Betting On The Point Spread
Understanding the different types of betting options is crucial when you’re getting a start as a first-time sports bettor.
Get your original bet back if the point spread results in a tie. Usually when you win a bet, you’ll get your original bet back plus an additional amount based on the odds. If the point spread for both of the teams is a round number, then there could be a tie, also known as a “push.”. Point spread betting is the most popular form of sports betting. The vast majority of sports wagers use a point spread thanks to the popularity of football and basketball. Even though this type of betting is so popular, it may take awhile to understand. The point spread is sometimes known as an equalizer for sportsbook operators.
The Point Spread: Betting the spread
For those new to sports betting, the point spread is the simplest, most straightforward approach to placing wagers.
Sports books set a predetermined margin of points on a game and a team must win – or not lose – by that set number. That’s why you’ll often hear people say the team won, but they “didn’t cover the spread” so their bet still came up short.
It’s not a matter of a team winning or losing like in a moneyline bet.
For a favorite:Is Spread Betting A Good Idea
The favorite must win by more than the point spread.For an underdog: The underdog must outright win OR lose by fewer than the point spread.Sports books aren’t in the business of predicting who will win or lose games. Their goal is setting a pre-game point spread with the intention to generate an equal amount of betting action/volume on both sides of the ledger – as much total money being bet on the favorite as on the underdog.
The vast majority of point spread wagers are made on football and basketball because of the proliferation of points that are scored in comparison to sports like baseball and hockey, where 1-0 or 2-1 games aren’t that out of the question or out of the norm. There’s one every night.
For example, the New England Patriots are playing the New York Jets and New England is a 9½-point favorite. Bettors typically have to spend $110 or so to win $100 with sports books, known as “the house edge/advantage.” With a point spread bet, simply having a team win the game isn’t the key. The critical factor to betting a point spread is how much a team wins or loses by. If a wager is placed on New England – “laying” the 9½ points – the Patriots need to win the game by 10 or more points for that bet to pay off. If New England wins 28-20, those betting on the Jets plus 9½ points (points added to their final total) win the bet.
The same general rules apply for basketball and are quite easy to follow because of the inherent simplicity of the bet. When it comes to betting sports like baseball and hockey, the standard bets are made on the “money line” – an established number for both teams to win the game outright.
What makes point spread bets attractive are the fluid nature of each game – it’s a reality show that, when done right, is inexplicable. Games change on one play and momentum is a thing. But, when it comes to point spread betting, you know where you stand at every moment.
For those just starting out, the simplest form of gambling is betting the spread because it’s the easiest to explain and understand, which explains why it is the most popular form of sports wagering.
The Dallas Mavericks visit the Orlando Magic on Monday night, and if you’re looking to do some last-minute betting research, you’re in luck! We’ll give you the latest point spread, moneyline odds and over-under number, as well as the information you’ll need to make the smartest bet on BetMGM.
The game tips off at 7 p.m. ET and can be seen on Fox Sports Southwest and Fox Sports Florida.
The Magic are on a three-game slide entering Monday’s game and are 0-1 against Dallas on the season. The Mavericks beat the Magic on Jan. 9, 112-98.
The lines, courtesy of BetMGM
Betting Point Spread Basketball
Point spread: Mavericks -5.5Money line: Mavericks -250 / Magic +190Over-under: 220.5Place your legal, online sports bets in VA, CO, IA, IN, NJ, PA, TN and WV at BetMGM.
Advice and prediction
I’m all over the Mavericks at -5.5 on Monday.
The Magic have been devastated by injuries this season and will be extremely short-handed against Dallas, while the Mavericks are at full-strength and coming off an impressive road victory in Brooklyn. Orlando has dropped its last three games by double-digits, losing by 15 to the Jazz, 37 to the Nets and 12 to the Pistons. Luka Doncic has been unstoppable as of late, averaging 30.3 points per game in the month of February on 48 percent shooting. The Mavs will continue to roll on Monday.
Prediction: Mavericks 119, Magic 101
Get more betting analysis and predictions at Sportsbook Wire.
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