Handicap Betting Explained 2021

In the above example, you will see the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints both have -120 next to them. The -120 is known as the vigorish, or the juice – that’s the fee charged by the bookmaker for allowing you to place bets on these teams. The Steelers, on the other hand, appear to be a team in decline. After years of success, they lost many pieces from a once-elite offensive line and QB Ben Roethlisberger may be on his last legs.

It’s impossible to separate sports betting in America and the point spread. Learn all about point spreads, the great equalizer in sports betting, below. In this case, it’s favored that the final score of the match will be less than (“under”) 45 points. That’s everything you need to know about the point spread in NBA, NHL, NFL and MLB sports betting. ‘Puck Line Bets’ or ‘Puckline Bets’ are the hockey equivalent of NFL point spread bets or NBA point spread bets.

If you’re someone with deep pockets who likes to bet big, spread betting is for you since the limits will usually be large relative to other markets. Points spreads can cause some goofy situations in sports fandom and betting. Many are the bad beat stories from otherwise meaningless plays in long-decided games swinging the betting outcome. But at the end of the day, bettors enjoy spread betting, so it’s a staple of the industry. Another thing that many casual bettors don’t take into consideration when betting the MLB Run Line is the disadvantage that the home team has. When the home team is favored they will need to win by two or more runs in order for a wager on them on the run line to win.

It’s more impressive to win $150 when betting $10 per game than to win $200 betting $100 per game over the same number of games. Low-scoring sports like hockey and baseball do have point spreads, but they’re almost always -1.5 and +1.5. If Penn State lost by 6 points or fewer, or won the game, they covered the spread. A point spread is a bet on the margin of victory in a game.

But most casual sports bettors don’t have preset bankrolls. They don’t set aside $1,000 for a season and assume they’ll lose it. Point spreads are most commonly associated with higher-scoring sports like basketball and football, but can be used in any sport. Typically, sports bettors pay 10% to the bookmaker, the equivalent of a brokerage fee. In our example, the figure is -120, and it indicates that you must risk $120 to win $100.

That’s why lines are prone to changing right before start time. These pro bettors hold off on wagering until all information is out (e.g. injuries) and we advise doing the same. A dream scenario for over bettors as overtime means more time to score points!

Imagine you see the Lions +7.5 against the 49ers and, for some reason, you’re very excited to back the Lions. However, you normally bet $200 a game and you won’t have that sort of disposable income until you get paid on Friday. After a busy work week, you’re sipping a beer at home, shuffling your fantasy lineup around. You remember that line you wanted to bet, so you open your account and scroll down to find the Lions.

Since it is a bet on the total points scored it is irrelevant how many each team scores. Over/Under bets are not just limited to total points scored as below are some of the most common you’ll see. If you think not only you know who will win, but how the game will be played out then an over/under bet would appeal to you. Sportsbooks will set the total number of points scored thus allowing you to determine if more or less will occur.

Conversely, if one team is the underdog the odds need to be attractive enough to generate bets to counter all the bets on the favorite. Usually, spread betting involves laying -110, and a parlay essentially rolls over the winnings of each bet into the next bet. If you’re wondering how your parlay will pay out, just know most two-teamers pay a little less than 3-to-1, and the odds roughly double for each leg added after that. In this space, we’ll cover what the point spread is, how it works and other minutiae surrounding the most popular form of sports betting.

What Does +1 5 Mean In Sports Betting?

A $100 wager placed on the Steelers nets $80 while the same bet on the Bills nets $130. A plus or minus sign and a fractional or whole single or two-digit number usually denotes a handicap bet. A plus or minus sign and a three-digit number denote the odds in US bookmakers (you can find the rating of the best of them on Meta.reviews). Before you start betting on bet9ja Nigeria, you must understand the meaning of these bet9ja codes and odds so that you will not place the wrong bets.

This is because the runline subtracts 1.5 runs from their final score. In a betting line between two teams, the team expected to win, or the favorite, will have minus or negative odds. This means for every dollar wagered, you will earn less than a dollar if your bet wins. The team expected to lose, or underdog, will have positive or plus odds. This means for every dollar you wager, you will gain more than a dollar if your bet wins.

Once you understand it, we’re sure you’ll love handicap betting. Celtic loses – both halves of your bet lose, that is, your bet loses entirely. Thus, Team B is given half of the goal in advance to the final result. Asian handicap is the most popular and widespread type of handicap. Sportsbooks don’t like pushes because they can’t make money off pushes.

If you think one of the starting pitchers is due to blow up, maybe you bet the over. If you like how one of the pitchers matches up with the opposing lineup, maybe bet the under. In this example, half your bet is placed on the Under 2.5 goals and the other half is bet on the Under 3 goals.

Professional gamblers like to consider all angles and all markets to find the best value. If that value is in the over/under 1.5 goals market, they bet. If you’re gambling to make a profit, studying the form and statistics will give you a better chance of predicting over/under 1.5 goals results correctly. Professional gamblers that bet on football matches spend hours studying to find value over/under 1.5 bets. But even the best professional punters don’t win every bet.

Of course, when the point spread is taken into account, the favorite and the underdog will each have close to a 50% chance of covering the spread. I this case, the Chicago Bulls would have to win the game by at least two points to be declared a winner of the bet. The Miami Heat can actually lose the game but must keep the final score within 1.5 total points. If we take the example of football, NFL moneyline point spread odds are often set at 1.91, but of course, the pricing can vary from one provider to another.

Betting odds and lines from a sportsbook can be confusing at first, but they aren’t that hard to understand. In order to help you understand betting odds, we will use +1.5 as an example. You could also be in a position where you don’t think the underdog will necessarily win, but you’re fairly certain it’ll be a close one.

Odds of +200 or greater are offered on teams that are not expected to win a game. There are a few different variations of Vegas odds boards, but as long as you understand spread, moneyline, and total bets, you’ll be able to find what you’re looking for. You’ll notice in the example above that odds are not given for the spread and over/under bets.

Asian Handicap

In other words, if the LA Lakers win by fewer than 5 points, the bet loses and if the LA Lakers win by 6 points or more, the bet wins. The purpose of basketball point spread betting is to determine by how much a basketball team will win a game or lose a game. Once again, there are favorites and underdogs to consider. Without the point spread, nobody would bet on the underdog. In hockey and baseball, the terms puckline and runline are used.

Football is one of the few sports in the world where a draw is a fairly common outcome. With traditional fixed odds, draws are treated as an additional outcome to the game. In other words, bettors lose when they place a wager on either team to win and the game draws.

The implied probability of +265 odds is 27.39% (100/(265 +100). Therefore, the fair price of a two-team parlay (both teams at -110 odds) is +300 (100/(300 + 100). This is why sportsbooks will encourage you to make parlay bets. In defense of sportsbooks, these bets can be a lot of fun .

As long as there is a winner or loser, they can make money. As you can see, there is no option to bet on the draw, and if the game ends in a draw, the bet is refunded or “No-Actioned”, and is as if the bet was never placed. A variant of overunder betting, known as Under Over, is a dice game played at various festivals. The object of the game is to predict whether the dice will roll to a total of under 7, over 7, or at 7. In basketball, a player’s or team’s total assists, blocks, turnovers, steals, etc. The bettor’s stake is automatically divided equally and placed as 2 separate bets.

Oddsmakers build mathematically-driven ratings for each team before the season and continue to tweak them as games are played. The Buckeyes need to win by 7 points or more for their bettors to win. The stronger team or player will be favored by a certain number of points, depending on the perceived gap in ability between the two teams.

In the previous two examples, the overs and unders all had -110 odds. Here’s an example of a hockey game where the under has higher-paying odds than the over. The goal of a sportsbook is to have an equal value of bets on both sides of the over–under. Most importantly, Asian handicap betting reduces the possible number of outcomes from three to two by eliminating the draw outcome.

