How to Bet the Spread: Point Spread Explained

Your team wins by three and you lose the bet anyway. Somebody had them minus seven, the final score did not cover it, and now you are staring at a win that did not count. That is the point spread, the most common way to bet football and the one that confuses new bettors the most. Here is how to bet the spread, and why winning the game and covering the spread are two completely different things.

A point spread is a handicap the sportsbook puts on the favorite to level out a mismatch. Instead of just picking who wins, you are betting on the margin of victory. The favorite has to win by more than the number. The underdog can lose by less than that number, or win outright, and still cash your ticket.

What You Are Doing When You Bet the Spread

The book posts a number with a minus on the favorite and a plus on the underdog, something like Chiefs -7 and Broncos +7.

The -7 means the Chiefs have to win by 8 or more for a Chiefs bet to cash. The +7 means the Broncos can lose by 6 or fewer, or win the game, and a Broncos bet cashes. The favorite gives points, the underdog gets them, and that single adjustment turns a lopsided matchup into something close to a coin flip.

Covering Is Not the Same as Winning

This is the exact spot where new bettors get burned, so it is worth slowing down on.

Say the Chiefs are -7 and they win 24-20. They won the game, but they only won by four, so they did not cover. A Chiefs -7 bet loses. Meanwhile a Broncos +7 bet wins, even though the Broncos lost the game outright. You will hear this described as betting “against the spread,” or ATS. A team can be great on the scoreboard and miserable ATS if it keeps winning by less than the number.

Why the Price Is Almost Always -110

Next to the spread you will see a price, usually -110 on both sides. That reads like any other line you have learned: risk $110 to win $100.

That extra ten dollars is the book’s cut, the vig. It is the reason you cannot simply win half your spread bets and break even. You actually have to hit about 52.4% just to stay flat. It sounds small, but that margin is the entire sportsbook business model.

The Half-Point and the Push

Like totals, spreads often carry a half-point, such as Chiefs -6.5, and that .5 exists to prevent a tie. Land on a whole-number spread and hit it exactly, a 7-point win on a -7 line, and the result is a push, meaning your bet is refunded.

That half-point matters more than it looks. Games in football land on 3 and 7 constantly, because those are the value of a field goal and a touchdown, so half a point around those key numbers can be the whole difference between cashing and pushing.

The Takeaway

The spread is a handicap on the favorite, and you are betting the margin, not just the winner. The favorite covers by winning big enough, the underdog covers by keeping it close or winning outright.

Hold onto the one idea that separates people who understand betting from people who do not: the scoreboard tells you who won, the spread tells you who covered, and only the second one pays your ticket.

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LFG Sports AI is a tracking and analytics tool. It does not accept bets or guarantee outcomes. Please bet responsibly.