The opening line – when the bookmaker opens the betting round for an NBA game – however will most likely have the same payout: -110. The payout line will slightly vary depending on several factors and so will the spread. Worth mentioning is that you won’t always find the exact payouts presented in the example above.

The underdog mustn’t necessarily win they can also lose by a margin that is lower than the spread to print some more dollars. The plus sign tells the story of the underdog. The favorite MUST win by more than the number shown after the minus to cash in a profit. Some say the margin picked by the bookie is the ‘breakeven’ point, however this is NOT entirely true as you will read in the next lines.īefore that though, what’s important to remember is this: the minus sign points at the favorite of the matchup.

Thus the spread is basically picking the margin by which an NBA team will either win or lose. If the away team lose by 5 and you bet $110 on Bulls +9.5, congrats, you are $100 richer. For the Bulls, they must win OR lose by 9 points or less to get the bet right. But what does the first number mean? -9.5 tells us the Lakers MUST win by 10 or more points to cash in. We all know what -110 means: if you bet $110 on either outcome, you will win an extra $100 as pure profit. Alongside the Money line betting option – picking the straight up winner of the game – there is also the spread: The Bulls are in rebuilding mode and on a tiring Western road trip.

The Lakers are heavy favorites with the addition of LeBron James. It’s your usual Thursday Night NBA Action with a late show in LaLa Land between home team Lakers and the Chicago Bulls. So, what is this point spread? Or just spread? In some cases, you will even find just an acronym ATS which means Against The Spread with the same meaning as the other two mentioned terms.Ī straight up example will definitely help you understand these fuzzy terms from the get-go. Let’s just start from the very beginning. The next step should be reading our pro NBA Parlay Picks, yet let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

So how can we fight back? How can we find that much-needed edge to turn a profit in the long run?įor starters, reading this guide should familiarize you with the basics and also help you understand the more advanced topics. Picking a winner from a one-sided NBA matchup may be an easy task but playing the spread game is one of the toughest jobs a professional bettor can do on any given NBA day.Īs always, the bookies are one step in front of the thrill-seeking bettors and look to turn the apparent 50/50 odds in their favor.

How to bet point spread basketball