This means you would need to risk $160 for a potential profit of $100. A common parlay which provides value to the bettor is to combine the moneyline with the over/under. A parlay of Bills and the under means the Bills must win and the total be under 38.5 for a successful bet. If a matchup is between two competitive and even teams sometimes there won’t be a point spread which is referred to as a pick’em.

Based on 34,000 data points from over 1,700 individual bets, we found the following sportsbooks offer the best odds on moneyline bets. Celtic wins by more than one goal difference - your bet is lost. Bets on Milan’s victory with a handicap of +1.5 will be calculated in the same way. Only in this case, the handicap should not be taken away but added to the total number of goals that the Italians scored. Another nuance worth mentioning is that the odds aren’t always the same for both sides of a bet.

Of course, bettors will not necessarily risk the same amount of money on both outcomes every time. In such circumstances, there are two ways a sportsbook can mitigate the risk. The first is to adjust the O/U while keeping the odds of both at -110. As with other types of bets where the odds of either outcome are meant to be even, the vigorish (or “vig”) is typically set at or about 5% of the total wager. Using American odds, this will result in both outcomes initially being quoted at -110 (i.e. bettors must risk $110 to win $100).

Handicap Betting Explained 2021

If you’re betting that a team will win or lose by a certain amount of points, that is called a spread bet. If you combine multiple outcomes into one bet, that is called a parlay. The bookmaker’s aim is to create a handicap or “line” that will make the chance of either team winning as close to 50% as possible. Since the odds are as close to 50% as possible, bookmakers offer payouts close to even money, or 1.90 to 2.00. Asian handicaps start at a quarter goal and can go as high as 2.5 or 3 goals in matches with a huge disparity in ability. What makes Asian handicaps most interesting is the use of quarter goals to get the “line” as close as possible.

Well, that’s called a push, and the bet is essentially canceled. The money you put down on the bet is returned, and it’s like nothing ever happened. Totals in soccer work differently than other sports and can be shown in multiples of .25 goals. Since scoring is minimal in soccer, bookmakers will often times set a Total of 2.25 or 2.75. For example, if you bet on the Over 2.25 goals, half your bet is placed on “Over 2” and the other half of the bet is placed on “Over 2.5”.

A puck line bet is made based on how many goals a team is expected to win or lose by. In the NHL, puck line bets are usually made on a standard of plus or minus 1.5 goals. The favored team is given a -1.5 goal disadvantage while the underdog is given a +1.5 goal advantage.

This is what is called a “spread” bet, or “betting against the spread.” This is a very common bet in basketball and football games, but it is seen in other sports as well. A totals bet is made based on the predicted total number of goals scored in a game. These bets are placed either over or under a certain number of total goals. For example, the total could be 3.5 goals with an under of -130 and an over of +110. In this scenario, if a $130 bet was placed on the under and was correct, the bet would earn a $100 profit. On the other hand, if a $100 bet was placed on the over and was correct, the bet would earn a $110 profit.

Subsequently, many matches are handicapped in ½ and ¼ intervals; both of which eliminate the possibility of a push since no one can score a half-goal. Quarter (¼) handicaps split the bet between the two closest ½ intervals. For instance, a $1000 bet with a handicap of 1¾ is the same as betting $500 at 1½ and $500 at 2. With ¼ handicap bets, you can win and draw (win ½ of wager) or lose and draw (lose ½ wager).

Using any of the information found at MyTopSportsbooks.com to violate any law or statute is prohibited. Check the online gambling regulations in your jurisdiction before placing any wagers with any of the links advertising gambling sites. Either bet can also be wagered during a given halftime or single quarter. For one football game, you could conceivably bet the over/under on seven different occasions .

What Does +1 5 Mean In Sports Betting?

A bet on the over means you think both teams will combine to score more goals, points, or runs than the total listed. Conversely, an under bet means you think there will be less than the total listed. If you bet Argentina -2.5 goals, then to win the bet they must win by 3 goals or more. On the other side, betting Iran +2.5 goals means to win the bet, Iran can win, draw, or lose by 1 or 2 goals.

“Covering the spread” is another way to say that a team won a point spread bet. In the above example, Ohio State winning by 7 points or more as a -6.5 favorite means they covered the spread. One team is the favorite, which needs to win the game by a certain amount. The other is the underdog, which can lose within a certain margin or win to cash the bet. The point spread is the life blood of American sports betting, giving each team an equal chance to cash a bet for you. NFL handicapping in sports betting lexicon means ‘leveling the playing fields’ so that both NFL teams have odds worthy of betting on.

This means the sportsbook keeps less of the money they accept , which means more goes back to the bettors. The +1.5 indicates that the White Sox must either win the game outright or lose by a single run in order for a run line bet placed on them to win. The odds listed for the White Sox on the run line in our example are -150.

A moneyline bet is the most straightforward wager you can make. With a moneyline bet, you are simply betting on who you think will win the game. In our example of 38.5, if you think the total points scored will be higher than 38 then you’d place a wager on the over. For those thinking less than 38 points will be scored a wager on the under would be more to your liking.

The under bet is even money, meaning a winning bet would double the amount placed on the bet. However, the over is -120, meaning you’d have to bet $120 to win $100 (or $12 to win $10). This usually means that the over is getting more bets and/or is viewed as the slightly more likely outcome. For example, in basketball, moving a line by half a point won’t dramatically change the bet, so that will often happen without the odds shifting. However, in hockey, moving a line by half a goal is a big difference.

Indeed, you’re getting lower odds (+100 to -160), but you are also increasing your chances of cashing the bet. However, when we’re adding 1.5 runs to their final score, the whole dynamic changes. Instead of taking the favorite straight up, you can bet they’ll win by at least 2 runs. Now, you’re no longer getting -108 odds on the Blue Jays, but +147. The runline gives the confident bettor a chance to make more. This time the Blue Jays’ 2 run victory over the Yankees is enough to cover the spread.

In fact, baseball, hockey, and soccer commonly set the run or goal line at 1.5, which rarely changes. The underdog will almost always be listed at +1.5, while the favorite will be listed at -1.5. Hockey betting is a great way to win money if you are familiar with the game.

But, essentially, you’re risking a very small setback for a potential windfall. If you are betting the Bills then the term is referred to as getting the points. A bet on the Steelers is referred to as giving the points or more commonly laying the points. In our example there wouldn’t be a tie, but sometimes the line will be four and not 4.5. In the scenario of a tie, if adding the four points to the Bills equals the Steelers then a tie is scored and the wagered amount is returned to the bettor. But otherwise, you’ll want to try betting against the spread.

Still, they put together an elite defense last season, so the market sees them quite competitive with the Browns. In fact, it believes home field completely negates the Browns’ talent advantage. One Week 1 game sees 2020 Super Bowl contenders matched up in New Orleans.

Asian Handicap

Over/under goal markets can apply to any sport in which goals are scored, but they are most common in football, in which over/under 1.5 goals is one of the most popular. But most bookmakers also offer a variety of other over/under money-lines that you can bet on, such as 0.5 goals, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5, 5.5, 6.5, 7.5, etc. All these money-lines can normally be found under a subheading such as ‘total goals over/under’. A 60 minute line bet is similar to the moneyline because it is made based on who you predict to win the game. However, the 60 minute line only includes the three periods of regulation game time.

The puckline can be tailored accordingly, depending on how well the favorite is performing and how poorly the underdog is performing. The 1.5 goals standard in NHL bets is used because hockey is typically not a high-scoring game. When you place a PK bet, the ‘point spread’ is irrelevant; you’re simply betting on one team or another to win the game. If one team is expected to win, the odds need to reflect enough enticement for people to place bets on that team.

Specifically, high-limit bets from sharp, winning players. These bets move the market because the sportsbooks respect the opinions of these accounts. For example, imagine in the 49ers/Lions game listed above that the sportsbook became inundated with a flood of Lions +7.5 money. Instead of immediately adjusting the line to +7 they might list the Lions +7.5 (-120). This fee, known as the vigorish or “juice,” enables the sportsbook to make a profit.

