How To Read NFL Spreads
Contents
In order to make money betting on NFL games, it is essential that you understand how to read NFL spreads. This guide will teach you everything you need to know.
Introduction
In order to understand how to read NFL spreads, it is first necessary to understand what they are and how they work. Spread betting is a type of wagering that evens out the playing field in terms of which team is favored to win a particular game. In other words, the team that is expected to lose will be given a “head start” in the form of points. The favorite, on the other hand, will have to “give up” points. For example, if the Los Angeles Rams are playing the New York Giants and the Rams are favored to win by 10 points, then the Rams would need to win by more than 10 points in order for bettors who took them to cover the spread. If the Rams were only to win by 9 or less, or if they were to lose outright, then those who bet on them would not win their bets.
How To Read NFL Spreads
If you are new to sports betting, chances are you are not familiar with reading NFL spreads. A spread is simply the number of points that odds-makers feel the better team should win by. The favorite will have a minus sign (-) in front of the number while the underdog will have a plus sign (+).
Decimal Odds
Decimal odds are the simplest form of NFL spreads. In this type of line, the betting odds are expressed as a decimal number. For example, if the New England Patriots are playing the Miami Dolphins and the Patriots are listed at -6, this means that they are favored to win by 6 points. So, if you bet on the Patriots, they would need to win by more than 6 points in order for you to win your bet.
Conversely, if you bet on the Dolphins +6, this means that you are betting that they will either win the game outright or lose by no more than 6 points. So, if the Patriots win by 7 or more points, you would lose your bet.
The other type of NFL spread that you will see is called a moneyline.
Moneyline Odds
Moneyline odds are relatively easy to understand. The favorite will be listed with a minus (-) sign in front of the number, while the underdog will be identified with a plus (+) sign. The number after the minus sign indicates how much money you need to bet to win $100, while the number after the plus sign indicates how much money you will earn if you bet $100.
For example, let’s say that the New England Patriots are playing the Miami Dolphins and the Patriots are listed as -350 on the moneyline. This means that if you want to win $100 by betting on New England, you would need to bet $350. On the other hand, if you like Miami in this game and they are listed as +280, this means that if you bet $100 on them and they win, you would earn $280.
Point Spreads
In order to place a bet, you first need to understand what the point spread is and how it works. The point spread is essentially a handicap that is placed on the favored team in order to level the playing field. The reason why there is a point spread is because not all teams are created equal, and the better teams usually win more often than the lesser teams.
The way it works is that the sportsbook takes bets on both sides of theSpread, and then pays out based on which side wins. If the team that you bet on coversthe Spread, then you will win your bet. If they don’t cover the Spread, then you willlose your bet.
The point Spread is always placed in conjunction with acertain moneyline. The moneyline is simply the odds that are associated with eachteam winning. For example, in a matchup between the Green Bay Packers andthe Chicago Bears, the Packers may be -7 point favorites, meaning that theyare expected to win by 7 points. In this case, if you were to bet onthe Packers, they would have to win by more than 7 points for you to winyour bet.
Conversely, if you were to bet onthe Bears in this same matchup, you would be betting that they would eitherwin outright OR lose by less than 7 points. So even if the Bears ended uplosing the game by 10 points, you would still win your bet because they onlylost by 3 points Few things are more frustratingthanBettingon a team and watching them lose by just 1 or 2 points!
The other common type of NFL Spreadis called the Over/Under Bet. This type ofbet allows you to wager on whether or not the two teams will score more orless than a certain amount of points. For example, let’s say thatthe over/under for a particular game is set at 41 points. Ifyoubetthe over, then you are predicting thatthetwo teams will score more than 41 combinedpoints. Ifyoubetthe under, then you are predictingthat thistwo teams will score less than 41combinedpoints
Totals (Over/Under)
The most common way to bet on NFL football is through the point spread. In this system, one team (the favorite) is given a certain number of points to winning the game, while the other team (the underdog) starts with that number of points already against them. For example, if the New England Patriots are playing against the New York Jets, and the Patriots are favored by 7 points, then that means that the Patriots are expected to win by 7 points.
Conclusion
In conclusion, you should now have a better understanding of how to read NFL spreads. Remember that the favorite team is always shown with a minus sign (-) and the underdog is always shown with a plus sign (+). The number next to the spread is called the “spread” or “line.” This number indicates how much points the favorite team is expected to win by. For example, if the Seahawks are favored by 7 points (-7), they must win the game by more than 7 points in order for you to win your bet. On the other hand, if you bet on the 49ers +7, they only have to lose by less than 7 points or win the game in order for you to win your bet.