What is Covering the Spread?

Our Gambling 101 series continues with an explanation of what covering the spread means. How does that happen and why do bettors wager on spreads in the first place?

Gambling 101: What is Covering the Spread? /

Simply put, covering the spread is the goal of every bettor who has placed a point spread bet. This SI Gambling 101 feature explains what it takes to cover the spread.

What Does Cover the Spread Mean?

Covering the spread means a team wins or loses by a specific amount of points designated by the sportsbook. For example, if Team A is a -3.5 point favorite and you bet on them to cover the spread, they need to win the game by 4 or more points for you to win your bet. If Team B wins the game or loses by 3 or fewer points, you lose your bet.

What is Spread Betting?

Spread betting is betting on one team or another to cover the spread set by the sportsbook. Usually the odds on spreads are -110 on both sides. If you bet on Team A to cover as a -3.5 favorite, you are betting on the spread.

What is a Point Spread?

Designed to create action on both sides when one is deemed superior to the other, point spread betting was invented by mathematician Charles K. McNeil and introduced in the early 1940s. Against the spread (ATS) wagering is part of the standard big three betting options, which also includes moneylines and totals. Points spreads are a popular gambling choice in pro and college football as well as basketball. Here are some examples of ATS betting odds from the NCAA, NBA and NFL.

College Football Point Spread Example

Clemson 5.5 (-110)
LSU -5.5 (-110)

NBA Point Spread Example

Houston Rockets +6 (-110)
Los Angeles Lakers -6 (-110)

NFL Point Spread Example

Green Bay Packers +3 (-110)
Minnesota Vikings -3 (-110)

How to Read a Point Spread

In all of the examples above, the team with the minus (-) before the number is considered the favorite. They need to win the game and beat the opponent by more points than the number for you to win your bet. They are considered the favorite. The underdog has a plus (+) sign before the number. They are the underdog.

Favorites are always listed with a negative (-) point spread line while the underdog is posted with positive (+) odds.

How Does a Bet Cover the Spread?

In the college football example, for instance, Clemson is a 5.5-point favorite over LSU. If you bet on Clemson to cover the spread, they need to win by 6 or more points for your bet to win. If you bet on LSU, you need them to win the game or lose by 5 or fewer points to win your bet.

What is a push?

There can also be a situation where you push the bet, IE you get your inital wager back. In the NFL example, if you bet the Packers to cover the +3 spread and the final score is Vikings 28, Packers 25, the bet pushes and you get your wager back. However, if the Packers win or lose by two or less, you win.

How to Bet Against the Spread

Betting against the spread isn't just about betting on which team wins. It's about betting on which team you think will win or lose by a specific amount.

In closer spreads, like the Packers-Vikings example above, you have to ask yourself if you think the Packers are capable of winning the game, and if not will they keep the score within a field goal. In bigger spreads, where one team is say a 10.5-point underdog, it's more about why you think that team will keep the game closer than oddsmakers believe.

It's also important to note that spreads change in the lead-up to a game based on injury news, weather forecasts (where applicable), and other extenuating factors.

Why Bet a Spread?

Many bettors like betting spreads because they either get a better return on their investment wagering on a favorite or because they like the underdog to keep the game close but not necessarily win. In the three examples above, bettors would earn a $100 return on a $110 wager on any of the teams to cover the spread. Betting on the Vikings to win outright as a three-point favorite would likely come at the cost of -150 odds as opposed to -110. That means you’d have to bet $150 to win the same $100. In other terms, a $100 bet on the Vikings to cover the spread would net a return of $90.90, while that same bet on the Vikings just to win (moneyline) would net a return of $66.70.

Other Point Spreads

Other sports, like the NHL and MLB, have a different kind of "spread." In hockey, it's called a "puck line." In baseball, it's called a "run line." Here are some examples.

NHL Point Spread Example

A puck line in hockey is usually set at 1.5 goals with one team being the favorite and the other the underdog. The interesting note is the favorite usually has plus (+) odds to cover the spread because winning by two or more goals is hard in hockey.

If Team A is a -1.5 favorite with the odds set at +150, you need Team A to win by two or more goals to cover the spread. If they do and you wager $10 on it, you win $15 because of the +150 odds. If you wager on Team B at +1.5 with -200 odds and they either win the game outright or lose by one goal, you win $5 on a $10 bet based on the -200 odds.

MLB Point Spread Example

Betting the spread in baseball is the same as hockey, though the run line can be wider than a puck line in many cases. So, if Team A is set as -2.5 run favorites at +200 odds and you wager on them, you need that team to win by three or more runs to win your bet. If you bet on Team B +2.5 at -300 odds, you need them to win or lose by two runs or fewer to win the bet.

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