Point spread betting explained

A point spread is a handicap that makes a lopsided game a close bet. The favorite gets a minus number and has to win by more than it; the underdog gets the same number with a plus sign and wins your bet if it wins outright or loses by less than the number. Chiefs −6.5 needs Kansas City to win by 7 or more. Bills +6.5 pays if Buffalo wins, or loses by 6 or fewer. Each side also carries a price, usually around −110, which is what you pay to bet it.

How is a spread quoted?

One number describes both sides from each team's point of view. “Chiefs −6.5” and “Bills +6.5” are the same line, and people say the line is 6.5 with the Chiefs favored. US books usually list the away team first or on top and the home team second, which is why the game reads Bills @ Chiefs. A full quote reads team, spread, price: KC −6.5 −110. The spread and the price move separately. A book that wants less money on the Chiefs can move the price to −120 and keep the spread, or move the spread to −7 and keep the price. When the spread is zero the game is a pick'em, written PK, and you just need your team to win.

What is a push?

When the spread is a whole number and the favorite wins by exactly that number, neither side wins. The bet is a push and your stake comes back. Inside a parlay, a pushed leg is usually removed and the rest of the ticket is paid at the remaining legs' odds; check your book's rules, since not every book handles it the same way.

Why half points matter

The .5 on a spread, called the hook, exists to rule out a push. It matters most when it sits on a common final margin. In the NFL, where scoring comes mostly in threes and sevens, 3 and 7 are the margins games land on most often, so they are called key numbers, and moving from −3 to −2.5 changes a bet far more than moving from −5 to −4.5. Books know this and charge accordingly, which is why buying a half point through a key number costs more than buying one anywhere else.

Spreads in other sports

Basketball spreads work exactly like football's, just with bigger numbers and fewer key margins. Baseball and hockey almost always use a fixed spread of 1.5, called the run line and the puck line. Because the number doesn't move, the price does the work: a favorite that is −180 on the moneyline might be +130 to win by two or more. Soccer has Asian handicaps, including quarter lines such as −0.25 that split your stake across two neighboring handicaps.

Alternate spreads

Besides the main line, most books offer a ladder of alternate spreads: the Chiefs at −3.5, −10.5, −13.5 and so on, each at its own price. Giving more points pays more; taking more points pays less. Alternates are useful for placing a bonus bet at long odds (see how to convert bonus bets) and for middles, where two books' different lines leave a gap that can pay both bets.

Finding the best spread

On the Odds Board, each spread row is one line, with every book's price for it side by side and the best one boxed. A cell showing a dot means that book is dealing a different line on the game, usually its own main number, and switching to all lines brings it into view as its own row. The Odds Board walkthrough explains the Fair column that tells you whether the best price is worth taking at all.