Betting 101 · Red Meat & Cigar Club editorial
Point Spreads
Handicapping the favorite.
Example numbers — made up for illustration, not real lines
The point spread is the signature bet of American football and basketball. It exists to make a lopsided game interesting from a betting perspective: instead of asking who wins, it asks whether the favorite wins by enough.
How it works
Example: Home -6.5 (-110), Opponent +6.5 (-110).
- A Home bet wins only if Home wins by 7 or more.
- An Opponent bet wins if the Opponent wins outright or loses by 6 or fewer.
The (-110) is the price on each side. You risk $110 to win $100 either way, which is how the book collects its margin.
Half-points and pushes
A spread ending in .5 can't tie. On a whole number — say Home -7 — if Home wins by exactly 7, the bet is a push and stakes are generally returned. Rules vary on how a push affects a parlay; often the leg is removed and the parlay pays at reduced odds.
Key numbers in football
NFL final margins cluster around certain values because of scoring: 3 (a field goal) and 7 (a touchdown plus extra point) are the most common, followed by numbers like 6, 10, and 14. That makes half-point moves around 3 and 7 especially significant. Books frequently adjust the price, for example from -110 to -120, instead of moving the number off 3 or 7.
Basketball spreads
NBA and college basketball spreads work the same way but key numbers matter less because scoring is more continuous. Late-game fouling and free throws can swing results against the spread in the final seconds — a familiar source of frustration for fans with a bet on the game.
Puck lines and run lines
Hockey and baseball have lower scoring, so their spread versions are usually fixed at 1.5. A hockey favorite at -1.5 must win by 2 or more; a baseball favorite on the run line at -1.5 must win by 2 or more. Because the spread is fixed, the price moves instead. Example: Favorite -1.5 (+140), Underdog +1.5 (-165).
Alternate spreads
Many books offer alternate spreads — you can lay more points for a better price or take more points for a worse one. Example: Home -10.5 (+165) or Home -3.5 (-180). The math works out the same as any price: a bigger payout means a lower implied chance.
Teasers
A teaser is a type of parlay that lets you move spreads in your favor by a set number of points (commonly 6 in football) in exchange for a lower payout and requiring every leg to win. The pricing varies widely by book. Like parlays, they're harder to hit than they look.
Why spreads move
Spreads change with injury news, weather, and the money coming in. See our line movement guide. Comparing spreads across licensed books in your state is called line shopping.
The takeaway
The spread turns any matchup into a near coin-flip on paper — and the -110 price means you need to win about 52.4% just to break even. That's a high bar over time. Enjoy the sweat, keep stakes small.
Common mistakes
- Confusing the spread with the moneyline: a team can win the game and still fail to cover.
- Ignoring the price. -3 (-120) is a different bet from -3 (-105).
- Overvaluing half-points away from key numbers, or undervaluing them on 3 and 7.