Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
07/29/2010 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings announced Thursday that defenseman Matt Greene is expected to be sidelined approximately three months after recently undergoing shoulder surgery.
Greene, 27, appeared in 75 games with the Kings last season, collecting two goals and nine points.
Originally selected by Edmonton in the second round (44th overall) of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, Greene has five goals and 31 assists in 308 career games with the Oilers and Kings.
<< Desmond helps Nats win series from Braves
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ian Desmond went 2-for-3 with a home run and
drove in two, as the Washington Nationals edged the Atlanta Braves, 5-3, in
the rubber match of a three-game series.
Scott Olsen (3-2), who was reinstated from
<< NCAA penalizes Arizona basketball program
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NCAA has penalized the University of
Arizona for major violations involving the men's basketball program.
The NCAA said in its release that the violations, which include
impermissible
<< Sabres' Kennedy awarded one-year deal
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo Sabres forward Tim Kennedy was awarded
a one-year contract worth $1 million by an arbitrator on Thursday.
Per guidelines set in the NHL's current Collective Bargaining Agreement, the
Sabres cannot
<< Seahawks sign free agent G Pitts
Renton, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Seahawks have signed free agent
guard Chester Pitts.
Though terms of the deal were not disclosed by the club, the Seattle Post-
Intelligencer reported on Thursday that Pitts was br
Sens re-sign F Regin >>
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Ottawa Senators on Thursday re-signed
forward Peter Regin to a two-year contract.
Regin, 24, registered 13 goals and 16 assists in 75 games with the Senators
last season, his first full NHL campaig
Falcons sign first-round pick Weatherspoon >>
Flowery Branch, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Falcons agreed to terms with
their 2010 first-round draft pick, linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, the club
announced on Thursday.
Financial terms were not released.
The 6-foot-2, 244-pou
Sanchez throws gem as Marlins earn split with Giants >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anibal Sanchez was nearly perfect on the
mound as he tossed his second career shutout in Florida's 5-0 win over San
Francisco.
Sanchez (8-6), who authored a no-hitter in 2006, gave up just one hi
Jimenez gets 16th win as Rockies snap eight-game slide >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ubaldo Jimenez turned in seven strong
innings and Clint Barmes drove in three runs as Colorado blitzed Pittsburgh,
9-3, to stop an eight-game losing skid in the finale of a three-game series at
Coors F
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.
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:
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.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
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.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting