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Started By
Message
Sports betting question
Posted on 9/15/14 at 1:28 am
Posted on 9/15/14 at 1:28 am
I often look at lines, but I don't bet on anything because I don't fully understand it.
I always thought if it says
- Team A - 9.5 vs Team B
That means the spread is team A winning by 10 to cover the spread.
Then I see
- Team A +9.5 vs Team B
Does this mean team B must win by 10 to cover?
If I'm correct in what I thought, why do they do - for some and + for others?
I must not be correct in my thinking, unless it maybe has something to do with a home team. Educate me please.
I always thought if it says
- Team A - 9.5 vs Team B
That means the spread is team A winning by 10 to cover the spread.
Then I see
- Team A +9.5 vs Team B
Does this mean team B must win by 10 to cover?
If I'm correct in what I thought, why do they do - for some and + for others?
I must not be correct in my thinking, unless it maybe has something to do with a home team. Educate me please.
4
Posted on 9/15/14 at 1:37 am to Hold That Tiger 10
If team A is favorite, subtract how many points the spread is from the final score of team A. If they still beat team B, then they covered. Hence the -9.5.
If team A is underdog, add how many points the spread to the final score of team A. If they beat team B with those points, then they covered. Hence the +9.5.
If either fails to do that, they don't cover.
If team A is underdog, add how many points the spread to the final score of team A. If they beat team B with those points, then they covered. Hence the +9.5.
If either fails to do that, they don't cover.
This post was edited on 9/15/14 at 1:39 am
Posted on 9/15/14 at 1:44 am to Hold That Tiger 10
quote:
If I'm correct in what I thought, why do they do - for some and + for others?
Because each game has a favorite and an underdog and you can bet on either.
Posted on 9/15/14 at 1:49 am to lsu480
Right, but you can know that just by the one who has the "+". Why do they put the "-" on others? Seems like it's not needed at all.
Posted on 9/15/14 at 1:57 am to stuntman
I don't know dude! Its like asking why in a poll you can see that 58% are for one thing and 42% are for the other. Of course you could put only one of those #s and people could figure it out but its just better with both, ya know? ETA: Also, in a lot of sports the #s aren't the same. For example in a UFC match one person might be -1000 and the other could be +600. Same thing goes with the moneyline, this is where you pick a team straight up with no point spread, in all sports.
This post was edited on 9/15/14 at 2:00 am
Posted on 9/15/14 at 2:02 am to Hold That Tiger 10
Also:
That was correct but:
This means team B must just lose by 9 or less to cover, they do not have to win.
quote:
I always thought if it says
- Team A - 9.5 vs Team B
That means the spread is team A winning by 10 to cover the spread.
That was correct but:
quote:
Then I see
- Team A +9.5 vs Team B
Does this mean team B must win by 10 to cover?
This means team B must just lose by 9 or less to cover, they do not have to win.
This post was edited on 9/15/14 at 2:03 am
Posted on 9/15/14 at 2:10 am to lsu480
quote:
I don't know dude!
I've always had the same question as the OP and never thought to ask it. It's one of those questions that will always remain a mystery.
Posted on 9/15/14 at 3:11 am to stuntman
Its how they make there money that's why it is called a spread.
If it was just about picking winners say like horse racing and Alabama versus some random FCS team.
Alabama is favored hypothetically 1-800, meaning you have to bet $800 to win $1. Well they would be out of business really fast because nobody in there right mind would bet on that said FCS team, knowing there is not a snowball chance in hell Bama would lose.
But they created "spreads" a long time ago. Basically as a better for football it puts your predicting skills to the test, not just oh I think so and so is a better team and will win.
There are games where even Vegas has a tough call say for instance Bama v. LSU in the game of the century spread might have been Bama -0.5 v. LSU. So its a toss-up.
In general my best advice if you don't know, don't try and bet yet, could lose a lot of money fast. But you can make a lot of money if you are analytical enough or just have a knack like some guys.
If it was just about picking winners say like horse racing and Alabama versus some random FCS team.
Alabama is favored hypothetically 1-800, meaning you have to bet $800 to win $1. Well they would be out of business really fast because nobody in there right mind would bet on that said FCS team, knowing there is not a snowball chance in hell Bama would lose.
But they created "spreads" a long time ago. Basically as a better for football it puts your predicting skills to the test, not just oh I think so and so is a better team and will win.
There are games where even Vegas has a tough call say for instance Bama v. LSU in the game of the century spread might have been Bama -0.5 v. LSU. So its a toss-up.
In general my best advice if you don't know, don't try and bet yet, could lose a lot of money fast. But you can make a lot of money if you are analytical enough or just have a knack like some guys.
Posted on 9/15/14 at 4:00 am to Hold That Tiger 10
Most professional books will always list the favorite's spread (the minus) for bettors to use. If its someone's personal list then it's likely that they are listing the points spreads that they like and are indicating the team they will bet on by using the plus or minus. For example the sports books might list Detroit as -3 1/2 versus Green Bay. A bettor that thinks Green Bay will cover the spread would likely say "I like this line: Green Bay + 3 1/2 against Detroit." Another scenario might be when teams from specific conferences or divisions are being discussed. For example an article or discussion about the NFC North might talk about the Bears +16 versus the Giants and the Lions are -3 1/2 against the Seahawks. A lot of the time it's all about the context of the discussion or list.
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