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The Point Spread
The point spread is the number of points by which oddsmakers predict the favored
team will win. If you bet on the favorite, the margin of victory must be greater than the point
spread to win the bet. If you bet on the underdog, you win if the favored team fails to
exceed the point spread or if the underdog wins or ties the game outright.
The over/under is the total points oddsmakers expect both teams to score. You bet
on whether the total points scored will be more or less than this number.
A money line, used in the baseball odds, takes the place of a point spread.
If the money line were 150, you'd need to bet $1.50 on the favorite to win $1.
Football odds explained
Football odds information includes both a point spread and an over/under number.
The point spread is the number of points by which oddsmakers predict the favored
team will win. If you bet on the favored team, the margin of victory must be greater
than the point spread for you to win the bet. If you bet on the underdog, you win if
the favored team fails to exceed the point spread or if the underdog wins or ties the
game outright. In the example below, the point spread appears after the favored team.
Because oddsmakers update the point spread, the opening and current point spreads
are shown, with the opening spread listed first. In the following example, Dallas was
favored by 5 points when betting opened, but is currently favored by 7 points.The
over/under is the total points oddsmakers expect both teams to score. You bet on
whether the total points scored will be more or less than this number. In the example
below, the over/under number appears next to the underdog.
Dallas -5/-7 San Francisco 36 O/U
Baseball odds explained
In baseball, instead of a point spread there is a money line.Think of the money line in terms of how many pennies you would have to bet to win $1. If the money line were 150, you'd need to bet $1.50 on the
favorite to win $1. If you bet on the favorite and won, you would receive $2.50 (your bet of $1.50 plus your winnings of $1.00). To bet on the underdog, you would need to bet only $1 to win but would only receive $2.40 because the house takes its commission from the winners of underdog bets. Generally the commission is around $.10 for money line bets. Because oddsmakers update the money line, the opening and current money lines are shown, with the opening money line listed first. In the following example, Los Angeles is
favored. The opening money line was 150, and the current money line is 149.
The over/under number is used as in other sports. However, sometimes the over or under side of a bet is favored and in these cases there is a money line associated with the over/under bet. In the following
example, the over/under number is 8.5, and an over bet is favored, indicated by the letter "o" following t he over/under number. If the under bet were favored, there would be a letter "u" and if neither side is favored, "o/u" appears. If you bet over, you are risking $1.30 for a $2.30 payout ($1 plus your bet of $1.30) and you win if the combined scores of both teams total 9 or more. If you bet under, you are risking $1 to win $1.10 ($1.30 minus the house commission of $ .20) and you win if the combined scores of both teams total 8 or less. If neither over nor under was favored, you would risk $1.20 to win an additional $1 on either side of the bet.
Los Angeles -150/-149 Cincinnati 8.5 o-130
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