What Does Point Spread Mean In Football
- How Does Point Spread Work In Football
- What Does The Point Spread Mean In Football
- What Does A Point Spread Mean In Football
Just how accurate are the oddsmakers as point spreads change and grow? Most people would predict that as spreads increase in size, the accuracy of the oddsmakers at predicting the final score should fall.
May 19, 2017 Note: Something to keep in mind is that because we are looking at spreads from a favorite’s perspective – meaning using negative numbers – “lower” spread numbers (-14, -15, -16) represent “bigger” spreads, while higher numbers mean “smaller” spreads (-3, -2, -1). Dec 26, 2018 The point spread is a handicap placed on one team for betting purposes only, it has no place in the game itself. It's designed to give both teams an equal chance at winning in the context of wagers. Think of it this way: If last season's Super Bowl champion was playing a basement-dweller team that hadn't won a game all year, that's a shoo-in bet. A point spread in sports is a way for oddsmakers to make a matchup between two unbalanced teams more balanced by giving points to or taking points away from each team. A point spread bet is a wager in which you bet which team is going to outperform their expected performance. The sportsbook will set a line based on how well they think each team will do during the game, and then you choose which team will perform better than that set line.
What we’ve done is examined the standard deviation on the ATS (against the spread) margin of thousands of games in all of the major sports to see if there is any relationship between the size of the spread and how close oddsmakers are able to predict the final margin of victory.
Knowing how accurate the oddsmakers are can help in all sorts of situations, but especially when considering teasers. If oddsmakers aren’t as accurate with bigger lines, we can reduce the risk of teasers by only taking games with smaller lines. It’s a sound theory, but results of our research will tell us whether or not that theory is true.
Explanation of Standard Deviation for Point Spreads
The ATS margin from which we gather the standard deviation is taken from hundreds of games at each spread. For example, a game with a line of -2 that ends with a final score of 88-76, assuming the favorite won, would be 10 (if the underdog won, the ATS margin would be 14). This tells us how far off the oddsmakers were at predicting the final score.
The standard deviation in the tables below has been run on the ATS margins of thousands of individual games at each spread for each sport. The final standard deviation number represents about how much variation can be expected between the actual final ATS margin and each posted spread (the expected ATS margin). The lower the variation, the more accurate oddsmakers are at predicting games with that spread.
You may find this explanation of standard deviation easier to understand:
As a slightly more complicated real-life example, the average height for adult men in the United States is about 70 inches, with a standard deviation of around 3 inches. This means that most men (about 68 percent, assuming anormal distribution) have a height within 3 inches of the mean (67–73 inches) – one standard deviation – and almost all men (about 95%) have a height within 6 inches of the mean (64–76 inches) – two standard deviations. If the standard deviation were zero, then all men would be exactly 70 inches tall. If the standard deviation were 20 inches, then men would have much more variable heights, with a typical range of about 50–90 inches. Three standard deviations account for 99.7 percent of the sample population being studied, assuming the distribution is normal (bell-shaped).Wikipedia – Standard Deviation
At the bottom of each table, you will see a correlation. The correlation tells us how effective the spread is at determining the standard deviation.
A correlation is expressed as a number between -1 and 1 (correlation coefficient). The closer the number is to 1, the stronger (more accurate) the positive correlation, the closer the number to -1, the stronger the negative relationship.
As a correlation draw closer to zero, it shows a lack of causation in the data. In our samples we expect a negative correlation (as spreads get lower (-1, -2, -3…), the standard deviation should get bigger). Note: Something to keep in mind is that because we are looking at spreads from a favorite’s perspective – meaning using negative numbers – “lower” spread numbers (-14, -15, -16…) represent “bigger” spreads, while higher numbers mean “smaller” spreads (-3, -2, -1…). Now let’s see the results for each league and find out if our theory holds any water.
We are displaying the results of our research in the form of scatter charts in order to help you visualize the data. In terms of a strong correlation, you would want to see the data points clustered in a falling line. The more spread out the data points, the weaker the correlation.
Oddsmaker Accuracy for NBA Games
Correlation: 0.60
The relationship between the spread and standard deviation of ATS margin is stronger in the NBA than it is in any other league we examined (though it’s still not really that strong in statistical terms), however, it’s the opposite of what we expected it to be.0010 As the spreads get lower in the NBA, the variance in ATS margin actually gets lower as well (a positive correlation). This means that oddsmakers predict the scores of NBA games with large spreads better than they do in games with small spreads.
As you’ll soon find out, this is not the case in every sport, but our theory for why this does happen in the NBA has to do with the predictability of a team winning the game outright. Once you get to a line of -8 in the NBA, you start seeing a high percentage (79% to be exact) of teams winning outright, in comparison to spreads of -4 where just 61.6% of those teams end up winning outright. If you are more certain that a team will win the game, it makes it a lot easier to land your estimated final score near the actual final score. With that being said, this phenomenon doesn’t seem to happen in any other sport, so it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact cause.
How Close Vegas Lines Are to College Basketball Scores
Correlation: -0.33
With college basketball we get more of a the result we were expecting. We get a small negative relationship, meaning as spreads get lower, so does the standard deviation. There is a bit of a catch here. With spreads up to about -15.5, we see the same thing we saw in the NBA (a positive correlation) where the accuracy of oddsmakers goes up with the lower spreads.
Once we get to spreads of -16 or more, however, we start to see that negative correlation we expected. This is likely because once spreads get over 16 points, you are most likely looking at a huge blowout (which is fairly common in college basketball) or you end up with a game that is closer than expected, making for a wider range of variance than games with bigger (closer) spreads. The reason we don’t see this in the NBA is because there simply aren’t spreads that large on a regular basis.
Do Point Spreads Help Predict the Final Score of NFL Games?
Correlation: -0.06
There is no relevant association between the size of the spread and accuracy the oddsmaker has at predicting the final score. Lines are tight enough and talent gaps small enough in the NFL that this makes a lot of sense.
Predictability of College Football Scores by Vegas Odds
Correlation: 0.09
While I’m not surprised that the standard deviation for college football games is higher on average than it is in the NFL (simply meaning it’s less predictable), I am surprised that there is no significant relationship between the size of the spread versus the actual final ATS margin.
Conclusions
There are a few things we can take away from this data. The first is that oddsmakers are very good at what they do. Although there is a lot of variance in how far the spreads they set are off of the final score, they are, in large part, very consistent with the amount of that variance.
We can also safely say that our theory on the relationship between the size of the spread and amount of variance in the final ATS margin was completely wrong – and that’s great! Proving a theory wrong is just as effective as proving one right. While there may be certain sample situations where you can expect a higher volatility in ATS margins, by and large, there is no reason to expect a game with a bigger point spread to be more “off” the final ATS margin than a game with a smaller spread.
More on Standard Deviation in Football & Basketball
Second only to moneyline bets, point spread bets are the next most popular type of sports bet that you can make. Whether you are an expert sharp who crushes the books or you’re a brand-new bettor, point spread bets are most likely going to be a big part of your winning betting strategy. In fact, some successful professional bettors exclusively utilize point spread bets to make up their winning strategy.
In this guide, we’re going to walk you through all the details you need to know to understand point spreads, make point spread bets, and hopefully start turning a nice profit with them. We’ll start with some basic information for the novice bettors, including what a point spread bet is, how to make one, how they typically pay out, and the benefits of utilizing this type of bet.
Following that, we’ll get into some basic and advanced strategies of betting point spreads for the more seasoned sports bettors. Regardless of where you fall on the skill scale, you’re hopefully going to get some value from this article.
If you’re brand new to sports betting or it’s been a really long time, we recommend reading the guide from top to bottom, as the sections will build on information from prior sections. If you’re a seasoned bettor looking for a specific piece of information, you can go right ahead and skip down to the section you need or to the bottom of the page to see the point spread betting strategies.
Without further ado, let’s jump into the world of point spread bets.
The Nuts and Bolts of a Point Spread Bet
Before we can talk about how to crush point spread bets, we need to make sure that everyone reading this fully understands exactly what a point spread bet is and how they work. A point spread bet is a wager in which you bet which team is going to outperform their expected performance. The sportsbook will set a line based on how well they think each team will do during the game, and then you choose which team will perform better than that set line.
How Does Point Spread Work In Football
Since they can’t write “5 or 6,” they decide that they think the Dolphins are going to win by 5.5 points. If they think the Dolphins are going to win by 5.5 points, this obviously means that they think the Jaguars are going to lose by 5.5 points. A team can’t win the game by a different number of points than what the other team loses the game by. That should be common sense, but sometimes basic stuff can be confusing when you’re taking in a lot of new information, so we wanted to clarify.
So, the line for this game would look something like this.
- Miami Dolphins -5.5
- Jacksonville Jaguars +5.5
You’ll notice that one of the teams has a plus sign in front of the point spread line, and the other has a minus sign. The plus sign indicates the team that is the underdog (Jaguars), and the minus sign indicates the team that is the favorite (Dolphins). The number after that, as we’ve already pointed out, is by how many points the sportsbook thinks each team is either a favorite or underdog.
If the game were to go exactly as the sportsbook predicts, the Dolphins would win by 5.5 points. Now, there aren’t half points in NFL football, so it’s either going to be 5 or 6 points. We’ll talk about why they use half points in point spreads here in a minute.
As we stated, to win a point spread bet, you have to bet on the team that outperforms their predicted results. Does that mean the team has to win? Nope! All the team has to do is do better than the predicted line, and you win your bet. This means that a team can lose the game, but you can still win your point spread bet on them. On the other side, a team can win their game, but you can still end up losing your point spread bet.
The Dolphins are expected to win by 5.5 points. So, since they can’t win by half points, if they win the game by 6 or more points, you would win your bet. What happens if they win the game by 5 or fewer points? You would lose your bet because they are underperforming how they were supposed to do. If they lose the game, you obviously will also lose your bet because they are way underperforming.
What about with the Jaguars? Well, they are expected to lose the game by 5.5 points. What happens if they lose the game but by only 5 points? You’d win your bet because they are outperforming what the point spread said they would do. If they lose the game by 5 or fewer points, you will win your bet. If they win the game, you will obviously win your bet because they are way outperforming what was predicted of them by the point spread line.
You may already be seeing the point why, but let’s talk about why half points are often used in point spreads by the sportsbook. The sportsbook will do this to ensure that there is a winning side to the bet. If they made the point spread 6 points or 5 points instead of 5 and a half, there becomes the possibility of a tie. If the line is 6 points, and the Dolphins win by two field goals, then the bet is a tie, and all the money is returned to everyone.
This isn’t that bad for each bettor, but the casino will make $0 off the bet, and they don’t like that. You will see whole number lines when they are necessary, but the sportsbook heavily prefers to use half-point lines for obvious reasons.
That’s all there is to a point spread bet! You bet on which team will outperform their predicted results, and that is it. In the next section, we’re going to talk about how point spread bets are paid out and how to calculate your potential winnings.
Point Spread Movement
Now that you fully understand what it takes to win a point spread bet, let’s talk about how the sportsbook makes money and why that is important. If you recall from our discussion on moneyline bets, the sportsbook will alter the payouts to bring in the desired amount of money they want on each side of the bet. Remember, the sportsbook’s entire goal with any bet is to get the same amount of action on each side of the game, take a small percentage off the top, and make money no matter who wins the game.
If the sportsbook gets $500 bet on the Dolphins and $500 bet on the Jaguars, it doesn’t matter to them who wins. If the Dolphins win, they’ll pay them with the Jaguar bets. If the Jaguars win, they’ll pay them with the best from the Dolphins fans. They then will take a small percentage off the top for their profit for facilitating the bets.
This is the sportsbook’s goal. Obviously, though, bets are not always going to come in evenly on both sides of a game. The sportsbook has to do something to try and encourage and discourage action as they need to in order to try and get the equal action they desire. With moneyline bets, they accomplish this by changing the payouts. If they need more bets on one team, they’ll change the payouts to be higher for that team and lower for the other team. Remember, with moneyline bets, it does not matter by how many points a team wins, just that they win.
With point spread bets, though, they rarely will change the payouts (as you will see in the next section). What they do instead to encourage and discourage action on each side of the bet is to change the point spread. For example, let’s say that all the money is pouring in on the Dolphins, and the sportsbook needs to try and get some more money in on the Jaguars to even things out.
What they will do is shift the point spread. Currently, the Dolphins need to win the game by more than 5.5 points for someone to win that bet. To discourage action, they might change that to 6 or 6.5 points. Now, if the Dolphins win by those two field goals, instead of someone winning this bet, they will now lose.
When they adjust the Dolphins line to -6.5, it at the same time shifts the Jaguars line from +5.5 now to +6.5. This means the Jags can now lose the game by up to 6 points, and you would still win a bet on them. This would hopefully encourage action on that side of the game. If the line shift does not get the desired results, it will shift further until it does. If it gets way too much of a result, then it will shift back the other direction. The sportsbook will continue to do these shifts all the way up until bets close to try and get an even amount of money on each side of the game.
As you may guess, this can create some unique opportunities to get better lines if you can accurately predict the point spread movements. We will talk about that much more in depth in the strategy section of this guide.
Understanding and Calculating Point Spread Payouts
Now that we’ve covered the basics of the point spread bet, let’s talk about the more fun side of things – what you’re going to get paid when you correctly pick a winner. The nice part about spread bets is that most of the time they are going to pay out the exact same regardless of which team you bet on. The reason for this is that the only reason the sportsbook ever moves a line is to get more action on one side of the bet or the other. Since they are already doing this by moving the actual point spread number, there is no need to do it with the payout.
The one exception is when they really don’t want to move a point line, but they still need to try and switch action. We will look at an example of this shortly that will show you what this will look like and when you might expect to see it. Here’s what the point spread bet from earlier might look like in an actual sportsbook.
- 0034 Miami Dolphins -5.5
- 0035 Jacksonville Jaguars +5.5
Sometimes, they will look like this:
- 0034 Miami Dolphins -5.5 (-110)
- 0035 Jacksonville Jaguars +5.5 (-110)
The first way that we presented it is like the “shorthand” version of the second way. It’s how you’re going to end up seeing it most of the time. In the second way, you see that both bets are going to pay out at a rate of -110. This is the standard payout for almost all point spread bets. Regardless of which side of the bet you are on, you can expect to be paid out at -110. We will cover the one exception shortly.
So, when you don’t see any payout odds listed, you can safely assume they are going to be -110. If you make a $100 bet at -110, you will get back a profit of $90.91. Notice that you are not getting paid back at even money. What’s going on here? Well, that $9.09 is the sportsbook taking their percentage for their profit.
Remember earlier when we talked about the sportsbook taking $500 in bets on both sides? Let’s imagine that happens, and each side is five separate $100 bets. So, the bets they take in look like this.
What Does The Point Spread Mean In Football
- $100 bet on the Jaguars point spread at -110
- $100 bet on the Jaguars point spread at -110
- $100 bet on the Jaguars point spread at -110
- $100 bet on the Jaguars point spread at -110
- $100 bet on the Jaguars point spread at -110
- $100 bet on the Dolphins point spread at -110
- $100 bet on the Dolphins point spread at -110
- $100 bet on the Dolphins point spread at -110
- $100 bet on the Dolphins point spread at -110
- $100 bet on the Dolphins point spread at -110
The sportsbook successfully achieved their goal of getting the same amount of action on both sides of the bet. Let’s see what happens for the sportsbook if the Dolphins win and if the Jaguars win.
