Sports betting pointspreads are the most common way people bet sports. The pointspread is commonly referred to as the “spread,” “line,” and “side” when people are betting sports. In this form of sports betting, gamblers either lay points on the favorite or take points on the underdog.
SPORTSBOOK BETTING LINES
Sports betting pointspreads are easy to understand. For example, in the NBA you might have the Dallas Mavericks -5 and the Houston Rockets +5. Sports betting gamblers would have the option of taking the Rockets, who would have to either win the game straight up or lose by less than 5 points to “cover” the spread and win the bet or they could take the Mavericks, who would have to win the game by more than 5 points to “cover” the spread and win the bet. If Dallas won by exactly five points, this would make for a tie, which is known as a “push” and all sports betting gamblers would get their money refunded.
Always keep in mind that when the oddsmakers set the pointspread for sports betting, they are either trying to make a line/number that will attract equal amounts of sports betting action to both sides of the matchup or they are attempting to set a “trap” line that will trick the public betting sports into taking the wrong side of a game. The reason that the sports betting oddsmakers would want equal action on both sides of a betting matchup is due to the “vig,” which is also referred to as the “juice.” “Vig” is the extra ten percent that a gambler must wager above and beyond what he is trying to win when betting sports. The winners, of course, get their “vig” back along with the stake money and their winnings, but the losers forfeit the “vig” as part of their stake money when betting sports.
As long as there was an equal amount of money wagered on both sides of the sports betting matchup, the “vig” is what guarantees that the sportsbook will make a profit for booking the sports betting action. That is why the line is set to appeal to the public, rather than the pure merits of the teams. Games rarely have sports betting action that is exactly balanced so the sportsbook entices gamblers to one side of the game or the other depending upon who they believe will cover the spread.