As with basketball and football, the (-) indicates the favorite team, and the (+) indicates the underdog. You will notice that the number – 1.5 – is much lower than you would see in NBA point spreads and NFL betting lines. The reason is attributed to much lower scoring in these sports. NBA point spreads and NFL point spreads are the most common applications for spread betting in sport. In basketball and football, odds makers don’t have preset limits on the margins of victory/defeat for these sports.

Or sports betting on the other hand if you are confident it will be a drab affair with no goals or just one goal, you can go with under 1.5 goals. If you go to Las Vegas or other casinos with sportsbooks, you might see odds laid out in a slightly different format. While the odds displayed will still be American odds, they are featured in a different order.

These lines move rather quickly in response to happenings on the field. When you’re looking at a line for point spread betting, the handicap won’t be the only number associated with the bet. Note that because this game took place on a neutral field , the spread was the actual representation of the difference between the two teams. That is, home field presumably didn’t factor into the spread.

Since both numbers behind the plus and minus signs were close to 100, you could tell that both teams were a close match for each other. With odds like this, you could have expected a game full of fireworks. Hence the (-) point spread that is posted alongside the team. The weaker teams naturally aren’t expected to win against the stronger teams; that’s why they are gifted an advantage in the form of the (+) point spread. Oddsmakers or handicappers determine the NFL point spreads assigned to each team in a matchup. In the NHL, favorites are given (-)1.5 odds and underdogs are given (+)1.5 odds.

Bookmakers offer to bet on Celtic to win with a handicap of -1 or on Milan to win with a handicap of +1. If you bet on Milan (+1), your bet will only lose if Celtic win by two or more goals. If Milan lose by exactly one goal difference, the money you bet will return to your account. In this example, a bet on Oklahoma City requires them to win by 5 points in order for you to win the point spread bet. If the final score is for Oklahoma City, then they win by 6 points.

Once the sportsbooks receive more units on the Bills the line will be shifted down to deter additional bets on the Bills. Likewise, if more money is being placed on the Steelers the spread will increase to 5 or 5.5. The shift is because the sportsbooks need to balance out the money wagered between the two sides.

Handicap Betting Explained 2021

In American football, a player’s or team’s total rushing yards or attempts, down conversions , interceptions, completions, field goal percentage, etc. The term “Asian handicap” was coined by journalist Joe Saumarez Smith in November 1998. He was asked by an Indonesian bookmaker, Joe Phan, to provide a translation of the betting method that was termed ‘hang cheng betting’ by bookmakers in Asia.

But, sometimes very strong teams or athletes match-up against very weak teams or athletes. Enter the point spread, known in some places and in some sports as the handicap. Hard work and good analysis will help you show a good return on your investment. For example, if you can place 5 bets of £20 at 6/4 (2.50) on over 1.5 goals, you will have invested £100.

Thus, even on the road, the 49ers rate as -7.5 favorites at DK Sportsbook. In other words, they’re expected to win by more than a touchdown. Lines of at least a touchdown are relatively uncommon in the closely contested NFL – this is the only such NFL Week 1 line at the time of writing. If the game lands exactly on the spread – for example, if KC had won the Super Bowl by 3 – then spread bets will “push.” A push means the book returns everyone’s stake. While the Buccaneers didn’t need the 3 points the betting market gave them in the Super Bowl, the spread does play a role in the betting outcome of the game pretty regularly.

Normally, if each team scores even 1 goals then this condition is easily satisfied and one can win his bet in a comfortable manner. You can check it by placing your bets for over 1.5 and after seeing the results of the matches you will realise how safe and profitable this bet is. Likewise, if you bet the runline on the Yankees, you are hoping that they will either win outright or lose by less than 2 runs since the runline adds 2 to their final score. With a runline bet, you no longer care who wins the game . When betting the runline, you are betting on the game + or – those 1.5 extra runs. The runline can be a great way to shake things up and give you an alternate set of odds.

