Plus or minus numbers in sports betting, what’s the difference?!

Point Spread: spread picks are one most popular bet type especially in NFL, and NBA. These two particular sports score higher point averages. When reading a point spread picks you have the two options, (-)represents the “favorite” (+)represents the “underdog.” These symbols are usually followed by a number shown here: (-5.5) or (+5.5). Let’s take a closer look at (-5.5), the (-) is the “favorite” or team with the high odds of winning. The 5.5 represents how many points the team has to win by. When reading this it would translate into Chiefs need to win by at least 6 points. For (+5.5), the (+) is the “underdog” or team that is more likely to lose. The 5.5 represents how many points they will lose by. The translation would be, Bills need to lose by 5 or less points. Let’s use a real game example.

SPORT: NFL AFC Divisional Kansas City Chiefs vs. New York Buffalo Bills

FAVORITE: (-5.5) Chiefs need to win by 6 or higher

UNDERDOG:(+5.5) Bills need to lose by 5 or less

FINAL SCORE: (42-36) F/OT

If you placed your bet like this (-5.5) Chiefs then you would have won the bet. If you were to place your bet like this (+5.5) you also would have won, because you are betting that the Bills are going to lose by at least 5 points.

Now let’s apply this with money. I’ve noticed that a lot of sportsbooks use -110 on their odds sheets so we will use that for the example. Sportsbooks take a 10% commission or “juice” off any bets that are placed. For every $1 you bet, you risk $1.10. If you want to win $100, you have to bet $110. Let’s take a closer look.

EXAMPLE:

Odds sheet for betting on the favorite. When reading odds sheets, (-) odds are how much you have to risk or bet to win your profit.

-110 (bet)

$100 (profit)

$210 (payout)

Odds sheet for betting on the underdog. Reading odds sheets with (+) that’s how much you can win on placing your bet.

$100 (bet)

+200 (profit)

$300 (payout)

Usually most odds sheets will have the (-) with a higher buy-in rate because most people bet on the favorite. The (+) odds will usually have a higher profit to incentivize bettors to bet on the underdog. It really depends on who is playing and what type of information you have on which team to place your bets. Having a reputable handicapping service will take some of the guesswork out of sports betting.

Reading a point spread odds and lines example

If you have a odds sheet and you see:

-LA Rams or -150. (-) means “favorite,” the LA Rams is referring to the team. The 150 means you have to bet $150.

Now if the spread sheet reads like this:

+LA Rams or +150. (+) means “underdog,” now the LA Rams would be considered as the underdog or least likely to win. The 150 means this is the amount you can win, if you bet on the underdog or (+).

Best of luck to you!

Photo by Tyler Easton on Unsplash