The world of sports betting has seen an explosion of activity since the advent of the internet. People around the world are now able to connect and place bets on sports games. One of the world's most popular forms of sports betting is point spread betting. There is a major difference between this style of betting and conventional bets. With a conventional bet, you are wagering that a particular outcome will occur. With Point Spread betting, you are wagering that a team will score more or fewer points than some target number of points.
Example: In this type of gambling, if you were to wager 5$ per point that a team would outscore their target, then if that team won, you would not necessarily win your bet. You would need the team to earn more points than its goal. Let’s say the goal was 10 points, and they scored 15 points. If you had placed a buy bet, then you would get 5$ for every point they scored over 10 or 25$ profit total. It also works in reverse. If the team had scored under their target, you would lose 5$ for every point that it was under.
How Does Point Spread Betting Work?
There are a few different versions of this game, so how it works may vary slightly. In general, you will need to find a team and place a wager on them. After the season is over, depending on how they performed versus the tear get that was set in the beginning, you will either win or lose money. Let’s say the original bet was that a team would score 50 points over the season. If at the end of the season they had scored more than that, you would win money for every point over. If they had earned fewer than their goal, you would lose money for every point under the target.
The Beginner’s Overview of Sports Spread Betting:
If you are interested in placing your first bet, there are a couple of things to keep in mind first. Realize that the potential for wins is large, but so is the potential for losses.
Do not place a bet where you cannot afford a worst-case scenario. As long as you keep those rules in mind, you will do fine.
Once you are ready to place your first bet, we can begin. The exact rules will differ depending on the sport that is being played. In this example, we will talk about soccer.
If you were to place a bet on the total number of goals made during a game, you are not actually placing a bet on a particular team.
Let’s say that the market had the price set at 4. This means that 4 goals total are expected to be made during the game. Let’s say you placed a 10$ buy order. Now it is the end of the game. The final scoreboard reads 2-5. Your favorite team lost by three points.
Yet you actually will end up winning your bet with a 30$ profit. This is because there were 7 goals placed total by both teams for the game, and the market price was 4. You would get 10$ n profit for every goal that was scored over 4 during the game.
The Top Sports Spread Betting Strategies
There are few strategies specifically for this type of betting. There are some tools that you can take advantage of to improve your odds, though. You should not ever place a bet in a market that you are unfamiliar with unless you are OK with losing that money. Much of the strategy to this type of betting comes from your familiarity with the sports and the typical outcomes of matches.
If you are a serious gambler and like to place larger wagers, you should get familiar with the stop loss protocol. This will limit the amount of money that you are capable of losing with anyone bet that is placed. Managing risk is essential in this type of betting. You can also sell your position if the market moves during the game to lock in a guaranteed profit. By alternating between these two strategies to maximize gains and minimize losses is the most effective strategy, you can use with this style of betting.
The Difference Between Spread Betting and Fixed Odds Betting
There are many more shades of victory and defeat when you are betting on a spread instead of fixed odds. With fixed odds betting, you get a black and white outcome. Either you win your bet, or you lose it. Your winnings are determined by the odds of the overall bet. With spread betting, you are wagering about the movement of the market. Your wins and losses will be magnified by the outcome of the game. You could end up with much larger wins or losses with a spread bet vs. a fixed bet on the same game.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are Point Spreads?
The point spread is the range given by the market that results are expected to fall within. The smaller number is the selling price, and the larger number is the buy price. If you bet, the results will be under the spread you use the selling price when placing bets. If you believe that the results will exceed the spread you use the buy price.
Is point spread betting risky?
All forms of betting are inherently risky. That being said, the potential risk of spread betting is even larger due to the way that losses are calculated. There are ways to help reduce the amount of risk you are exposed to, though. Try to use smaller bets if you are new. Your wins will be limited, but so will your losses. You are also able to sell your bet on a spread if it moves above the initial spread to lock in your gains.
What is the 2.5 point spread?
When you have a fractional number in the spread, it is telling you that the winner needs to get over that number for you to win a buy bet. Or if you placed a bet on the underdog team, they simply must lose by less than 2 points for a winning bet to be made. To put it more simply. If you have a fractional spread and place a buy bet, then round the number up, and if it’s a sell bet, then round the number down.
Who regulates sports spread betting?
The Gaming Commission. In the United States, this type of betting is regulated by the same authorities who regulate all forms of gambling.
Final Thoughts
If you have been waiting for the perfect moment to join in sports betting now is the time. The world of sorts is alight with bets every day. Make sure to manage your risks and have fun.