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Talladega, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second half of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship kicks off this weekend with the "wild card" race at Talladega Superspeedway. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Good Sam Club 500 - Talladega Supersp

<< Cards clip Rangers to take Fall Classic opener
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cardinals used a similar script they followed while capturing the National League pennant in Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday. Behind a go-ahead, pinch-hit single by Allen Craig in the s

<< Blake ousts del Potro in Stockholm
Stockholm, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - American James Blake upended former U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro in straight sets in second-round action Wednesday at the Stockholm Open. The two-time Stockholm titlist Blake dou

<< Leafs down Jets in shootout
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joffrey Lupul scored twice in regulation and posted the shootout winner, as Toronto rallied from a two-goal deficit to down Winnipeg, 4-3, at Air Canada Centre. Phil Kessel added a goal and two assists for

EWU's Matt Johnson career over from injury >>
Cheney, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eastern Washington All-America safety Matt Johnson will undergo surgery to repair a biceps tendon injury, bringing an end to the senior's season and collegiate career. Johnson suffered the injury in a Week 2 los

La Russa continues to press all the right buttons >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Everyone has that annoying neighbor who comes over uninvited and then always seems to stay a little too long. The St. Louis Cardinals have become that neighbor. Tony La Russa's crew grabbed a 1-0 World Series lead over T

Cards try to go two games up on Rangers in World Series >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals weren't even assured a playoff spot heading into the final day of the regular season. They now find themselves three wins away from a World Series title. Tonight, they try to go two games up on the

Unbeaten Caps pay a visit to Flyers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals will try to extend their season- opening winning streak to six games when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers for tonight's Eastern Conference showdown at Wells Fargo Center. The Capitals have

What Is the Point Spread?

What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?

In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.

Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).

If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).

Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.

How to Read Point Spreads

New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles

The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)

In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:

• Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
  OR
  
• Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.

• There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.

  The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:

  Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots

  Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.

  For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically

  Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:

• Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
  OR
  
• Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score

  Who Really “Won” the Super Bowl odds ?

  Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21

  The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.

  Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.

  Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).

  Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.

  And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.

To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.