Example of a Football Point Spread Bet

When you look at a point spread, you will see one team with a negative number and one team with a positive number. Remember, for sports betting purposes, points are subtracted from the favorite team's final score to determine if the favorite is a winner. That is why the the favorite team is always listed with a negative number.

As you might expect, the reverse is true for the underdog. The underdog team is given a positive number because points are added to the underdog team's final score to determine if the underdog is a winner for purposes of the sports bet. Events that tie are considered "no action" - no one wins or loses. Let's look at an example.

Football is one of the sports that commonly uses spread bets. The Oakland Raiders are playing the New York Jets. The Raiders are expected to win the game and the spread is 6. So, you see the Raiders listed as -6 and the Jets listed as +6. You place a bet on the Raiders. If the Raiders win by more than 6 points, you win the bet. If the Raiders only win by 6 points, then the game is considered "no action" and all money is returned. If the Raiders win by less than 6 points, you lose the bet.

Note that when you place point spread bets, you are generally laying 110 to win 100 (the book needs it's juice).

Try a couple of spread bets and soon point spreads will become second nature. It is a very fun and challenging method of betting.