2. What Is A Point Spread In Football Game
3. What Is A Point Spread In Football Player

Super Bowl and Stanley Cup Betting Odds

A point spread is a number that can be bet on and is given by sportsbooks, displaying the number a favored team is expected to beat the underdog team. When it comes to the spread, there are two ways you might see it: Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings (+4.5) Green Bay. Point Spread Spread gambling is the most popular form of wagering on football, basketball and many other sports. The sportsbooks will give the supposedly stronger team a handicap in order to even.

A betting line is another terminology for point spread, which is tied to the outcome of the event. It is a forecasted prediction of how many points an anticipated stronger team will win by against a weaker team. In the betting world the stronger team is referred to as the favorite, and the weaker team is referred to as the underdog. These collectively are referred to as spreads.

NHL, Baseball, WNBA Playoffs Betting Picks

In a point spread, you have to bet against the forecasted outcome one way or the other, you cannot just pick a team to win lose or it without laying down a lot of money or it would be too easy to beat a highly likely winner. Instead if a team is predicted to win by 7 points, the spread would be -7 towards that team. You then must place on a bet on whether you think the favorite would beat the underdog by at least 7 points, or if you think the underdog could cover and lose by less than 7 or win. Sometimes a game is considered highly contested and balanced that you might have what is called a pick-em where you simple pick which team will win. Point spreads are common in the NFL.

NBA Point Spreads and NCAA Lines Reviewed

After point spreads are established, you can then look at the moneyline bet. This is generally correlated to the point spread except it shows how money you can win based on your wager. Some sports do not use a point spread but rather just stick to a moneyline bet. For example, a team that was a -7 favorite would likely have a moneyline negative as well, say -200. That means, you would have to bet $100 to win $200. Alternatively there is a plus bet that goes with the underdog, say at 250. That means if you bet 100 and the underdog wins, you can win $250. Moneyline bets generally involve a higher wager to make money as opposed to point spreads. Moneyline picks are the most common wager instrument in the major sports of NBA, MLB, hockey, and soccer.

Nascar, PGA Golf and MMA UFC Betting Lines

In unique situations, where a game has a lot of prestige such as the NFL super bowl , NBA playoffs, or the Stanley Cup, you can bet on prop bets which are bets on specific things that could happen during a game. This is a play strictly based on odds of something happen against it not happening. An example might be whether a field goal would be the first type of score in the football game. At any time as people are betting one way or the other, the odds will adjust as people make picks one way or the other.

Premier League, British Open Championship and College Football Odds Every Week

Opening lines generally come out a week before an event but for major events like the Superbowl, it might be out for two weeks once the matchup is established. Football events opening lines generally come out on a Tuesday after all the previous weeks games have been played and is usually the sport most heavily used to gamble on. Basketball and MLB have games more frequently and usually the opening line might only exist for the day of an event.

Have you ever seen this number attached to a football game?

• Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings (+4.5)

When it comes to football betting, if you’ve ever watched a game, looked up a schedule, or simply read the news, then you’ve probably seen a positive or negative number attached to one of the two teams.

But what does this mean in relation to football?

Well, in the example, the (+4.5) is what’s is known as a “point spread.”

What is a point spread?

A point spread is a number that can be bet on and is given by sportsbooks, displaying the number a favored team is expected to beat the underdog team.

When it comes to the spread, there are two ways you might see it:

• Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings (+4.5)
• Green Bay Packers (-4.5) at Minnesota Vikings

The two examples mean the same thing because in both examples the point spread indicates the Green Bay Packers are favored by 4.5 points over the Minnesota Vikings.

The negative number always indicates the favorite and the positive number always indicates the underdog.

There are no half points in football, so in the example, betting on the Packers means they must win by 5 or more points for the bet to be won. Betting on the Vikings means they can win outright or lose by 4 or fewer points to have a winning wager.

What is a push?

A tie or “push” in a point spread refers to neither team covering due to the margin of victory landing on the exact number of the point spread.

• Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants (+6)
• Dallas Cowboys (-6) at New York Giants

Again, both examples mean the same thing. However, this margin of victory is possible since it includes a whole number.

To win a bet on the Cowboys in this point spread, they must win by 7 or more points, and to win a bet on the Giants, they must win outright or lose by no more than 5 points.

If the outcome of the game ends with the Cowboys winning by exactly 6 points, the sportsbook refunds all bets, since neither side won.

What is a pick’em game?

A “pick’em” or “PK” game occurs when the game between to two football teams is predicted to be so close that neither side is given points in a point spread. To win a bet when this happens, you only must pick which team will win the game without factoring in a margin of victory.

What is the payout on a point spread?

Once you’ve decided to place a bet at a sportsbook, you’ll see the second number next to the point spread.

• Auburn Tigers (+7) (-110)
• Alabama Crimson Tide (-7) (-110)

The bottom team is always the home team, and as stated above, the negative number indicates the favorite.

However, what does the (-110) next to the point spread mean?

This number is known as the odds and more specifically to NFL betting or college football betting, it’s known as “American Odds.” The odds will be either a positive or negative number.

• (-110) means betting $110 to win $100 for a total of $210.
• (+110) means betting $100 to win $110 for a total of $210.

In terms of odds in the point spread, positive numbers are rare, since the sportsbook is already giving you points in the margin of victory for picking the underdog.

Keep in mind that you don’t have to bet exactly $110 when you see (-110). The odds are determined as a percentage. Here are some other examples:

College Football Point Spreads Free

• A $1.10 bet wins $1.00
• A $11 bet wins $10
• A $1,100 bet wins $1,000

How do sportsbooks determine a point spread?

Both land-based and online sportsbooks hire oddsmakers and have algorithms to determine the initial point spread.

The goal of a sportsbook is to set the line perfectly and encourage the same amount of money to be placed on both football teams, which will guarantee a profit regardless of the winner. The reason for this is because the sportsbook adds a small amount of “juice” or “vigorish” to the odds, which is like a small tax or fee for letting you place a bet on the spread.

• Michigan Wolverines (+7) (-110)
• Ohio State Buckeyes (-7) (-110)

The amount of money that is bet on a game is known as “action,” and let’s say $2 million is bet on Ohio State and $1 million is bet on Michigan on the first day the point spread is displayed. Here is what the sportsbook would see:

If Ohio State (-7) (-110) wins by 8 or more, then the sportsbook:

• Takes in $3,000,000 total ($2,000,000 from bets on Ohio State)
• Loses $1,818,000 to winning Ohio State bets
• Gains $1,000,000 from losing Michigan bets
• Results in losing $818,000 total from Ohio State winning

What Is A Point Spread In Football Game

If Michigan (+7) (-110) wins outright or loses by 6 or fewer points, then the sportsbook:

What Is A Point Spread In Football Player

• Takes in $3,000,000 total ($1,000,000 from bets on Michigan)
• Loses $909,000 to winning Michigan bets
• Gains $2,000,000 from losing Ohio State bets
• Results in profiting 1,091,000 total from Michigan winning

If Michigan, the underdog, wins then the sportsbook makes a huge profit, but if Ohio State, the favorite, wins then the sportsbook will suffer a major loss. The sportsbook can’t risk losing this heavily or else they’d go out of business.

Why does the point spread change?

To encourage an even amount of money on both sides, sportsbooks will adjust the point as the game gets closer to encourage more money to be bet on the side receiving less “action.”

Again, let’s say $2 million is bet on Ohio State and $1 million is bet on Michigan on the first day. The next day, the spread might change to look like this:

• Michigan Wolverines (+12) (-110)
• Ohio State Buckeyes (-12) (-110)

As a result, more money will likely be bet on Michigan, since the value of the underdog has increased (going from +7 to +12) because they are given more points in the spread, making it more likely for them to cover.

Now, let’s assume this new spread replaced the original spread and an even amount of money before the line closed at kickoff. And let’s say an even $5 million was bet on each team, giving the sportsbook this outlook:

If Ohio State (-12) (-110) wins by 13 or more, then the sportsbook:

• Takes in $10,000,000 total ($5,000,000 from bets on Ohio State)
• Loses $4,545,000 to winning Ohio State bets
• Gains $5,000,000 from losing Michigan bets
• Results in profiting $465,000 total from Ohio State winning

If Michigan (+12) (-110) wins outright or loses by 11 or fewer points, then the sportsbook:

• Takes in $10,000,000 total ($5,000,000 from bets on Michigan)
• Loses $4,545,00 to winning Michigan bets
• Gains $5,000,000 from losing Ohio State bets
• Results in profiting $465,000 total from Michigan winning

In both scenarios, the sportsbook is guaranteed a profit of $465,000 because the exact amount of money was bet on both sides.

If money still isn’t coming in on the underdog, the sportsbook will either increase the spread further or change the odds, giving more value to the underdog.

• Michigan Wolverines (+14) (-105)
• Ohio State Buckeyes (-14) (-115)

Now, not only is Michigan given a larger point spread, but they are given better odds and payout. Before at (-110) a $110 bet wins $100, but now only a $105 bet is needed to win $100. On the flipside, Ohio State must win by even more and you must risk more money to win the same amount with a $115 bet now needed to win $100.

This goes both ways too. If the public believes the favorite is being overvalued, and more money is placed on the underdog, the margin of victory will close and possibly even flip to the underdog being favored.

Point Spread Summary

The key thing to realize is the point spread is not the predicted margin of victory between two teams like media and news outlets often portray.

In reality, the point spread is the margin of victory given to the favorite that will encourage both the favorite and the underdog to have an even amount of money bet on them, guaranteeing the sportsbook a profit as a result. If a sportsbook loses any money on a point spread, then the line or odds were not set correctly by the oddsmaker.

If you’re knowledgeable about football, then you could take advantage of a good or bad point spread. Just remember you aren’t actually betting against the sportsbook but rather against the money coming in on one of the two sides of the matchup determining the spread. You likely have a predicted outcome in mind for the matchup you want to bet on, but to be successful, you must find value when the odds and the point spread, betting only once both are in your favor.

The point spread is one of many wagering options available to bettors. Check out our page covering NFL betting options for more insight into how to bet on football.