POINT SPREAD BETTING

Point Spread

Spread picks are one most popular bet type especially in NFL, and NBA. These two particular sports score higher point averages. When reading point spread picks, you have the two options, (-)represents the “favorite” (+)represents the “underdog.” These symbols are usually followed by a number shown here: (-5.5) or (+5.5). Let’s take a closer look at (-5.5), the (-) is the “favorite” or team with the high odds of winning.

The Breakdown

The 5.5 represents how many points the team has to win by. When reading this it would translate into Chiefs need to win by at least 6 points. For (+5.5), the (+) is the “underdog” or team that is more likely to lose. The 5.5 represents how many points they need to lose by. The translation would be, Bills need to lose by 5 or less points. Let’s use a real game example.

These examples are using American odds, but can be converted into fractional, or decimal if you prefer to use those formats.

Reading Point Spreads

If you placed your bet like this (-5.5) Chiefs then you would have won. Now, if you were to place your bet like this (+5.5) you also would have won, because you are betting that the Bills are going to lose by at least 5 points.

Now let’s apply this with money. I’ve noticed that a lot of sportsbooks use -110 on their odds sheets so we will use that for the example. Sportsbooks take a 10% commission or “juice” off any bets that are placed. For every $1 you bet, you risk $1.10. If you want to win $100, you have to bet $110. Let’s take a closer look.