There are many different sports betting stats out there, but one that is particularly relevant to bettors is the spread. The spread is the amount of money that one team or sports bookmaker is willing to lose on a given event as compared to the amount of money that the other team or sports bookmaker is willing to win. For example, if you have a $100 bet on a Giants – Bears game and the spread is $5 then you are risking $5 on the Bears and the Giants are offering $95 in winnings. In this case, the spread is known as a margin of victory. The point of the spread is to provide an advantage to the team that is experiencing less losses than wins. You can use this information to determine the winner of an event before the game even starts!
Unfortunately, most sportsbooks and casinos don’t provide any info about their spreads to the general public. The majority of the time, the spread will be available for pro bettors and high rollers only. If you are looking for a way to find out what the spread is for any given game then you will have to look online or contact the casino directly.
Here is a quick look at what spread means in sports betting, along with some tips on how to utilize it.
What Is The Spread In Sports Betting?
The spread in sports betting can be thought of as the difference between the highest and lowest scores that could be potentially achieved by the participating teams. In the example above, the highest score that the Bears could achieve is 16 points while the lowest score is 0. In this case, the total spread is 6 points (16 – 10).
The total spread is used to determine the end result of a match or event. For example, if there is a tie in the total spread at the end of a match (no clear winner in either direction) then the score will be settled by a coin toss or drawing of lots. If the total spread is 10 or more points then the visiting team will win the match. If it is less than 10 points then the home team will win the match.
In the example above, the Giants would like to win the match so they are willing to risk $5 on this bet. As the match starts, the Giants score first and the Bears respond with a field goal to make the score 7-3 in favor of the Bears. The Giants then respond with 3 touchdowns of their own to take a 21-3 lead into the intermission. The score is 21-10 in favor of the Giants at the end of the 3rd quarter. The Giants are now risking $95 in winnings while the Bears are risking $5 on a Loser leaves Town win.
Knowing how the spread works and what the spread means allows you to easily calculate the point spread. The point spread is simply the difference between the total points scored by the visiting team and the points scored by the home team. In the above example, the point spread is 10 points (7 – 3).
How Do I Calculate The Spread For A Game?
Let’s say that you are interested in placing a bet on the Super Bowl and you have decided that the Patriots will beat the Rams by a score of 34-28. To figure out the spread for this game you would need to do the following:
1. Find out the total points that could be scored by each team. To do this, look at the teams’ records over the past 10 years or so and see how many wins and losses they have. The New England Patriots have the best record over the past 10 years with 66 wins and 34 losses (66-34). The Los Angeles Rams have the second-best record over the past 10 years with 58 wins and 48 losses (58-48).
In the case of a tie, either one team will be credited with a point based on how they performed in recent years or history will be the determining factor. For example, the Rams are the newer team and have only been around for the past 10 years but they have won the most recent five Super Bowls so far (in 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014). As a result, the Patriots win the Super Bowl by a score of 34-28 and the Rams receive credit for 1 point.
2. Determine how much money you have available to spend on tickets and other items related to the Super Bowl. You should make a note of how much money you have available as this will affect the number of tickets that you can purchase.
3. Find the winning (or highest scoring) team to place your bet on. In this case, since you decided that the Patriots will win the Super Bowl, you will place your bet on New England.
4. Find the team and amount that you are risking. In this case, you are risking $5 on the Patriots which means that you will win $95 if New England wins and you lose $5 if the Patriots lose. If you are looking for a way to win big then betting on the Patriots is a great choice as they have won 5 of the last 6 Super Bowls.
As you can see above, the Patriots have the best chance of winning since they are the favorite in this particular matchup. However, if you are looking for a way to win small then the Rams are a better option since they have the second-best odds of winning the game.
Knowing what the spread means in sports betting allows you to easily decide who you are backing or wagering on. You can use this information to determine the winner of a game before it even starts! If you want to find out more then you can visit the Wiktionary entry for espnsrf or you can contact the sportsbook directly to find out the spread for any given game.