Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
06/01/2010 - Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The British Columbia Lions extended the contract of safety Jason Arakgi, a West Division All-Star last season. Terms of the contract extension weren't released.
One of the best players on special teams coverage the last two seasons, Arakgi compiled 35 such tackles in 2009 to tie the Lions team record.
"Jason has become an integral part of our special teams unit and I know he's going to continue to develop his skill set in seasons to come," said Lions general manager and head coach Wally Buono.
<< Vazquez strong on mound as Yanks win in Bronx
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An inconsistent Javier Vazquez bounced back from
a poor start to toss seven innings of one-run ball and a Miguel Tejada two-run
error in the seventh handed the Yankees a 3-1 win over Baltimore in the opener
of a th
<< Cantu, Paulino help Florida down Milwaukee
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jorge Cantu doubled in the go-ahead run off
Trevor Hoffman in the seventh inning and the Florida Marlins downed the
Milwaukee Brewers, 6-4, in the second installment of a four-game series.
Ronny Pau
<< Walker's first career HR boosts Pirates over Cubs
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Neil Walker's two-run home run in the
eighth inning, the first of his career, gave the Pittsburgh Pirates a 3-2 win
over the Chicago Cubs in the second contest of a three-game set.
Garrett Jones als
<< Yankees' Teixeira leaves early
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira
left Tuesday's game against the Orioles after fouling a pitch off his left
foot.
The injury has been labeled a bruised left foot.
Teixeira was hit by a p
Rodriguez caps ninth-inning rally as Rays edge Jays >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sean Rodriguez hit a three-run double in the
top of the ninth, as the Tampa Bay Rays rallied from a five-run deficit to
defeat to the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-6, in the middle installment of a three-
game se
Martinez shines as Red Sox down Oakland at Fenway >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Victor Martinez tied a career-high with five
hits including four doubles, two RBI and two runs scored as Boston took a 9-4
decision over Oakland in the opener of a three-game set from Fenway Park.
Adrian B
Berkman's ninth-inning hit gives Astros wild win over Nats >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lance Berkman flared a game-winning, two-run
single down the left-field line in the last of the ninth to give Houston an
8-7 triumph over Washington after themselves blowing a ninth-inning lead.
After As
Streaking Braves top reeling Phils >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Troy Glaus homered for a third straight game
and Tim Hudson pitched six innings to win his fifth consecutive decision, and
the Atlanta Braves won their seventh straight contest to widen their lead in
the NL
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.
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:
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.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
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.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting