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Good morning, students! Today’s MyTopSportsbooks class will delve into the meaning of ‘covering the spread’ in sports betting. It will also address football point spread and betting against the spread. Successful bettors will always consider the moneyline vs point spread when working out the best way to bash the bookies. A single touchdown can make all the difference when playing the spread, and the payout is reflected accordingly.
What Is Point Spread Betting?
Point spread betting, simply put, refers to when you pick a team to win or lose by a certain number of points. Point spread betting has long been a popular betting option for gamblers looking to make money from NFL, NBA, college football, or college basketball fixtures.
You can build parlay bets using point spreads, but the format varies by sport. In the NHL, the equivalent of a point spread is called the puck line, typically set at -1.5 for favorites. In MLB, it’s called the run line, usually also -1.5. Both are spread-style bets tied to margin of victory — not just who wins. These alternatives offer more nuanced betting options beyond the standard Moneyline.
The betting market is flexible and wants to help you spend your bucks on a hockey game, baseball game, or a futures bet on the Super Bowl.
What is a Point Spread Wager?
The point spread represents the oddsmaker’s or bookmaker’s best guess and the public’s reaction to the separation (in terms of points) of any specific game. Imagine you were betting on basketball in the 2028 Olympics and you saw that Team USA were favored in a matchup by as many 50 points. This would be denoted as ‘-50’ on the point spread betting line. When you read the odds board, you’ll see teams listed with a plus sign or a minus sign to indicate the favorite or the underdog. When you see the point spread odds, they are considered live.
Let’s take a look at an example in the world of football. Imagine the Detroit Lions were playing the Kansas City Chiefs in a 2025 matchup. The Lions might be listed at +2.5 (underdog), while the Chiefs could be listed at -2.5 (favorite). If the final score is Chiefs 24 – Lions 23, a bet on the Lions would win, because adding 2.5 to their score gives them the edge (25.5–24). That’s what it means to cover the spread as an underdog.
What Happens When you Cover the Spread?
When you cover the spread in a NBA, NFL, college football, or college basketball game, the margin of victory must exceed the points provided by the online sportsbook or bookmaker. If you bet on a team to win by 30 points and they ran out victors with a 25-point margin, you would not win your bet.
In the event of a tie, a the bet will be cancelled. Sportsbooks refer to this as a ‘push’. In this scenario, everybody with the push result has their original bet returned to them like the game was never played.
What is the ‘Juice’ or ‘Vig’ in Point Spread Betting?
The juice or vig (short for vigorish) is the fee a sportsbook charges to take your bet, which is usually built into the odds. This may vary from sportsbook to sportsbook.. When you see the points spread on the board, it is often accompanied by another number.
Here is an example of how it might be set up. You might see the KC Chiefs listed at +3 and the Buffalo Bills listed at -3. You might see -110 or -120 beside the spread. While European sportsbooks may present these numbers differently (e.g. 1.95), it still means the same thing.
These numbers tell handicap bettors that they must bet $11 or $12 to win $10 if their bet covers the spread. The vig or the juice is the fee that sportsbook (sites such as BetMGM, Fanduel, and Draftkings) takes to handle your bet.
You could hedge your bet by taking Buffalo and KC and breaking even. The juice or vig is enabled so that the casino, online sportsbook app or bookie can make a profit from the bettor.
Do Point Spreads Change, and Why?
Point spreads go up and down and are reflective of the marketplace. There are reasons why the line will change, and we will expound on them.
- The sharps will engage in market-setting, and the sportsbook opens a market.
- Competitors copy the lines.
- Limits start relatively low. The size depends on the sportsbook.
- Information hits the market as game time gets closer to tip-off or kick-off. This information tightens the line.
- Books become more confident in their odds; they expand the odds. The books will follow the lead of the market setters and price in the betting odds house risk.
- The sportsbooks will close the line at game time.
Shop Around for the Best Point Spread Odds
As gamblers, we want to keep our bankroll when we place bets. To do so, you try to limit your exposure to odds that won’t return a winner. As mentioned before, shopping around turns losses into pushes and pushes into wins topping up your bankroll. At MTS, we encourage the sports bettor to shop for the best odds and invite you to visit our corporate partners to get the best odds for your bankroll.
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