Soccer Spreads Explained
Points spread +/- is the most common sports bet type made on many US sports. It is a bet that can give excitement to one sided games because you can’t just bet the favorite to win. You have to work out if they will win by more than a certain number of points.
Betting on Arsenal. Arsenal win: your bet wins, as both halves cover their respective handicaps (-0 and -0.5) Arsenal draw: you lose half your bet (half the bet ends in a 'push,' while the other half loses). Soccer Spreads Explained In terms of this type of betting the line, a goal spread is meant to establish a favorite and an underdog and then draw a handicap to even out the playing field. The goal spreads in soccer are typically small, with a half-goal up to two goals the spread that is seen most often.
Point spread is betting on who will win the game with the favorite being handicapped a given number of points. This could equally be expressed as the underdog getting that number of point’s head start.
Applying the point spread can make a game even. Let’s say the betting community thinks Argentina are 1.5 goals better than England. Sportsbooks will put up a points spread market of
Soccer Betting Odds Explained – Understanding Meanings, Tips & Strategies for Odds in Betting (2021) By Ben Gibson. Last modified: 31st May 2020. Jun 20, 2010 '-1/2, -1' means that you put half your money on Brazil -1 and half on Brazil -0.5. If Brazil wins by 1 Goal you push the -1 but cash the -0.5. If Brazil wins by 2 you cash both. Soccer Spreads Explained In terms of this type of betting the line, a goal spread is meant to establish a favorite and an underdog and then draw a handicap to even out the playing field. The goal spreads in soccer are typically small, with a half-goal up to two goals the spread that is seen most often.
| Selection | Odds |
|---|---|
| England + 1.5 | 1.92 |
| Argentina – 1.5 | 1.92 |
Let’s say you backed the underdog with the head start, indicated by the “+”. To determine if your bet was a winner, take the final score of the game then add the underdogs head start to their score and see which team is ahead. So if the final score is
England 1
Argentina 2
Soccer Spreads Explained Games
Add England’s head start of +1.5 goals and you get
England 1 + 1.5 = 2.5
Argentina 2
So with the points spread added you have a winning bet.
If you back the favorite to win with a -1.5 goal handicap, 1.5 goals will be deduced from the favorite’s final score. As such you need the favorite to win by more than 1.5 goals for that to be a winning bet. So in this example the final score is
England 1
Argentina 2
Deduct Argentina’s handicap of -1.5 goals and you get
England 1
Argentina 2 – 1.5 = 0.5
If you bet on Argentina to beat the spread of -1.5, you have a losing bet.
Soccer Odds Explained 1 X 2
The Hook
A points spread will usually be a number and .5, known as they hook. This removes the chance of a draw which would result in a push where all bets are refunded. If a team had a handicap of -2 goals and then won the game by 2 goals there would be a draw. But with a handicap of 2.5 there can be no draw.
The odds
Soccer Betting Lines Explained
When the points spread represents the betting community’s view of how much better one team is than the other, the odds will be 50:50 or “pick’em”, which means the same for both teams. This indicates there is an equal chance for the favorite to cover the spread or not.
Asian handicap
An Asian handicap is simply goal spread betting on soccer. It is popular because it removes the frequent outcome of a draw in soccer by handicapping or head starting a team by an amount of goals with a .5.
A 2 way Asian Handicap such as Chelsea -1.5 & -2 means half of your stake is put on Chelsea -1.5 and the other half is put on Chelsea -2. This is sometimes displayed as Chelsea -1.75, so be aware if you see an asian handicap listed as Home +.25 this will split half your bet as Home +0 and half as Home +0.5.