If you are into sports betting, you must have heard about the term point spread quite often, especially in sporting events like basketball and football. From NBA to NFL, point spread is a part of numerous game tournaments. It’s basically a betting number decided by the sportsbook oddsmaker that puts a barrier between the opposition while betting. This ensures that betting is happening fair and square!
Let’s understand more about point spread in detail:
Point Spread Bet [Explanation With Example]
Point spread bet involves betting money on teams and players by assessing their performance and strength. It features scoring units in the form of goals, points, etc., to equalize the playing field.
Let’s understand this with an example. When it comes to college football, most of the time, Oklahoma thrashes Kansas to win the Big 12 battle. The role of point spread here would be to evaluate the margin by which Oklahoma may do so. Based on this information, the ultimate betting results are decided.
Note that spreads are decided on values. For example, if it says +7 spread for a game, it denotes that the underdog (one who has a lesser chance of winning) is getting 7 points. Likewise, if the values show -7, it means that the favored team is deposing 7 points.
How to Read a Point Spread?
Before jumping into the spread scoreboard, you need to know how to read them. For that, we will take an example of a Super Bowl LIV match between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City. Their spread says that San Francisco 49ers are at +1.5 and Kansas City are at -1.5.
Now that we have values let’s first identify the team that’s favored. Here, Kansas City is the favored team because it has the minus sign before the value. Likewise, the San Francisco 49ers are the underdog because it has the plus sign before the value.
To cover the spread, Kansas City has to win the game with 2 points or more. In the case of the team San Francisco 49ers, they need to lose with at least 1 point or win the game completely to cover the spread.
In the end, the game was won by Kansa city with the values of 31-20. This means that they won by a whopping 11 points! It was also more than the 1.5 point spread value. So, besides winning the game, they also covered the spread.
What Does the Term “Cover the Spread” Means?
Now, you must be curious about the term “covered the spread” mentioned above. Basically, “cover the spread” means to win the spread bet. So, if a bettor wagers on a favorite team, they should win the game by values greater than the point spread. This will ensure that they “covered the spread.”
For example: Let’s say a spread is favored at -7.5. This means to win the bet for the favored team; they have to cover at least 8 points. If they score less than seven but win the game, it wouldn’t count. That’s because they failed to cover the spread.
How Do Oddsmakers Decide the Point Spread?
Oddsmakers regulate the it by assessing the skills of the team. They use their own power rankings to come up with the same. However, other factors like location, weather, injuries, and current form also help to determine the spread.
The best thing about point spread is that it lets you take favored teams without experiencing the financial risks. That’s, indeed, a plus point for sports gamblers!