What Is Spread in Betting Sports?
If you’re new to sports betting, you may be wondering what “spread” means. In betting, the spread is the difference between the two teams’ predicted scores. The favorite team is typically given a negative spread (e.g. -5), while the underdog team is given a positive spread (e.g. +5).
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Introduction
Sports betting is immensely popular all over the world, and one of the most common bet types is the spread bet. But what is a spread bet?
In short, a spread bet is a wager on the outcome of a sporting event where the pay-out is based on the accuracy of the prediction. For example, if you bet that Team A will score more points than Team B in a basketball game, and they do, you will be paid out based on the difference in the two teams’ scores.
The key thing to remember with spread betting is that your payout is not fixed; it can be higher or lower than your original stake depending on how right or wrong your prediction turns out to be. This makes spread betting a bit of a risky proposition, but one that can be very rewarding if your predictions are accurate.
If you’re interested in giving spread betting a try, there are many online sportsbooks that offer this type of wagering. Just be sure to do your research and understand the risks before placing any bets.
What Is Spread in Betting Sports?
The most common type of sports betting is wagering on the outcome of a game with a point spread. A point spread is a projected number of points that separate two teams in a contest. The favorite is given a negative point spread (-5.5, -11, etc.), while the underdog is given a positive point spread (+5.5, +11, etc.).
In order for bettors to cash in on a point spread bet, the favorite must lose by more points than they are projected to win by or the underdog must win the game outright or lose by less points than they are projected to lose by. For example, let’s say the New England Patriots are playing the Miami Dolphins and the Patriots are -6.5 point favorites (-110). This means that odds makers believe that New England should win this game by 6.5 points.
In order for bettors who took the Patriots at -6.5 to cash in on their bets, New England must either win the game outright or lose by less than 6 points. Likewise, for bettors who took the Dolphins at +6.5, Miami must either win outright or lose by less than 7 points. If the Patriots win by exactly 6 points, then it is considered a push and both sides simply get their original wager back with no additional payout.
How to Use Spread in Betting Sports?
In betting sports, the spread is the most common way to bet on point-scored based games, like football and basketball. The spread is a handicap given to one team in order to level the playing field. For example, if the Green Bay Packers are 14-point favorites against the Minnesota Vikings, it means that they are expected to win by 14 points. In order for a bettor to win a bet on the Packers, they need them to win by more than 14 points. Conversely, if a bettor wants to bet on the Vikings, they would need the Packers to lose by less than 14 points or for the Vikings to outright win the game.
The point spread is not the only way to bet on sports, but it is the most popular form of betting on point-scored based games. There are also moneyline bets, which are simply wagers on which team will win without any handicap given. For example, in a game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics, if the Lakers are -250 favorites and the Celtics are +200 underdogs, a bettor would need to risk $250 to win $100 on the Lakers while a bettor would only need to risk $100 to win $200 on the Celtics. Moneyline bets don’t have as much action as point spread bets do because there is no handicap given and therefore no value in betting either side.
Conclusion
The answer to the question “What is spread in betting sports?” is that it is the difference between the odds for the favorite and the odds for the underdog. The favorite is the team that is favored to win, and the underdog is the team that is not favored to win. The spread is designed to even out the betting so that there is not a huge discrepancy between what someone who bets on the favorite and what someone who bets on the underdog can win.