As you can see, they will make a profit no matter what. You may also start seeing that winning 50% of your bets will not break you even. You’re going to have to do a little better than that to break even or turn a profit.
The majority of the time you make a point spread bet, you will be paid at this rate of -110. But on rare occasions, the sportsbook will change the payout odds and leave the point spread the same. This happens a lot when they don’t want to put out the possibility of a tie or if they think that the half-point move is going to cause an avalanche of action that would leave them heavily unbalanced the other direction.
For example, in football games, the sportsbook rarely likes to move off a +-2.5 line to +-3. This usually causes that avalanche of action and also puts out the big possibility of a tie and no profit for them. Instead, this is what you might see. Let’s say the Jags and Dolphins game is actually a lot closer, and the current spread is this.
- 0034 Miami Dolphins -2.5 (-110)
- 0035 Jacksonville Jaguars +2.5 (-110)
Let’s say that the sportsbook has an unbalanced number of bets with too much action on the Dolphins. Normally, they’d shift the line to -3, and the problem would fix itself. However, in football, a shift to +-3 usually causes a huge shift in action. So, here’s what you might see instead to encourage action on the Jaguars.
- 0034 Miami Dolphins -2.5 (-120)
- 0035 Jacksonville Jaguars +2.5 (EV)
What Does A Point Spread Mean In Football
You can now get the Jaguars at +2.5 at even money. This means that instead of being paid out at -110, you will receive even money for your bet. If you make a $100 bet, you’ll now get $100 in profit back instead of just $90.91. This will sometimes fix the problem. A lot of sharp bettors do see this as a sign that the line will probably move to +3 right before the game. It doesn’t always happen, but sometimes waiting could be smart if you would rather have the +3 instead of the even money at +2.5.
If you don’t like math and just want a pretty close way of determining your payout on a point spread bet, you’re in luck. Just assume you’ll be getting about 90% of what you bet back in profit. So, if you bet $10, you should get about $9 in profit. If you bet $30, you should get about $27 in profit.
The Benefits of Using Point Spread Bets
You may already see the benefits of betting point spreads, but we wanted to take a minute and hammer home some of the reasons that these bets are a great addition to a winning sports betting strategy.
Bet on Teams You Think Are Going to Lose
Without spread bets, if you think a team is going to lose, you aren’t able to intelligently bet on them. If you think that a team is greatly underestimated but is still going to lose, you’re out of luck. But thanks to spread bets, you can bet on teams that you’re confident are still going to lose the game.
First, this is great for entertainment value. Got a favorite team that loses most of their games? Well, now you can bet on them and not be setting money on fire. Second, this is great for profitability. Often, you may have predictions and see trends with teams that aren’t always winning. You might be the master of spotting a team’s problems and analyzing when they’re going to be getting better.
With spread bets, you now have the betting flexibility to jump on these predictions and turn them into money. If you’ve ever been in a bar where someone was cheering for a team that was down by too many points to come back by, you either saw one of the most die-hard fans ever, or you saw someone who was betting the spread.
Easier to Understand Value
When you’re picking winners with moneyline bets, it can be a bit challenging for you to see with the naked eye whether or not the bet has value. If a team is +200 to win, is that enough value for you? If you’re a seasoned sports bettor or you have some complex formulas you use, you can probably tell definitively if that has value or not. But what about for the rest of the people that like to use their gut and feel a bit more?
Point spread bets make this possible. While you may not be able to tell if +200 is a good line, you might be able to tell if +4.5 points is a good line or not. Points are a metric that we all regularly use and understand. This makes quickly seeing value and using our gut to make picks much easier and much more accurate.
Point Spread Betting Strategies
We’ve gotten through all of the basics and more, and now it’s time to talk strategy. Ultimately, it’s going to come down to being able to spot value and pick winners, but there are some tips and tricks that you should keep at the forefront of your mind when making your selections.
