How does the point spread work?

[dolphins4life]

I was watching the 49ers-Chargers SB.

As Humphries threw a pass in the final seconds, the announcer said, "Hearts were beating all over the land".  This was because the 49ers were up by 23 and the spread was 18.  If San Diego had scored, they would have beaten the spread.

What would that have meant to the gamblers?  If you bet on the 49ers but they didn't win by at least 18, would you lose your money?

Could somebody explain to me more how the spread works?  Is that kind of gambling illegal?

BTW, I have no interest in ever betting on sports.

[Spider-Dan]

If the line was SF -18, that means that you would subtract 18 points from SF's total and compare the scores; if SF is still winning and you bet on SF, you won.  (SF -18 can also be worded as SD +18.)

If SF won by exactly 18 points, it is called a "push" and all bets are canceled.  This is why you will frequently see lines of, say, 18.5 points: since it's impossible to score half a point, there will always be a winner (and a loser).

Oh, to answer your question:  if SD has scored a TD and SF won by 16, people who bet on SF would have lost.   Keep in mind, though, that a bet is finalized at the time you make it.  For example, the line for that game could have started at SF -14, but if too many people were betting on SF and not enough on SD, the bookees will raise the line to SF -15, SF -16, etc. to get more people betting in favor of SD.  Whatever the line was when you placed your bet is the line that you are playing off of.

Bookees generally want as close to a 50/50 split on both sides of the contest as they can get, though I can't explain why that is more profitable.

[BigDaddyFin]

The spread is also determined by how much money is bet on each team.  Every point represents about 750k in terms of actual cash if you go by the Las Vegas line (there are others but it's the one most people use) so if the Giants are a 3 point favorite that means that approximately 2.25 million more dollars were bet on the Giants than whoever they are playing.

Also remember that homefield the old rule goes is generally worth 3 points against the line so if Miami is a three point favorite against Buffalo, Vegas basically thinks the two teams are equal.  Anything lower than 3 points is considered a "pick" game because the teams are essentially even. 

The other thing you want to look at besides the spread is the under/over.  For example, if the Jets/Patriots game as a 45 under/over it means that the total points scored in the game will be 45.  45 is the tie on which you almost always lose with the bookie.  So people will often use that instead of a team bet if they think it's going to be a high or low scoring game.

[Pappy13]

Bookees generally want as close to a 50/50 split on both sides of the contest as they can get, though I can't explain why that is more profitable.

I'm not a gambler, so I can't say for sure, but isn't there some sort of fee that bookees take if you win and it's this fee that is where they make their money for the most part?

[Phishfan]

I never paid a fee other than my losses.

[Landshark]

I'm not a gambler, so I can't say for sure, but isn't there some sort of fee that bookees take if you win and it's this fee that is where they make their money for the most part?

That is exactly right.  My wife has cousins who live in Nevada and they place sports bets from time to time.  Bookies want to "balance their books" because that way, it's a guarantee that they will make money.  They charge "vig" or "juice" to the winners.  Take for example the upcoming Dolphins-Bills game.   Let's say the bookie charges a 10% vig and collects $100,000 in bets for each team.  The Dolphins end up being the winning team.  He'll keep the $100,000 he got from the people who bet on the Bills, but only pay out $90,000 to the people who bet on the Dolphins.  This way, he makes $10,000 after all is said and done.

[fyo]

I never paid a fee other than my losses.

No, but if you look at a 50/50 bet, the bookie doesn't quite pay out 2-1 to the winner. Take something like an over/under. If the bookie wasn't making a profit, you'd get $200 back on a $100 bet (if you won). Typically, you have to put down $110 to get $210 back (slightly less than double).

So, if bookies can balance the bets, they have ZERO risk. They make money no matter what. As BigDaddyFin points out, they don't want the same absolute dollar amounts on each "side" (unless it's a 50/50 bet, like over/under). They simply want to minimize their risk.

[BigDaddyFin]

^^^

Which is where the layoff kicks in but that's a whole new story and has nothing to do with your betting on the game. 

