Nuccaneers Hockey Betting News

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Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens have signed veteran forward Jeff Halpern to a one-year contract. As per team policy, no terms of the deal were announced. The 34-year-old Halpern split last season betwe

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Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White recalled infielder Dayan Viciedo and pitcher Carlos Torres from Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday. Viciedo, 21, appeared in 27 games earlier this season with the major league club and hit

<< Former two-year-old champ retired
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Every year following the running of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile the winner of the race is automatically declared the early favorite for the next year's Kentucky Derby. Street Sense is the only thoroug

<< Orioles activate P Hernandez
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles have reinstated pitcher David Hernandez from the 15-day disabled list. He was placed on the DL August 5 with a left ankle sprain. The right-hander is 4-3 with two saves and a 3.29 e

A's bring up Hermida >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics on Tuesday selected the contract of outfielder Jeremy Hermida from Triple-A Sacramento. The A's signed Hermida last week after he was released by the Boston Red Sox, and was promptly

Nets waive F May >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Nets have requested waivers on forward Sean May less than a month after signing him. May had signed with New Jersey on August 9 and suffered a stress fracture in his left foot las

Hendrick taking different approach to Chase this year >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Team owner Rick Hendrick arguably had his best season in NASCAR's premier series in 2009, with Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon finishing 1-2-3, respectively, in points. That same scenario won't be un

Broncos ink DL Vickerson, cut Smith >>
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Broncos bolstered their defensive line on Tuesday by agreeing to terms with Keith Vickerson to a contract. Details were not released per team policy. The 6-foot-5, 321-pound defensive lineman

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.