Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
02/06/2012 - Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Golden State Warriors have waived center Earl Barron and recalled forward Chris Wright from the Dakota Wizards of the NBA Development League.
Barron averaged 2.0 points in just two games for the Warriors. He was originally signed as a free agent on January 13.
Wright averaged 1.0 point in five games for Golden State prior to being assigned to the D-League on January 26.
<< Sabres coach Ruff suffers injury at practice
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff had to be
helped off the ice during Monday's practice after colliding with Jordan
Leopold, according to the team's Twitter page.
The Sabres had no update on Ruff's s
<< In the FCS Huddle: QB openings not for the feint of heart
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - You don't have to be Tim Tebow to be the
most scrutinized quarterback around.
The light in the microscope usually shines brightest on any team's signal-
caller.
Considering big expectations follow the s
<< Cisse's debut offers plenty of hope for Newcastle
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Papiss Cisse's Newcastle debut may have come a bit earlier
than expected, but he sure gave fans on Tyneside something to get excited
about.
The Senegal international was the most expensive signing in a subdued Janua
<< This Week in Golf -- February 9th through February 12th
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PGA TOUR - AT&T PEBBLE BEACH NATIONAL PRO-
AM - Pebble Beach Golf Links, Monterey Peninsula Country Club, Spyglass Hill
Golf Club, Pebble Beach, California - One might look at this week's field for
the
Chiefs name Daboll offensive coordinator >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Chiefs hired Brian Daboll
as their new offensive coordinator on Monday.
Daboll joins Kansas City after serving as the Miami offensive coordinator in
2011. His team had a 1,000-yard r
Cavs waive Thompson >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers waived guard Mychel
Thompson on Monday.
The rookie played in five games this season and averaged 3.6 points and 1.4
assists in 19 minutes per game.
Baylor again a unanimous top choice in women's hoops >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baylor is once again a unanimous choice as the
No. 1 team in the Associated Press women's college basketball poll.
The undefeated Lady Bears received all 40 first-place votes and a total of
1,000 points f
Pierce, Parker named NBA Players of the Week >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce and San
Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker were named the Eastern and Western Conference
Players of the Week, respectively, for the week ending February 5.
Pierce averag
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting