Sports Wagering Gambling Guide - Football Point Spread Explained

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The NFL Point Spread Explained

Betting on the point spread in the NFL is the most popular form of sports betting. It is also one of the easiest to understand. The point spread in an NFL game is a number that is made up by odds-makers that is then given to sportsbooks. The sportsbooks then offer the number given to them to the betting public so they can either bet on the underdog or the favorite.

The point spread number is come up with in the idea that the public will bet around the same amount of money on each team. However, this rarely happens, as there is almost always more money bet on one team, usually the favorite. The favorite is a love of the betting public, as they often are on the winning end of a blowout rather then the losing end.

Here is an example of a typical NFL point spread:
Washington Redskins +7.5 -110
Dallas Cowboys -7.5 -110

In this example you see that the Redskins have a + in front of their number and that number is the actual point spread. If there is a + in front of a number then that team is the underdog in that game and the team with the – in front of the number is the favorite. The number of points after the + is the number of points that the team is given to their final score. You can also say that those points are what you are getting. In simple terms, getting points is adding the point spread to the team’s final score when the game is over. If the team you bet on has more points then the other team after you add the points you get on their final score, you win your bet. In this example, let’s say you bet on the Redskins and they ended up losing 23-20. You add the 7.5 to the final score making it Redskins 27.5 Cowboys 23.

On the other side of the coin if you took the Cowboys in this game and they win by 8 or less points, you lose your bet. If you take the favorite, you simply subtract the point spread from the final score.

The -110 next to each of the team shows how much money you have to bet in order to win $100.

The point spread exists in football, as, in theory, one team is better then the other one and to make them more even the point spread makes the wager equal.