Types of Bet: Pointspread
Some games can be mismatches, where everybody knows who’s going to win a particular event. This is not very interesting to bet on, because the return on betting the favorite is not very high, and the underdog is highly unlikely to win in the first place.
The spread is what a sportsbook uses to make an event interesting for bettors. Consider the example below:
| New York Giants | +3.0 | -110 |
| Green Bay Packers | -3.0 | -110 |
In the example, the spread is set at three points. The +3.0 after the New York Giants means that the Giants are the underdog in this game; the Giants must either win, or not lose by more than three points, for a bet on the Giants to win.
The –3.0 after the Green Bay Packers means that the Packers are the favorite; the Packers must win by more than three points for a bet on the Packers to win.
If Packers win by exactly three points, then the bet is said to have fallen on the spread and is deemed a push. All bets are voided and the stakes returned in this instance.
The second number, -110, after each team is the price of a winning bet. A winning bettor will win $100 for every $110 bet.