Predict and Exploit Line Movement
If you’ve been betting for a long time, you know how much value there is in getting an extra half point or even a full point on a bet. It can literally be the difference between winning and losing. If you haven’t been betting for long, just ask a seasoned sports bettor or anyone in the sportsbook if a half point makes a difference. We guarantee they will have hundreds of stories of bets they lost by only a half point.
What this means for you is that you need to look for any opportunity to get your hands on an extra half point or more. The way you do this is by predicting how the lines are going to move and then deciding if you should bet now, not bet at all, or wait for the line to move more in your favor. Remember, once you make a point spread bet, you are locked into that line.
Start tracking lines and watching them throughout the week leading up to a particular game. Try and see if you can start to see trends or reasons the line moves. Often, the lines will move based on news stories or public opinion. Injuries, suspensions, and weather will also play a big role in the movement of lines. If you happen to see a line move for a reason that you think is not legitimate, you may find yourself a great betting opportunity.
Calculate Your Spread Predictions Before Looking at Lines
One of the best tips we’ve ever heard when it comes to point spread bets is making your own spreads before you look at any of the lines. Take the games that you might be interested in betting and calculate out what you think the spread is supposed to be. Then, take those spreads and compare them against the sportsbook. If you see lines that are equal to or more in your favor, then you’ve found value and should bet.
The problem that a lot of bettors run into is that they let what the sportsbooks have as lines affect their opinions. This can force you to miss value and talk yourself out of something that you see. You can prevent this by hiding the book lines before making your own. Additionally, if a line doesn’t look favorable right away, you’ll know how far you need it to move in your favor to make it a wise bet.
The Public and the Sharps
Regarding line movement, there are a few trends that seem to play out quite often on higher-profile games. The public has a strong tendency to hammer the favorite late in the week right before the game. Keep in mind that “late in the week” refers to the days right before a game. If the game is earlier in the week, this refers to the few days right before.
This means that if you’re looking to bet against the favorite, you might want to wait until late in the week to place your bet. As the bets pour in late on the favorite, the odds will move to try and entice more action on the underdog (the team you want to bet on). Even if it does not move, you should still be able to get the same bet at the same spread. And if for some strange reason it goes the other way, you can just wait and bet on the next game. There are no shortages of betting opportunities, so there’s no need to force bets unless you’re just an action junkie betting for entertainment purposes.
If you happen to see a big line movement early in the week, these are most likely from the sharp bettors who are betting large sums of money. Strategically speaking, this will at least let you know which side of the bet the smart money is on. Sometimes you can still jump on board with them and still get some value, but sometimes the value may be gone by the time they move the line. This will have to be something you decide on a case-by-case basis based on where you think the value starts and stops on a bet.
Double Down on Good Moves
If you recall, we said that you were locked in on a particular point spread once you’ve made your bet. But this doesn’t mean that you aren’t able to place a second bet if the line moves even more in your favor and you are confident in it.
The line opens, and it’s the Dolphins -4. This is a great line for you, and you decide to make the bet. Following this, the public jumps onto a feel-good story about the Jaguars and bets them heavily. The line shifts to -3.5. Now, your original bet is still at -4, but now you potentially have an opportunity to double down on your bet. If you’re confident in the Dolphins and your prediction, you might be smart to make a second bet at the Dolphins -3.5.
If you’re not very confident in the prediction to begin with or prefer a lower-risk approach, you don’t have to double down. You can keep your original bet and call it a day. But if you like your spot, you’re going to like the extra half point even better. The takeaway here is that you don’t have to make the second bet, but the option is there if you want it.
The Wrap-Up
Hopefully, you can now consider yourself an expert on point spread bets. While they’re simple bets in nature, they harness a lot of power when it comes to turning a profit. Professionals all over the world utilize these on a daily basis to crush the books. Now it’s your turn to take what you’ve learned here, blend it with your predictions and research, and start crushing the sportsbooks for yourself. Don’t let the simplicity of these bets fool you. Your earning potential is huge, and point spread bets are definitely a medium to the top of the sports betting industry.