Let’s face it, watching a blowout in any sport is a lot less entertaining than watching an instant classic overtime thriller. When point spreads are added to the equation, however, suddenly you’re on the edge of your seat in the 4th quarter quarter of a college football game despite the 24-point lead. That’s the beauty of point spread betting, which is sometimes referred to as betting the “side.”
Point spread betting is one of the most popular bet types especially for college football and basketball games which often feature a dominant team vs. a weaker opponent that’s very unlikely to cash a moneyline wager.
Spread Betting Definition & Results
Simply put, a point spread bet is a wager on the margin of victory of a particular game. Oddsmakers determine an appropriate point spread based on how competitive the game is perceived to be. For example, when the Packers and Eagles play in Week 1 of the 2024-2025 NFL season, it’s expected to be a close game between two potential playoff teams, so the point spread is Green Bay Packers +1 vs. Philadelphia Eagles -1. On the other hand, the most lopsided game of Week 1 is expected to be: New England Patriots +9 vs. Cincinnati Bengals -9. Sportsbooks have installed the Bengals as 9-point favorites so bettors on Cincinnati -9 are hoping the Bengals win by 10 points or more. Meanwhile, bettors on New England essentially get a 9-point buffer because the Patriots are the inferior team, so if the Pats lose by less than 9 (or win the game), that bet cashes.
In the example above, if the Bengals win by exactly 9 points, neither point spread bet wins or loses and it’s a “push,” meaning both sides get their original wager back. A point spread bet can only push when a point spread is a whole number because when it’s not (3.5 for instance), it’s of course not possible for a margin of victory to be exactly 3.5 points.
Favorites (the perceived stronger team) are marked with a minus sign (-), while underdogs (the perceived weaker team) are noted with a plus sign (+) to designate how many extra points a sportsbooks is giving that team. Here's another way to think of this: At the start of the Bengals -9 vs. Patriots +9 game when the score is 0-0 on your television, for the purposes of your bet, the score is New England 9-0.
When two teams are evenly matched, instead of a + or – you might see the words “pick” or “pick ‘em” which means the point spread is essentially zero and the bet is simply who is going to win the game outright.
How to Read Spread Betting Odds
Next to the point spread is a number like -110 or -120. This number is the price the sportsbook is charging to make the bet, often called the “vigorish” or “juice.” Since point spreads bets essentially level the playing field between two unevenly matched teams, a standard point spread bet has -110 for both sides. The vigorish, like the point spread, will fluctuate before the game depending on public betting patterns and other factors.
With the standard -110 vigorish, a sportsbook is saying it’ll cost $110 to win $100 and a -120 price means it will take a $120 wager to win $100. With +105 juice, $100 will win $105 and $500 will win $525. Even in a perfectly even matched situation with no point spread, like a coin flip or two theoretically identical teams, expect -110 vigorish because this is how sportsbooks earn profit.
There is generally a correlation between the moneyline and the point spread. For instance, in our Green Bay Packers +1 vs. Philadelphia Eagles -1 point spread example, the moneyline is Eagles -122 and Packers +102. Notice how the moneyline becomes more dramatic (Bengals -410 & Patriots +320) in a game with with a higher point spread.
Keep in mind, while full game point spreads are more popular, bettors can also bet the spread for a portion of the game to such as the first half or the first quarter.
Point Spread Lines by Sport
It's wise to consider "key numbers" when making point spread bets, especially with NFL wagers. Key numbers, as they pertain to spread betting, are the most common margins of victory. For instance, in the NFL, 3 is the most common margin of victory (about 15% of games) and thus the most important key number.
How are Point Spreads Made?
When deciding a point spread for a particular game, oddsmakers consider a number of factors including teams’ strengths, past performance, rest advantages, home crowd influence, momentum, motivation, injuries, weather (for outdoor sports), and much more. Keep in mind these factors are unique to each team’s situation. For instance a starting QB injury might impact a team’s point spread less if it has a capable backup, and a bookmaker will assign more points to home field advantage for a team like the Seattle Seahawks who play in a loud stadium, compared to the Los Angeles Chargers who have a quieter home crowd.
It’s common for a point spread to change leading up to a game. For instance, in our Bengals -9 vs. New England example, if Cincinnati QB Joe Burrow was injured in practice before kickoff, we’d expect that line to fall to perhaps Cincinnati -6.5. If you bet on Cincinnati at -9 and the line adjusts to -6.5 right before kickoff, your bet is still for the -9 price (unlike horse racing). Keep in mind that line movement occurs for various reasons besides injuries or breaking news situations. For example, oddsmakers could accept wagers on New England by respected customers with a history of winning and decide to drop the number from -9 to -8 thinking their original line must have been off. Or, a sportsbook will adjust the point spread because the public has bet so much on one team that it’s creating liability and they want to discourage more bets on that same side.
Sportsbooks often have different point spreads (and juice) for the same game which is why it’s helpful to utilize multiple sportsbooks and to shop around for the best deal. For instance, the two tables below show odds for the same game at two different sportsbooks. A Chiefs’ bettor should bet the game at Sportsbook A where the line is Kansas City -2.5, but a Ravens backer gets a better deal at Sportsbook B because if Baltimore loses by the key number of 3, they'd push and get their original wager back.
What is Alternative Spread Betting?
Alternative spread wagers, sometimes called “alt spread” bets, work just like standard point spread betting, but with the opportunity to manipulate a point spread while the juice changes to reflect the newly created point spread.
For example, while reviewing point spreads during Week 2 of the 2024-2025 NFL season, one may find: Chicago Bears +2 vs. Indianapolis Colts -2. Most sportsbooks will offer standard -110 juice on both sides, but if a bettor thinks the wrong team is favored and the Bears can beat the Colts by more than four points, they could create an alternative point spread of Bears -4 which will pay a tempting +170 price. When manipulating the line in this manner so the underdog is laying points, as in this example, remember to compare the +170 price with the Bears moneyline bet to see which offers better value.
Using our Bears – Colts example, if a bettor thinks Indianapolis will blowout Chicago, he/she could adjust the point spread so the Colts are -6.5 and that new line might pay around +180. The further a bettor deviates away from the original point spread set by the oddsmaker, the more extreme the odds will get. It’s also an option to manipulate over/unders AKA "totals" set by sportsbooks in a similar manner.