Basically what you want to remember is that the line is how many points the underdog is given, so if the underdog is getting 7, and you bet the game it means you think the favorite will win by more than 7 points.  If the favorite wins by seven, most of the time you lose on a tie.  Some places will give you a "push" where they basically say ok you bet a hundred, but we tied so I'll take that hundred and you can put it on another game.

Or the other way of doing it is to bet the under/over, which is a number Vegas generates indicating how many total points will be scored in the game.  It's not the same as a point spread, but it's another way to bet if you have no opinion of either team.

[Guru-In-Vegas]

That is exactly right.  My wife has cousins who live in Nevada and they place sports bets from time to time.  Bookies want to "balance their books" because that way, it's a guarantee that they will make money.  They charge "vig" or "juice" to the winners.  Take for example the upcoming Dolphins-Bills game.   Let's say the bookie charges a 10% vig and collects $100,000 in bets for each team.  The Dolphins end up being the winning team.  He'll keep the $100,000 he got from the people who bet on the Bills, but only pay out $90,000 to the people who bet on the Dolphins.  This way, he makes $10,000 after all is said and done.

Where in Nevada do they do this?  Sports books pay 100% of winning tickets and keep 100% of losers.

[AZ Fins Fan 55]

Where in Nevada do they do this?  Sports books pay 100% of winning tickets and keep 100% of losers.

I was wondering the same thing....I have bet at many casinos in Laughlin, Vegas, and Reno and never had a fee come out of that, at least that I remember.

[Landshark]

Where in Nevada do they do this?  Sports books pay 100% of winning tickets and keep 100% of losers.

I'm just going by what my wife's cousins told me.  They may bet with a bookie that's not associated with a casino.

[tepop84]

That is exactly right.  My wife has cousins who live in Nevada and they place sports bets from time to time.  Bookies want to "balance their books" because that way, it's a guarantee that they will make money.  They charge "vig" or "juice" to the winners.  Take for example the upcoming Dolphins-Bills game.   Let's say the bookie charges a 10% vig and collects $100,000 in bets for each team.  The Dolphins end up being the winning team.  He'll keep the $100,000 he got from the people who bet on the Bills, but only pay out $90,000 to the people who bet on the Dolphins.  This way, he makes $10,000 after all is said and done.

They don't want balanced action.  They know who is going to win, and what the public is going to bet on.  It is a common misconception that they want balanced action.

[tepop84]

Where in Nevada do they do this?  Sports books pay 100% of winning tickets and keep 100% of losers.

most places it costs 110 to win 100.  So everybody pays 110, winners get 110+100 win, losers lose 110. 

[Guru-In-Vegas]

^ That depends on the moneyline. You bet an underdog who is +500 to win you can win 500 bucks just by wagering 100.  Then if you pick a heavy favorite such as Manny Pacquiao or New England vs. Miami then you'll see something like -700 (and up) to where you'll have to wager that much just to win 100 bucks.

My point was: whatever you wager + the payout = what the casino will give you upon trading your winning ticket in for money.  No fees or anything.  Well, at least not in the many casinos I've been to.

I'm just going by what my wife's cousins told me.  They may bet with a bookie that's not associated with a casino.

And that would be very odd.  I can't imagine why anyone would want to pay from their winnings.  The only way I've ever seen it is when an out of towner has someone in Vegas place a bet for them.  If they win the Vegas person usually gets a cut for their troubles and sends the rest of the winnings back out of state. 

Never heard of an actual Nevadan going to a independent bookie to regularly bet.

[Spider-Dan]

^ That depends on the moneyline. You bet an underdog who is +500 to win you can win 500 bucks just by wagering 100.  Then if you pick a heavy favorite such as Manny Pacquiao or New England vs. Miami then you'll see something like -700 (and up) to where you'll have to wager that much just to win 100 bucks.

The point seems to be that the moneyline includes the house's take.

In other words, if you have to bet 100 to win 500, that means there is more than 5 times as many people betting on the favorite.