TheSportsGeek.com is not an online gambling operator, or a gambling site of any kind. We are simply here to provide information about sports betting for entertainment purposes. It is your responsibility to verify such matters and to know and follow your local laws. Free daily sports betting and DFS picks from a team of expert sports handicappers. Although the MLB Run Line is always set at 1.5, some betting sites allow you to bet alternative lines of 2.5 or sometimes even 3.5 runs with varied odds of course.

By setting a money line spread, it ensures the provider sees a small amount of money come back to them over time. Take a look at our betting site basics guide for more information regarding this term, or check out our complete glossary of sports betting terms. Take the Golden State Warriors, for instance, who have run roughshod over the NBA the past few years. It’s been common for them to be favorites on any given night. In such cases, your options are either to stake a lot of money to win very little, or hope for an upset that is far less likely to happen than the odds suggest.

In instances where the spread settles on a whole number and you’d like to avoid a push, you have the option of purchasing a half-point. (By “purchasing,” we mean you will get a lower potential payout, for example, going from -105 to -120.) You can then use that half-point to “move the spread” in your favor. So, if you liked a +3 underdog, you could adjust the spread to +3.5; and if you liked the favorite, you could move it from -3 to -2.5. Fractional odds are used more commonly in parts of Europe and in horse racing.

This means that with a handicap point of 0-0.5 or 0 and ½, half of your stake is on the 0 point handicap and the other half is on the 0.5 handicap. But if you’re betting five units on one game and two units on the next, you’re varying too much. Because of that 10% cut, you’ll win .91 units if Ohio State covers the spread. It’s a way to to compare win amounts between bettors while removing money. That’s why you hear the term unitsthrown around to compare ability regardless of how much money you have. If you bet $22 on Ohio State -6.5 and the Buckeyes win by 10, you’ll win $20.

What Does +1 5 Mean In Sports Betting?

You may have come across the term “over 1.5 goals,” but what exactly do these mean? Basically, it is a market where you can bet on whether the total number of goals in a football match will be above 1.5 goals (i.e. 2 goals or more). Here is an example of a standard parlay payout table for up to five teams using -110 odds for each bet (bet $110 to win $100). Remember, in a two-team parlay, both teams have to win for the parlay to win. Let’s say you bet $10 on the Vikings moneyline at -200 at one sportsbook.

This means that sportsbooks believe that the Chicago Bulls have a higher probability of winning the game over the Miami Heat. Setting the line at just 1.5 does mean that these two teams are extremely close. A few common types of hockey bets include moneyline, puck line, totals, and parlays. Terms and Conditions apply to all advertised bonus offers on this website. The unique odds we produce in select news articles are for amusement and are not available to be wagered on.

Once the volume of bets placed on the steelers significantly outweighs the volume on the Bills the Steelers will become -135 to deter bets. This is all part of the line movement process which we discuss in another one of our guides. The bettor will win if Atletico Madrid win or draw or lose by just 1 goal. The bet loses if Real Madrid win with a difference of 2 or more goals.

American odds are what you will see displayed on every U.S. sportsbook. Like the metric system, dates, and miles per hour, Americans do things differently. For instance if one bets one dollar on under and the dealer rolls under, they gain a dollar as well as get their dollar back. If the dealer rolls a seven and one bets on it, they make four dollars. Once all the bets have been placed the attendant closes the betting board with a screen and then puts the dice through the chute. If someone says they’re betting 200 units, they’re probably a scammer.

If Team A is assigned 10 to 1 odds, it means Team B is ten times as likely to win. Since not so many goals are scored in football, the bookmakers had an idea to offer a double handicap, between the values ​​of which the bet is divided. In other words, if you bet on a double Asian handicap, the stake will be split into two halves. The first one will be bet on one part of the double handicap, and the second one - on the other. In other words, if the match ends in a draw, in our case the bet on the victory of Team B (+0.5) wins because this team will end up with 0.5 more goals. So, Celtic meet Milan on their field, and the bookmakers offer a bet on Celtic with a handicap of -1.5 goals.

You can also bet on point spreads for the first half, or the second half – it’s your call. Assuming the Philadelphia Eagles vs. Miami Dolphins example above, with a bet on the Philadelphia Eagles, you will win if the Eagles beat the Dolphins by at least 10 points. That (-) 10 is the minimum number of points that the Philadelphia Eagles must be ahead of the Miami Dolphins at the final whistle. Sometimes, the bookmaker will not show the odds for the underdog, but it is assumed to be the opposite number of the favorite. If you see -6.5 (-108), then you only need to bet $108 to win $100. If you happen to see -6.5 (-103), then you only need to bet $103 to win $100.

While you can assume the odds are likely between -130 and +110 for each side, you’ll have to ask the cashier or look at your betting ticket after placing the bet. Total odds How to read it Over 7 (-115) In order to win $100, you must bet $115 on the overall combined run score to be higher than 7. Under 7 (-110) In order to win $100, you must wager $110 on the total combined run score to be less than 7. When the odds for two teams are even, meaning 1 to 1, it means that each team is equally as likely to win the game. If Team A is assigned 2 to 1 odds, it means Team B is twice as likely to win.

Since moneyline is picking a winner it doesn’t get any simpler than that. Sportsbooks make a ton of money on parlay bets because the odds offered are typically less than fair. Let’s say you make a two-team parlay where both teams are listed at -110 odds. Sportsbooks will typically list the odds of this parlay at +265.

Asian Handicap

Earlier, we mentioned there’s an option to “buy” half-points on a spread for an adjusted betting price. In the world of NFL wagering — where so many games are decided by three or four points — it certainly can be. The allure of buying points goes down on other sports, though.

There are no limits or restrictions on how often a line can move. Lines can also move in both directions as sportsbooks might change the Bills, +5.5, and Steelers, -5.5. That movement could entice Bills bettors and with enough money bet on the Bills the line could return to +4.5 and -4.5 respectably. The general consensus is that the majority of the time the betting public supports the favorite. With NFL games being played on Sundays sportsbooks usually make opening lines available the Tuesday beforehand. If you believe the Steelers will win it is wise to bet the odds of -125 while you can.

Still, they put together an elite defense last season, so the market sees them quite competitive with the Browns. In fact, it believes home field completely negates the Browns’ talent advantage. One Week 1 game sees 2020 Super Bowl contenders matched up in New Orleans.

In this example, the Los Angeles Lakers are the favorite, while the Warriors are the underdog. Now, if we want to calculate our winnings, let’s use the assumption that our bet is 100 dollars. If you bet $100 on the Warriors, you profit $210 over and above the initial stake of $100. If you bet $100 on the Lakers, you profit $40 over and above the initial stake of $100. So, to actually PROFIT $100 with the Lakers bet, you would need to wager $250. Football point spreads indicate how oddsmakers level the playing fields between unevenly matched teams.

A bet on the over means you think both teams will combine to score more goals, points, or runs than the total listed. Conversely, an under bet means you think there will be less than the total listed. If you bet Argentina -2.5 goals, then to win the bet they must win by 3 goals or more. On the other side, betting Iran +2.5 goals means to win the bet, Iran can win, draw, or lose by 1 or 2 goals.

Instead of two betting options , you can also bet on a third option, the draw. Generally, soccer moneylines are settled at the end of regulation . While betting lines (whether moneyline, spread, or over/under) are generally in the same range, there is some variance from bookie to bookie — as there should be. In fact, finding a sportsbook that prices more favorably should be a part of your decision-making process when selecting a bookmaker. Along with a spread, books will set a “game total” for each event. That number represents how many points, combined, are expected to be scored during the game.

The score at the end of period 3 determines the success of the bet. When betting the 60 minute line, players can choose one team or the other to win or a tie at the end of the 60 minutes. In any sport other than soccer, someone wins and someone loses. With a moneyline bet we don’t care how they win as long as they are the winner at the end.

The under bet is even money, meaning a winning bet would double the amount placed on the bet. However, the over is -120, meaning you’d have to bet $120 to win $100 (or $12 to win $10). This usually means that the over is getting more bets and/or is viewed as the slightly more likely outcome. For example, in basketball, moving a line by half a point won’t dramatically change the bet, so that will often happen without the odds shifting. However, in hockey, moving a line by half a goal is a big difference.

