Football spread what does it mean

Likewise, a team can lose the game but win the point spread bet. Winning a point spread game is called covering against the spread and only one team can cover per match.

In our example above, if the Cowboys win by more than 5. In spread betting, you have two options: the favorite or the underdog. The favorite will be displayed with negative odds, which is a minus symbol - followed by a number Spread betting sounds confusing, but it really isn't. If the Dallas Cowboys are If the spread numbers are both 5.

If the spread was At Who will win? If you want a simple way to bet on football, learn to bet the moneyline. Get bigger odds and bigger returns - find out how to make the most of parlays. JavaScript is disabled on your browser, or your browser doesn't support it. Since some teams are better than others, moneyline bets will have odds based on the perceived probability that a team will win.

A big underdog who is considered very unlikely to win will pay a lot more than a team who is considered a heavy favorite. Betting the moneyline on big underdogs might be exciting when you hit a nice payout but those payouts are fairly infrequent. On the other hand, betting favorites generally return more wins but those wins tend to be much smaller.

It was invented in North America by a math teacher to make wagering on the weaker team in games with a huge favorite. The most simple way to think of it is that the weaker team is given additional points before the game starts.

Sometimes spreads are given in other low-scoring points but these are a special kind of odd specific to a sport. The reason low scores are ignored is that adding a single point, or even half-point to the score of a hockey or baseball game could shift the odds wildly. Here is an NFL example featuring some real odds for an upcoming game:. Here Carolina is indicated as the favorite because their spread is Before placing the bet it is vital that you also take the odds into account.

Completing that math is very important since a bet on Denver adds points, but does eliminate some of your return on investment. The only way you lose a point spread bet on an underdog is if the favorite beats that underdog by a margin greater than the spread. In this case, if the Volunteers win by more than 3 points, your bet would lose.

These teams are the underdog for a good reason, and the spreads are usually quite accurate. When you consider a market, you should assume the bet is set up for you to lose. Some factors could mitigate that risk, however, and one of those is the movement of spreads. Bettors have some control over where these lines sit. Like most other businesses, sportsbooks react to customer behavior. If most of the action goes on one side of a market, the sportsbook will adjust. One way to do this is by lengthening the odds on the side that bettors are avoiding to entice other bettors to effectively even the action.

The action on the market is the primary reason oddsmakers move point spread lines. There are other factors ; however, that could change lines before a game, such as:. Because of these factors, it might be wise to wait until right before a game starts to place your wager. The advantage of doing so is you are working with as much information as possible. Which method is best depends on the unique circumstances of each market. Many football bettors are eager to bet the spread earlier in the week when uncertainty around a matchup can result in inaccurate betting lines.

As the oddsmakers are paying close attention to the news , you should be as well. If a vital update drops, you will be quick to react in your best interest.

Although TN sportsbook apps are happy to take your money on as many individual point spreads as you care to wager on, there could be a better way to place bets on multiple spreads. That method is a parlay bet. Parlaying multiple individual point spread lines into one bet is a way to increase your reward and your risk. Instead of making each bet separately, you could opt to parlay each as a leg of one bet.

The risk increases because you must pick the correct side in each leg. If your prediction holds in even three of these four legs but not the fourth, your bet is a loss.