Wdenvernuggets Basketball Betting News

<< Bibby, Kings torch 76ers
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Bibby poured in 21 points and dished out six assists to lead the Sacramento Kings past the Philadelphia 76ers, 101-76, at ARCO Arena. Kevin Martin added 18 points and Brad Miller contributed 13

<< FSU's 4th-quarter surge sinks UCLA in Emerald Bowl
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lorenzo Booker rushed for 91 yards and two touchdowns as Florida State scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to beat UCLA, 44-27, and capture the Emerald Bowl. Booker also caught five

<< Stars come from behind to knock off Colorado
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Halpern scored the game-winning goal and added two assists, as the Dallas Stars came from behind to defeat the Colorado Avalanche, 5-4, at the Pepsi Center. Jere Lehtinen had a goal and two helpers wh

<< No. 17 LSU bests Wright State
Baton Rouge, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Glen Davis had 26 points and 12 rebounds to lead the 17th-ranked LSU Tigers to a 71-45 stomping of the Wright State Raiders in opening-round action of the Hispanic College Fund Classic. Dameon Mason

Clippers crush Boston >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Elton Brand and Tim Thomas scored 25 points each to lead the LA Clippers to a 100-77 rout of the Boston Celtics. Brand grabbed 10 rebounds as well for the Clippers, who have won two of three. Corey Maggett

Former Yankees star Murcer battling brain tumor >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former New York Yankees star Bobby Murcer is set to undergo surgery for the removal of a brain tumor on Thursday in Houston. According to a report in the New York Daily News, the 60-year old Murcer has been s

Allen-less SuperSonics visit Iverson, Nuggets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The new-look Denver Nuggets wrap up their homestand tonight, as they welcome the Seattle SuperSonics to the Pepsi Center. Superstar Allen Iverson poured in 28 points and dished out 13 assists to lead Denver past the Boston

Jazz play at San Antonio >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams with identical records battle tonight, as the Utah Jazz visit the San Antonio Spurs tonight at the AT&T Center. This is second meeting of the season between the clubs. On November 29th, Carlos Boozer scored 23 p

What Is the Point Spread?

What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?

In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.

Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).

If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).

Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.

How to Read Point Spreads

New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles

The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)

In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:

• Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
  OR
  
• Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.

• There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.

  The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:

  Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots

  Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.

  For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically

  Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:

• Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
  OR
  
• Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score

  Who Really “Won” the Super Bowl odds ?

  Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21

  The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.

  Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.

  Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).

  Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.

  And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.

To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.