Against the Spread

The Spread - It's the predicted number of points by which a favored team is expected to beat a weaker team by

• Most common type of sports bet
• Determined by casino sports books taking into account records, weather conditions, where the game is played, player injuries and more.
• Once the spread is set, the favorite doesn't just have to win, they have win by a certain margin.  They have to "beat the spread"
• The casino's goal is to get half the people to bet on one team and half on the other.  That way, regardless what team wins, the casino wins.

Jargon (Example spread is 7)

• The favored team is said to be "giving points".  
• It's represented on the betting sheets as minus (favorite team is -7 points)
• The underdog team is said to "getting points". (underdog team is +7 points)  
• If the team you beat on doesn’t win by more that the spread, then its said they "didn’t cover" (the spread) and your bet loses.

The next time you're in Vegas, grab a betting sheet and look for that spread that speaks to you.  Use your knowledge of the teams and the sport to try and make informed decisions when placing a bet against the spread.  

Keep in mind that the casinos want equal action bet on each team so that they win regardless of which team wins the game.