But, essentially, you’re risking a very small setback for a potential windfall. If you are betting the Bills then the term is referred to as getting the points. A bet on the Steelers is referred to as giving the points or more commonly laying the points. In our example there wouldn’t be a tie, but sometimes the line will be four and not 4.5. In the scenario of a tie, if adding the four points to the Bills equals the Steelers then a tie is scored and the wagered amount is returned to the bettor. But otherwise, you’ll want to try betting against the spread.

Handicap Betting Explained 2021

This is a common outcome with NBA point spreads and NFL point spreads. Whenever a sports event, game, or match ends in a draw, and a spread was involved, the outcome is known as a Push. Yes, overtime is generally counted in ice hockey betting unless stated otherwise.

The San Francisco 49ers enter 2021 hopeful of recapturing their Super Bowl form from two seasons ago. The betting market expects them to be one of the stronger teams this year, pegging them as a top-10 contender in the futures odds. Now that we know how the point spread works and what it is, let’s take a look at some examples of different spreads available for the 2021 NFL season.

If you bet on Team A (-0.5), you will only be satisfied with the victory of this team. Because if Team A draw or lose, the result of the match with a handicap will not be in their favour. If you are not going to bet the money lines on any specific soccer match, there are alternate ways to bet the games that will allow you to win money. Sometimes, betting an underdog to win any match at +300 is not appealing. A 7-point spread simply refers to the number of points posted alongside a team’s odds of winning.

For every $1 wagered on a team with odds of +100, $1 will be paid out. In other words, if you bet $10 at +100 odds, you will win $10 if your bet wins. If two teams are evenly matched you might see moneyline odds of +100. Understanding how to read odds is crucial to betting on sports.

Clearly, Miami Dolphins have lost the game, but when we add +10 to the final score, it is Philadelphia Eagles Miami Dolphins. The line would be set on the favorites at -1.5, which essentially means the team must win by 2 or more runs, or “cover” the 1.5 run line. Within the same game the underdogs would be listed at +1.5, which means that the underdog team must either lose the game by 1 run or less, or win the game outright. With a 1.5 run line you will be able to place a wager on the favored team to win by 2 runs or more, or the underdog team to lose by 1 run or to win the game.

Once the sportsbooks receive more units on the Bills the line will be shifted down to deter additional bets on the Bills. Likewise, if more money is being placed on the Steelers the spread will increase to 5 or 5.5. The shift is because the sportsbooks need to balance out the money wagered between the two sides.

They are also similar to ‘Runline’ bets in baseball which we are going to address shortly. All new bettors at 888sport NJ can qualify for a Free Bet No Deposit, so feel free to put your sports betting prowess to the test. If you win your point spread bets, you all received your original stake of $110 + the $100 you won on the point spread for a grand total of $210. In simple terms, a point spread is effectively a median number calculated by a bookmaker when 2 teams are competing against one another.

Specifically, high-limit bets from sharp, winning players. These bets move the market because the sportsbooks respect the opinions of these accounts. For example, imagine in the 49ers/Lions game listed above that the sportsbook became inundated with a flood of Lions +7.5 money. Instead of immediately adjusting the line to +7 they might list the Lions +7.5 (-120). This fee, known as the vigorish or “juice,” enables the sportsbook to make a profit.

In actual scenarios, even adjustments of -100 (i.e. “even money”) and -120 are common place as sportsbooks typically endeavor to maintain steady margins and minimize risk. Asian handicap is a form of betting that creates a more level betting environment between two mismatched competing teams by giving a “handicap” to the teams before kick-off. In Asian handicap, a goal deficit is given to the team more likely to win (i.e. the Favourite) and a head start is given to the team less favoured to win (i.e. the Underdog). On one hand, they help bookmakers minimize risk by facilitating trading with parity or balancing the amount of wagering on each side of the match. This enables bookmakers to take larger positions on major matches.