Pointspread betting is an elegant solution to the dilemma that bettors face when they quickly realize that all teams are not created equal. With most games featuring a clear favorite to win, using pointspread betting to make the two teams more even is an option that both bettors and sportsbooks can see eye to eye on.
How do you Balance the Moneyline with Points?
Betting a sporting event on the moneyline is simply a bet on which player or team will win. Because one side is usually considered more likely to win than the other, each side is offered at a different price.
For example, say the Cincinnati Bengals are visiting the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens are the better team and they have home field advantage, so they are expected to win the game. They are listed as -200 favorites and Cincinnati is set as a +170 underdog.
The “-” indicates how much you would have to wager to win $100, in this case $200. Even if you aren’t betting $100, the ratio would work out the same, such as $100 to win $50.
On bets with a “+”, the number listed is how much you would win on a $100 wager, in this case $170. Cincinnati is the underdog on Sunday and is considered to be less likely to win. Therefore, a bet on the Bengals to win outright will pay better than a bet on the favorite.
These moneyline options are both valid, but may not be right for everyone. Say you are extremely confident in the Ravens to win comfortably and want to make a big wager on them of $500. A bet of $500 will only earn a profit of $250 if Baltimore wins. To win $500, you’d have to place a bet of $1,000, which is quite steep.
Conversely, let’s say you think Cincinnati has a legitimate shot on Sunday. You want to bet on them, but you know that the Ravens are the better team. This means they should to find a way to win in the end. A moneyline bet doesn’t seem worth the risk.
This is where pointspread betting comes into play.
How do Pointspreads Work?
Instead of betting on your preferred side of the example above on the moneyline, you decide instead to do some pointspread betting. It reads Cincinnati +5 (-110) vs. Baltimore -5 (-110). Baltimore is a 5-point favorite and Cincinnati is a 5-point underdog.
What this means is, if you bet on Baltimore at -5, you are spotting the Bengals five points in this game. If the Ravens win by six points or more, your bet will be graded a winner. If Baltimore loses the game outright or only wins by 1-4 points, your bet against the spread is a loss.
Meanwhile, betting Cincinnati +5 means that you are being given five extra points in this game. You win if Cincinnati wins the game or if it loses by four points or less. In the event that Baltimore wins by six points or more, you lose.
If the final score is 27-24 Ravens, Baltimore -5 bettors lose, as a deduction of five points (27 – 5 = 22) would make the score 24-22 Cincinnati. Cincinnati +5 is victorious as 24 + 5 = 29 for a 29-27 win against the spread.
A final score of 30-9 Baltimore would make the Ravens a 25-9 winner (30 – 5 = 25) as 5-point favorites and Cincinnati a 25-14 loser (9 + 5 = 14) as 5-point underdogs. In the event of a 26-21 Baltimore win, both sides would be graded as a push with Baltimore -5 resulting in a 21-21 tie and Cincinnati +5 resulting in a 26-26 tie. This is why many lines are listed with a half-point (such as Cincinnati +4.5, Baltimore -4.5). It is so ties aren’t possible.
How can you Profit on Pointspread Betting?
You can now see the appeal of point spread betting for the two bettors mentioned in the segment above. For the bettor that wants to get action in on Baltimore, the -110 price is much more enticing than the -200 as a bet to win $500 will now only risk $550. The nervous Cincinnati backer can feel far more confident placing a wager on the Bengals at +5 instead of on the moneyline. He will win his bet if the Bengals win outright like he predicts, but the close loss by three or four points he is worried about will also come out as a winner.
What does it Mean to “Pay the Juice”?
Bettors that are first getting started often wonder why they have to risk $110 to win $100 on their preferred side of the pointspread instead of just $100 to win $100. That extra $10 is known as the juice, or the vigorish. This is essentially the fee that the sportsbook charges to take the bet.
While this may seem like an unfair advantage to the sportsbook, this business model actually works to the player’s advantage. If sportsbooks decided to book bets at even money, they would only offer games they had a strong preference in and only take action against the teams that they preferred. There would be no incentive to offer games they didn’t want to bet on themselves.
The juice allows sportsbooks the opportunity to offer a spread on every game, and in turn it gives the players a chance to bet on those games. And while the book has to pick a line for every game on the board, the player only has to bet on the games he likes. Keep this in mind when making your selections. Since you have to pay the juice, don’t feel obligated to bet on everything. Stick to the games you have a strong opinion on and you can overcome the juice and be a winner in the long run.
Always pay attention to the price on the juice when betting pointspreads. Sometimes the price will be split -115 to -105 or -120 to +100, instead of the standard split of -110 to -110.
What are the Most Popular Games for Pointspread Betting?
The two most popular games to bet on the pointspread in are football and basketball. These two sports lend themselves well to pointspreads, due to the high-scoring nature of these games. While more low-scoring sports like baseball and hockey are often decided by slim margins, football and basketball can easily produce double-digit margins of victory and defeat. Those margins are even more drastic at the college level.
Without the pointspread, many football and basketball games would be virtually impossible to bet on. Golden State as a -1000 favorite at home against Phoenix at +675 isn’t very appealing on either side. But Phoenix +12.5 at Golden State -12.5 is suddenly a much more interesting game.
Baseball and hockey do things differently than football and basketball. Instead of every game having its own unique spread, every baseball and hockey game has a 1.5-point underdog and a 1.5-point favorite. Since the spreads are the same on every game, the payouts are different from game to game. One might read Seattle Mariners +1.5 (-115) at New York Yankees (+105). Another could be San Diego Padres +1.5 (-180) at San Francisco Giants (+160).
Final Points for Pointspread Betting
In some instances, two teams are so evenly matched that they don’t need a pointspread. These games are called a “pick’em”, with both sides going off at -110 without any point handicaps. This is signified with a “PK” on the betting board where the numbers for the spreads usually are.
As is the case with all sports betting lines, pointspreads can fluctuate throughout the week. Sportsbooks will adjust lines throughout the week as they receive betting action on one side or the other. For example, New England is a 7-point favorite at home against the Miami Dolphins. Most people are betting on New England. The line could steadily move from New England -7 to -7.5, -8, -8.5 and beyond. This will in turn make a wager on Miami more enticing as bettors who didn’t like the Dolphins at +7. They may now like them at +8.5.
Always remember that the pointspread you bet the game at is what you have locked in regardless of whether or not the line moves before the game begins. You cannot cancel or change your wager if the line gets better than what you got it at. However, the sportsbook also can’t cancel or change your wager if the line gets worse.
Pointspread betting is a cornerstone of sports betting, especially in football and basketball. Even on ESPN and in the mainstream media, pointspreads and sports betting lines that were once considered taboo. They are now prominently featured in segments and discussions. They unequivocally make games more interesting; the rest of the bar may have turned away from this USC Trojans vs. Oregon State Beavers game with the Trojans holding a 31-3 lead with two minutes to go. But for bettors holding on to that pointspread bet, the action will go down to the wire.