Source: https://www.wsn.com/betting-guide/point-spread-betting

For more betting guides visit: https://www.wsn.com/betting-guide

To find out if online sports betting is legal in your state, go to: https://www.wsn.com/sports-betting-usa

Video Transcript:

Since teams are never exactly evenly matched when they play each other, oddsmakers need a way to level the playing field and make both teams appealing for people to bet on.

Point spreads are used to handicap the better team by creating a margin of points that they have to win by.

The underdog, on the other hand, gets the advantage of being able to lose by a certain number of points and still cover the spread.

Point spreads are one of the most common ways to bet on sports and in this video we’ll explain everything you need to know to start betting on point spreads in your favorite sport right now.

HOW TO READ POINT SPREADS

The easiest way to understand point spread bets is to look at an example of one in action.

First of all, when you see a point spread bet listed it’ll look something like this:

(example)
Cleveland Browns +8.5 (-110)
Pittsburgh Steelers -8.5 (-110)

You’ll see both team names with numbers listed beside them:

The first number next to the team name is the point spread. The plus symbol shows you which team is the underdog and how many points they can lose by and still cover the spread.

In this example the Browns can lose by eight or less points, or win the game outright, for bets on them to win.

The team that’s favored to win gets the minus symbol and that’s how many points they have to win by to cover the spread. In this example the Steelers have to win by nine or more points for bets on them to win.

Another way to think about point spreads is to take the game’s final score and add or subtract the spread to it. Whichever team has more points after that wins the point spread bets.

If the final score in this game was 14-7 for the Steelers, for example, just add 8.5 points to the Browns to see which team covered the spread. With the 8.5 point margin the Browns win 15-14.

Understanding Point Spread Odds

Going back to our example, you’ll always see another set of numbers next to the point spread, one for each team.

These are the odds and they tell you how much a bet on each team pays out.

This example uses American odds and even though it looks a little confusing, it’s actually pretty simple.

When you see a negative number, like -110 in our example, that’s how much you have to bet to win $100 in profit.

In this case a $110 bet on either team will pay out $210 total, $100 in profit plus your original $110 wager.

-110 is the most common odds for point spreads but sometimes you’ll see a positive number instead.

A positive number means the team is even more of an underdog. The number with the plus symbol is how much profit you’ll win for every $100 you bet.

If a team’s listed with odds of +150, for example, a $100 bet on them would pay out $250 total: $150 in profit plus your original $100 bet.

Sometimes you’ll see odds listed in fractions or decimals but it’s just another way of showing you the exact same thing.

If you’re betting online the casino will do the math for you. Just choose the bet, enter the amount you want to wager and the site will automatically calculate the odds and tell you how much you can win.

For more information on the different kinds of point spreads including tips and strategies to help you make more winning bets, check out the full guide at WSN.com.

Thanks for watching and good luck.

Find out more about Kurt Long here: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1273767/