Point spread betting is a way for casinos to handicap the favored team and it’s a really exciting way to bet on all kinds of sports from football to baseball to basketball.
On this page we’ll explain step by step what point spread bets are and how to place them at online sportsbooks and casinos. We’ll go into detail about how they work in all the major sports and, most importantly, how to find teams that are the most likely to cover the spread.
Point Spread Bets Explained in Detail
When two teams face off, one side typically has better odds of winning than the other. That’s the favorite, and it’s the team that most people want to bet on. However, if everyone bet on the same team to win, sportsbooks risk massive losses.
That’s why bookmakers try to get an equal amount of action on both sides of every bet. That way they’re guaranteed to make a profit from the vig they charge regardless of which team wins. One way sportsbooks make both teams equally appealing to bettors is by offering what’s called point spread betting.
Point spreads require the dominant team to win by a certain number of points or goals, while also allowing the underdogs to lose by that same number of points or goals and still pay out if you bet on them. That way, choosing between both teams is more like a 50/50 coin toss. This popular form of betting has been used with sports since the 1940s and is common with all sorts of leagues, including NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB and soccer.
How Does Point Spread Betting Work?
The goal of the point spread is to even the playing field between two teams in a game. When both teams attract an equal amount of betting action, sportsbooks are able to offer higher payouts, especially with games that feature lopsided opponents.
In order to do that, handicappers establish a margin of victory (and loss) that both teams must cover in order to win the bet. Represented as a number, the point spread wager acts in three ways:
- There is the actual point spread.
- It adds points/goals to the final score of the underdog.
- It deducts points/goals from the final score of the point favorite.
If the team you picked still wins after the point modification, your spread bet wins.
Common Example of Point Spreads in Action
For example, with a 4-point spread, the favorite team must win by more than 4 points for bettors to get paid. Conversely, the underdogs can lose by 1, 2, or 3 points (or win the game outright) and still win the bet. However, if the underdogs lose by more than 4 points, the bet is a loss.
Let’s look at a specific example to see how sportsbooks advertise point spreads and how they work:
- Los Angeles Rams -7
- Minnesota Vikings +7
In this example the Rams must win by more than seven points to cover the spread while the Vikings can lose by six or less points or win the game outright for them to cover the spread.
Point Spreads and Payout Odds
How much you get paid on your point spread bet depends on the odds listed at the time of the bet. Beside every point spread in parentheses are the odds that determine the payout. They’re expressed as American odds and they look just like the odds you’d find on a moneyline bet such as +125 or -120. In order to figure out your payout, first look at whether the odds are negative or positive.
- Negative odds show how much you’d need to bet in order to win $100.
- Positive odds show how much you’d win from a $100 bet.
- For example, if the odds are -125, you’d have to bet $125 to win $100.
- For a positive bet of +185, you’d win $185 in profit off a $100 bet.
Using multiples of 100 makes it quick and easy to see the value and cost of a bet; it doesn’t mean your bets need to be $100. You can bet however much you want within the maximum and minimum betting parameters outlined in a sportsbook, and the payout will be scaled up or down based on how much money you stake.
Rules for Point Spread Betting
Rules for point spread betting include locking in odds, scenarios that result in a push and the inclusion or exclusion of overtime. We’ll cover all of these rules, so you know exactly what to expect from your spread bet.
- When placing a spread bet, the odds you take at that time are the odds that are used to determine your payout. It’s very common for spreads to change as the game approaches, but these changes won’t affect the bet you’ve locked in.
- Point spreads are either whole numbers, or they can include a half-number like 4.5, for example. When the spread is a whole number, like 4, there’s a chance that the favorite will win by the exact number presented in the spread. When this happens, the bet is neither a win nor loss; it’s a push, which means that all money is returned to bettors.
- Overtime and penalty shots (in the case of NHL) are included in spread betting outcomes for all major sports except tournament soccer-like World Cup. Unless it’s a friendly match, a soccer spread bet does not include overtime.
