Understanding Point Spreads

In the world of sports betting, understanding point spreads can be quite complicated. Many confuse the true purpose of the points spread. Point spreads are not created to show the disparity in abilities between two teams. Rather point spreads are established in order to entice bettors to wager on both teams, not just the team they perceive to be more skilled. Point spreads are set so that bookmakers can make money off the bet. Many believe that the points spread would lead half the bets to be placed on one team while the other half would place their bets on the other team. However, this is not always what occurs.

When bookmakers establish a point spread, they are essentially placing a handicap on one of the teams. This handicap makes it such that both teams have an equal chance of winning in terms of sports betting. After all, in most competitions, one team is usually better than the other. For example, say in a game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Carolina Panthers, Pittsburgh is seen as the team more likely to win the game. Without a point spread, most sport bets would be placed on Pittsburgh, the favourite. However, with the point spread, placing a wager on Carolina would be just as attractive to bettors. If bookmakers select Pittsburgh as the favourite by 14 points, this would be written as Pittsburgh -14 and Carolina +14. A common mistake new bettors make is thinking the positive sign denotes the favourite. This is actually the reverse. If you place your wager on the favourite, in this case Pittsburgh, then they would need to win by 15 points or more. If Pittsburgh wins with a score of 30-15, then you would win your wager. However, if Pittsburgh wins with a score of 28-15, then you would lose. On the other hand, if you chose to wager your money on the underdog, in this case Carolina, they would need to lose by 13 points or less. In the example of the score being 28-15 with Pittsburgh winning, those betting on Carolina would win.

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