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In sports betting, how much a team wins by is usually all that matters. The most popular way to bet for the two most popular sports, basketball and football, is with the point spread, also known as. A point spread in sports is a way for oddsmakers to make a matchup between two unbalanced teams more balanced by giving points to or taking points away from each team. Sports Predictors. Predictem.com Check this site out for tons of free sports picks against the point spread and betting advice from their team of prognosticators! OddsShark.com Betting odds and total lines aren't the only thing they have. Get predicted outcomes on every game on the board - ALL FREE! Second only to moneyline bets, point spread bets are the next most popular type of sports bet that you can make. Whether you are an expert sharp who crushes the books or you’re a brand-new bettor, point spread bets are most likely going to be a big part of your winning betting.

Point Spreads Betting on a point spread is the most common type of sports bet. Point spreads are in essence a handicap to even the odds between two teams. The favorite will always have a minus sign attached to their number, while the underdog can be identified with a plus sign.

How to read Super Bowl 55 Odds

The Kansas City Chiefs wil meet the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl 55 from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on Feb. 7, 2021.

The Chiefs opened as -3.5 betting favorites while the Buccaneers are 3.5 underdogs.

After early wagers came in, most operators are holding Kansas City -3 (-120).

If you were to wager on Kansas City -3, you would have to lay 5/6 odds (Bet $120 to win $100) instead of your normal 10/11 juice (Bet $110 to win $100).

How Does Point Spread Sports Betting Work

The return on Tampa Bay would be even-money (1/1) and a $100 wager would return $100.

The total or over-under on Super Bowl 55 is hovering between 56 and 57 points.

How to read NFL Las Vegas Odds

The point-spread was developed to provide a balance for both teams involved in a contest to entice bettors to potentially back the weaker team and receive points. The two squads in a game are listed with a title, either a favorite or an underdog. The favorite is usually the perceived better team in the game, as backing them means giving up several points.

The favorite is always listed with a minus (-) sign before the point-spread while the underdog is labeled with a plus (+) label.

Ex. Favorite -10, Underdog +10

On the VegasInsider.com odds page, there is another number associated with the favorite and its listed as -10. This number is simply defined as “vig” or what many in the sports betting industry call vigorish. Another common term is called “juice” and it’s technically the price the bettor has to pay on a straight wager.

Ex. Bet $110 to win $100 (10% juice)
Ex. Bet $100 to win $90.91 (10% juice)

It's not uncommon to see other values posted other than -10. Examples seen on the NFL Vegas Odds pages could include -08, -12, -15 and -20. The -10 price is the most common value in the industry while many books offer reduced 'juice odds' and that would fall into the -08 category.

The lower-juice sportsbooks are normally found outside of the state Nevada. If you are in a state where sports betting is legal, please check out our online sportsbook directory to find the best and most secure places to make NFL bets.

Another number that’s posted on the NFL Las Vegas is the total or ‘over/under’ for the specific matchup. If the favorite is designated as the home team, then the total will be listed above and vice versa if the visitors are favorites.

All of the above numbers are listed next to the teams, and before each matchup is a Rotation number. The NFL Las Vegas Odds are listed in order of rotation and those numbers are generated and produced by the sportsbooks. Above each matchup and rotation is the Time of the game, which is subject to change. All game times are Eastern Standard Time.

Football Spread Betting Explained

NFL Open Line

One of the best features on the NFL Vegas Odds is the Open Line. This numbers consists of the first betting line received from one of our Las Vegas or Global Sportsbooks. The opening line varies depending on the sportsbook but it provides a clear-cut rating that the oddsmakers use. If you’re betting on the NFL or any other sport, it’s a great idea to view the open line first.

VI Consensus NFL Line

The VegasInsider.com Consensus NFL Line is just as important as the Open Line and also a key resource on odds platform. The Consensus column could be called a “Median Line” since it shows the most consistent number provided by the sportsbooks on VegasInsider.com. The consensus line will be the same as the open line but once the wagers start coming in, this number is often different than the openers.

How do I bet on the Super Bowl?

We know that you can bet on the Super Bowl and all of NFL Futures or bet on the NFL Draft at any time of the year, but what’s the process? The future wager or the “Odds to Win” bet on the Super Bowl is correctly selecting a team to win an event that takes place at a later time. A bettor will have his wagered money tied up until there is an outcome and bettors will receive fixed odds when they place the wager. In the case of the Super Bowl, you’re not a winner or loser until you see zeros on the clock in the final game.

Most sportsbooks offer different ways to read to Super Bowl Odds. In the fractional NFL Futures Odds format below, you simply take the odds and multiply by the amount wagered.

Ex. Green Bay (8/1) to win the Super Bowl

The Packers are listed as an 8/1 betting choice to win the Super Bowl. If you wager $100 on Green Bay to win the NFC and they capture the championship, then you would win $800 (8 ÷ 1 x 100). Your online betting account would then credit your account $900, which includes your win and stake ($100).

The American Format would see Green Bay listed at +800 and for the Decimal Format, the Packers would be 9.00.

If you are in a state where online betting is legal, we encourage you to check out our sportsbook directory to find the most trustworthy and reputable sites and mobile apps to place your Super Bowl bets.

The most popular ways of displaying sports betting odds are the point spread and the money line. When we look at sports betting odds in football and basketball there are always point spreads attached to the games. Money lines are used in sports like baseball and hockey. I will list examples today from the two major sports that use point spreads; football and basketball so you know what you are looking at the next time you see sports betting point spread odds. The numbers to the left of this sports betting example are the game rotation numbers and are used to identify the teams. The numbers to the right are the point spread. In this case New England is a 7-point favorite with a total of 44. That means if you like the Patriots you must win the game by more than 7 points for the bet to be a winner. If you like the 49ers then you must either win the game outright or lose by less than 7 points to collect.

If New England wins by exactly 7 points then the bet is a tie or what is called a push, and all money is refunded. Point spreads are generally based on the traditional $110 -$100 basis. The total listed above is 44. That is for the total amount of points scored in the game. You can bet over or under that amount and it is a combined total of points scored by both teams. It is also wagered in the traditional $110-100 way. In this example the Nets are a 3-point favorite with a total of 190. It is done exactly the same way as the football point spread bet and is also done with the normal $110 for every $100 wagered. You can also take that normal vigorous down to $11 for $10 or whatever denomination you choose. These are the basic point spread odds you will see when looking at sports betting odds from football and basketball. We will look at money lines in these two sports as well as baseball and hockey at another time.