NFL Football is arguably the most popular sport to bet on in America today. For instance, the Super Bowl is not only the most watched but also the most heavily bet upon sporting event each and every year. So, due to its increasing popularity and the fact that an NFL wager can be placed on the internet by anyone over the age of 18, we felt it necessary to offer a crash course into the NFL point spread for our novice gamblers.

• What Is The Spread On The Superbowl Game
• What Is The Spread On The Bills Game

Wagering on the NFL revolves around the point spread in which one team is designated the favorite and the other team is called the underdog. The NFL point spread sets a specific number of points that the favorite must win by in order for a person betting that particular team to win their wager. Lets use an example from last week's NFL slate to demonstrate the art of NFL point spreads. This past weekend the New England Patriots played the Seattle Seahawks. The Patriots were four point favorites in that game. So in your local newspaper, you might have seen something similar to this illustration.

NFL Point Spread

Point Spread: Commonly called the line or spread, it is the number chosen by Las Vegas and overseas oddsmakers that they feel will get an equal number of people to wager on the underdog as on the.

• Point spread Betting on the point spread is determinant on how many points a team wins or loses. Take the following example: Ravens -6.5 (-110).
• We detail all of the most popular basketball odds from all of the biggest games, including Moneyline, Points Totals, and Spread lines as well as championship basketball odds and awards. Shopping the odds is a key to long-term success when wagering on basketball with the difference of a point often making a difference in close games.
• A point spread in sports is a way for oddsmakers to make a matchup between two unbalanced teams more balanced by giving points to or taking points away from each team.
• In two home games as an underdog — against Wisconsin (+7) and Penn State (+1) — the Wolverines lost by more than the spread. Ohio State has won eight straight in this classic rivalry game.

Seattle Seahawks +4
New England Patriots -4

All this means to someone betting on New England is that in order for them to win their wager the Patriots must win by more than four points. For another bettor placing his money on Seattle, the Seahawks must either win the game outright or lose by less than four points. If the outcome of the game were to be decided by exactly four points, it what result in what is called a “push” where both bettors would neither win or lose their wager.

However, the Patriots won the game by a score of 30-20. Therefore, because the Patriots won by ten points, they covered the NFL point spread of four points. If you bet on the Patriots you cashed a winning a ticket but if you bet the Seahawks you lost your wager.

The idea of explaining NFL point spreads may seem elementary to the experienced sports gambler, but is necessary for anyone considering betting on the NFL so we hope were able to clearly demonstrate the nitty-gritty of NFL point spreads.

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As a fan, you don’t care if your team wins by a point or 100. A win is a win, though that 100-point win would be a little easier on the nerves.

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 the “side.” Most baseball, hockey and soccer bets are on the moneyline, which is betting on a team to win straight up with adjusted odds. Football and basketball have moneyline bets available too, but most people will take the point spread.

The concept can be a bit confusing if you’ve never dabbled in sports betting before.

Why bet with the point spread?

The point spread was created to attract more action on a game. When the San Francisco 49ers are expected to blow out the Arizona Cardinals, it’s not enticing to lay $300 to win $100 on a moneyline. But when the 49ers are 11-point favorites and each side is -110 odds? That’s much easier.

In that example, the 49ers are spotting the Cardinals 11 points before the game starts, at least for bettors. The 49ers have to win by 12 or more points to cover the spread. If the Cardinals win or lose by 10 or less, that side wins the bet. If the game lands on 11, like a 21-10 49ers win, it’s a push and all bets are refunded. If you see a -11 that means that team is favored, and +11 means you’re taking the underdog.

Nothing sharpens your math skills better than trying to figure out how big your lead as a bettor is if you have a 22.5-point basketball underdog that is losing 90-72.

The problem with the point spread can be when a team — which really doesn’t care that you bet the favorite at -11 — has a 14-point lead but gives up a meaningless score at the end to win by only seven points. They’re still happy with the win. You, as a bettor, are not.

Point spreads lead to bad beats

The most infamous example of a bad beat with the point spread probably came in the 2004 Final Four at the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

Duke was a 2.5-point underdog against UConn. The Huskies rallied late and took a 79-75 lead on a free throw with 3.2 seconds left. The game itself was over; Duke couldn’t score twice in a few seconds. But Duke guard Chris Duhon pulled up for a running 3-pointer just over the half-court line and banked it in at the buzzer. Duke lost 79-78, but bettors who had Duke and 2.5 points won. March Madness is a huge event for bettors, and reports at the time estimated that Duhon’s “meaningless” shot resulted in a $30 or $40 million swing in Nevada. UConn players celebrated at the final buzzer. UConn bettors doubled over in pain. That’s the difference between betting the moneyline and the point spread.

What Is The Spread On The Superbowl Game

Baseball and hockey have point spreads too, the “run line” in baseball and “puck line” in hockey. It’s generally 1.5 with odds adjusting accordingly. Taking a big baseball favorite at -1.5 runs can make the odds more palatable. Of course, betting the New York Yankees at -1.5 to bring down the odds from -190 to -110 isn’t too fun when they win 4-3 and you don’t cash a bet.

What Is The Spread On The Bills Game

Betting on the point spread is the most common way to wager on sports. And the first time you take a favorite that wins the game but doesn’t cover the spread, you’ll understand every bettor’s heartbreak.