Nfl Spread Betting Explained
Instead of straight betting games point spread individually or in a 3 team parlay, you can create a three team six point NFL teaser bet of: Falcons -1.5, Saints +7.5, Giants +11.5. To cash this ticket and win the bet it will require that all three teams cover the adjusted point spreads. The NFL handicap line is a fictional line created by the bookmakers. If a team is -5 then you are backing them to win by six points or more to win the game. If you are betting their opponent you are backing them to win the game or to lose by four points or less.
The novice football bettor may be a bit overwhelmed when they first create an account at an online Sportsbook and then look at the posted NFL betting lines. Most bets with your buddy will be on what NFL team will win straight up or who will cover the spread. This guide give you the basic types of Football wager types associated with a betting line. Football Betting Line
A betting line is a posted number that the online Sportsbook posts for each game in a certain sport. The betting line will have different wager options within the betting line. Bookmakers will post odds on who they think will win the game. The betting line will usually show a favorite and an underdog. The example below will show what a NFL betting line looks like at one of our recommended Sportsbooks Bovada.com .Moneyline Wager
The Moneyline wager means you are picking who you think will win the game straight up. In the example above, the Moneyline odds on the New York Giants are +140. In this example the New York Giants are the underdog. The +140 means that for every $100 you wager you will win $140. You do not have to wager $100. The betting line is a payout ratio odds and will be scaled to your actual wager. The favorite in this example is the Detroit Lions denoted by the -160. You have to risk $160 to win $100.NFL Point Spread Wager
The Point Spread is one of the most popular wagers in NFL Football betting. You need to cover the Point Spread to win your wager. For example the Favorite in this game is the Detroit Lions as they have a point spread of -3(-110). For you to win your wager, the Detroit Lions would have a final score beating the New York Giants by 4 or more points. The (-110) in brackets is the 'juice' or 'vig' on the wager. Sportsbooks take a standard 10% commission on all wagers. If there is not a -110 beside the point spread it is usually assumed 10% juice. The Underdog in the point spread is the New York Giants +3(-110). For you to win your wager the NY Giants could lose the game by 2 points or less. If the final is score is a margin of 3 points then the wager would be graded a PUSH and the wager amount would be returned to you.NFL Total Wager
A Total Wager is a bet on the OVER/UNDER for the Total Score at the end of the game of the combined teams. In this betting line the TOTAL is 33 (-110). For you to WIN the OVER TOTAL wager the final score would have to be 34 points combined for both teams. If the TOTAL score is exactly 33 then the wager would be graded a PUSH and your wager would be returned to you. The NFL betting line in the above example is for the full game. An NFL betting line can also be posted for 1st Quarters(1Q), 1st Half(1H) and 2ND Half(2H). Not all Sportsbooks post 1Q lines for all football games. Professional bettors are known to profit on 1H and 1Q wagers because they are able to handicap NFL games accurately because many NFL coaches script their first half plays. Moreover, 2H bets are very popular because you are able to see how well the team is playing in the first half.Circled NFL Line
Occasionally you will see a GREEN or RED box around a NFL betting line. When a NFL Point Spread, Moneyline or Total betting line is boxed RED or GREEN this is referred to as a CIRCLED Line. It is also referred to as GREEN or RED Boxed.Green Circle NFL Betting Line
A GREEN circle means that there are higher bet limits on the betting line and there are no betting restrictions. Very popular NFL nationally televised games are usually GREEN circled due to their popularity.Red Circle NFL Betting Line
A RED Circle line is one of the most common questions asked by new online Football gamblers. A RED circle line means that there are lower bet limits (usually $500 bet max.) and the bet option cannot be included in Parlays, Teasers, IF Bets and Round Robin Bets. Bookmakers RED circle games to reduce Risk to the Sportsbook. An NFL Game is usually RED circled when a key player is uncertain to play like if QB Peyton Manning was uncertain to play right up to game time. A game may also be RED Circled due to severe whether conditions that could affect the OVER/UNDER Line. Bookmakers will not tell you why they circle games. Each Bookmaker will have their own policy that is set by their risk management team that is headed by their head line maker. Most RED boxed games are removed several hours before kickoff or when a Sportsbook gets accurate information to put out new NFL betting line. How NFL Odds, Lines, Point Spreads and Totals Work
When you wager on NFL football it’s important that you understand clearly and concisely how to read odds and how they work. This is basic information that you must know in order to make informed bets.
You’ll need to know how the rotation number, point spread, moneyline and over/under are used and what each means. Each of these terms may be called by another name. The rotation number if often referred to as the number or the rotation mark, moneyline becomes line, point spread is called the spread, and over/under becomes the total. When you come down to it, these are the major terms that can be lumped under the heading odds.
Bookmakers use odds to even out the bets, getting gamblers to wager on both sides of the line by leveling the playing field. Although there is overall parity in the NFL, there are teams that are haves and others that are have-nots. Indianapolis is still superior to Cincinnati but when they play each other the bookies have to get about half of the bettors to put cash on the Bengals. This covers the sportsbooks ensuring they’ll make a decent amount of cash on just about every game.
When you read NFL odds, you’ll first see the date and time of the game on the left and then immediately to the right, there will be two numbers with the name of each team next to one of each numbers. That number is called the rotation number.
Rotation numbers are standard from sportsbook to sportsbook. The number becomes a way to refer to the game and team without mentioning the teams name. It’s a sort of shorthand. Also, the rotation number allows each book to list the games in the same order—numerically. It is, in essence, a way to keep all of the games that are posted each day and throughout the week organized. That makes it easy for the bettor and the bookie.
As an example, let’s consider a matchup between the Indianapolis Colts and the Cincinnati Bengals. In our scenario, the Bengals are the home team, which means they will be listed last and the Colts, as the visitors, will be on the odds slip first. If Indy’s rotation number is 101, then Cincy’s rotation mark would be 102. When you place a bet live at a Vegas sportsbook or over the phone, you would say the number of the team on which you want to wager and not the name.
| Date/Time | Rotation Number | Team | Point Spread | MoneyLine | Total |
| Sep 15 | 101 | Indianapolis | -10.5 | -380 | 37.5 |
| 1:00 | 102 | Cincinnati | +10.5 | +255 | 37.5 |
To the right of the team’s name are the different types of odds. Usually the spread will be first. You may then see the moneyline (although some books list these on another slip) and then, finally, the over/under. Thus, all of the basic bets are in one place, allowing for easy access.
The point spread, which is the most popular type of bet, lists the favored team with a minus sign and a number and the underdog with a plus sign and the same number as the favorite. (If neither team is favored, they will be listed as EVEN or PICK.)
Nfl Point Spread Betting Explained
The team that has the minus sign, which is the favorite, has points deducted from its final score, while the dog, with the plus sign, has points added. The favorite must beat the spread, which means they have to win by more than the negative number to pay off. The underdog pays off in two instances—if they win outright or if they lose by less than the spread.
In our scenario, Indianapolis is at -10.5 and Cincinnati at +10.5. If you bet on the Colts at -10.5, which means they are favored, they must win by 11 or more for you to collect on your bet. If you wager on Cincinnati, which is the underdog, your bet pays off if they win the game outright or if they lose by less than 11.
Sometimes with NFL odds you’ll see a spread posted as a whole number. Decimals or fractions are usually utilized to ensure there won’t be a tie. If in our example the spread was reset to 10 with the Colts favored and they win by 10, then the game is considered to be a tie, which in betting terms is called a push. If there is a push all bets are off and the sportsbooks return all wagers back to the bettors.
Many people will say that the odds on a spread bet are even, paying 1:1. But this is not true. The actual odds are 0.90:1. For every dollar bet, you can win 90 cents. When checking out the spread, you’ll usually see a number listed next to each spread. That number, which is your stake, is posted as -110. This number tells you how much you have to bet to win $100. If you put $110 on either team, you stand to win $100. If you bet $11.00, you can win $10.00. Every NFL point spread works this way.
The moneyline is different. First, with the moneyline whichever team wins the game pays out. There’s no giving or taking away of points. How do the bookies even the playing field with the moneyline? They do it by making bettors wager more on the favorite to win less and allowing them to bet less to win more on the dog. The favorite is posted with a minus sign and a number. That number represents the amount of cash that has to be wagered in order to win $100. The underdog, on the other hand, is listed with a plus sign in front of a number. That number shows how much a bettor wins when they bet $100.
Taking the exact same match up and odds above, Indy would be listed at -380 and Cincy at +355. When wagering on the Colts, the favored team, a sports bettor would be required to bet $380 to make $100. If they take the Bengals, who are the underdog, a $100 bet can result in a $355 profit.
Nfl Spread Betting Explained Odds
By the way, there is a relationship between the spread and the moneyline. The exact relationship can vary a bit depending on the book, but the correlation works in this manner:
| Point Spread | Money Line |
| -1 | -120/+100 |
| -2 | -130/+110 |
| -2.5 | -140/+120 |
| -3 | -155/+135 |
| -3.5 | -175/+155 |
| -4 | -200/+170 |
| -4.5 | -220/+180 |
| -5/-5.5 | -240/+190 |
| -6 | -270/+210 |
| -6.5 | -300/+220 |
| -7 | -330/+250 |
| -7.5/-8/-8.5 | -360/+280 |
| -9/-9.5 | -400/+300 |
| -10 | -450/+325 |
When considering NFL odds, the last type of basic bet you’ll see listed is the total or over/under. The over/under is a prediction regarding the total number of points that both teams will score. As it is with the spread, the total is usually posted as a fraction or decimal and the stake is the same as it is with the point spread (-110)
Explain Point Spread In Football
With NFL odds the over/under can vary but usually it’s somewhere between 35 and 47 points. Let’s say in the Colts and Bengals game that the total is posted at 37.5. If Indy scores 27 and Cincy gets 13 points, the total would be at 40 and the over would win. But if the Colts rack up 35, and they shut out the Bengals, the total of 35 would be under.
If, as it is sometimes with the spread, the total is listed as a whole number, the result may be a push. Let’s say the total is 37 and the Colts score 24 and the Bengals 13 for a total of exactly 37 points. If this happens all bets are returned on the push.
If you are able to interpret NFL odds and know what the various terms mean, such as the rotation number, point spread, moneyline and over/under, you’ll have a basic understanding on what you are betting. Prior to wagering make sure you see our NFL odds page, which carries all the latest odds from the top online sportsbooks. Remember that the odds makers are attempting to even the out the bets on each game. The sports bettor has to analyze each game and the odds and make their bets accordingly in order to win cash.