Author: sportsbookusplayers

Every football fan has heard the terms “point spread”, “spread”, “cover the spread”, etc at least once in their life, likely more. While the point spread is one of the most bet on options, especially when it come to NFL betting, there are many people who hear the term but have no idea what it means. Here we will give you a simple, yet comprehensive, guide to understanding what is point spread, how the point spread works and even cover some terms like “ATS” and “cover the spread”, pun not intended.

Let’s begin with “what is point spread”. The point spread is handicap points given to one of the teams’ final score, respectively taken away from the other team. The point spread is posted by the online sportsbooks and then people bet on whether a team will “cover the spread”. Let’s look at an example, which will make it much easier to understand the spread. At the online sportsbook Bovada Sports we have right now the point spread on the game Pittsburgh Steelers @ New England Patriots. At the sportsbook you will see something like this:

Pittsburgh Steelers: Point spread +7
New England Patriots: Point spread -7

First, let’s note that there are two betting options for the player here, one is to bet on the Steelers and the other on the Patriots. Now, let’s look at how the point spread works. What the spread numbers are telling us is that after the final score of the game the Steelers will get 7 points handicap to their final score or the Patriots will see 7 points take away from them. After this is done – the final score is “recalculated” and if you bet on the Patriots spread at -7 and the Patriots still win the game, after 7 points are taken from their final score – you win the bet. This is also called “covering the spread”, i.e. the Patriots have covered the spread. So if we make up a score, let’s say the final score of the Steelers Patriots game is 10-21, if you bet on the Patriots to cover the spread, your bet will be a winner, since even after we subtract 7 points from the Pats score, they still win the game. Mathematically, it will be like

Steelers: 10
Patriots: (21-7)=14

If, however, you bet the Steelers in our example, you will lose, because even after 7 points handicap are added to the Pittsburgh’s final score, that would bring it to just 17 points, which is less than the Patriots’ 21 points. Remember, you either add points to one team or subtract point from the other, not both.

As you can see, the point spread is very easy to work with, once you get the general idea. When betting the spread one simply decided if a team will be able to beat the other team by the number of points indicated by the point spread and then make your bet accordingly. In our example, if you think the Pats will beat the Steelers by more than 7 points – you bet the pats to “cover the spread”, if you think New England will beat the Steelers by less than 7 points or that Pittsburgh will win the game – bet the Steelers’ spread instead.

And finally, let’s close this guide with an acronym you would hear often, namely “ATS”. In our previous example, you may hear that the Patriots are 7 points ATS. What this means? ATS stands for “against the spread”, so the Pats are said to be 7 points against the spread, i.e. ATS.

In our Sports Betting 101 guide we will focus, unlike other websites, on the “meat and potatoes” side of betting on sports, particularly at the online sportsbooks. We have created the guide with one goal in mind – to help you understand the very foundation of spots betting and the things you must know before you even begin your journey into the world of betting on sports. Below you will see what knowledge you must posses in order to even begin betting on sports at the online sportsbooks or any bookmaker for that matter. We have briefly summarized the more important points, but you can (and we highly encourage you to) read more aout that particular subject by following the link to that guide. Here is the sports betting 101:

Know your sport

As all of you already know, sports betting is placing a wager on the outcome of a sporting event. While it’s not mandatory, it’s detrimental to your success as a bettor to have good knowledge of the particular sport(s) you will place wagers on.

If you are the type of bettor that simply wants to place a Super Bowl bet, just because everyone at the office is doing it – you don’t need to know anything at all about sports betting! Simply head to our home page to see which are the best sportsbooks, pick one, call them and tell them you want to bet x amount on one of the teams to win and they will walk you through your bet. If you can dial a phone or use your computer keyboard – you can be that bettor without any knowledge whatsoever.

But if you plan on wagering for a while with the main goal of winning money, then you must know your sport in and out. And we are not talking about being a fan of a team. Billions of people all over the world are fans of a team and know that team in-and-out, but have very little knowledge about the particular league in general, which is not a good thing, unless you plan on betting your team only. If you plan on betting the NFL, for example, you must know enough about all divisions or at least focus on a few of them and keep your wagers within that circle of divisions. So in order to be a good bettor, you must have plenty of knowledge about your sport. Keep that in mind and avoid going blind into sports betting or it will spell doom for your bankroll very soon.

Choose a good sportsbook

Once you have decided which sport you are confident betting on, it’s time to pick a sportsbook. We have reviewed the very best sportsbooks for US players right on our home page and the easiest way is to select one of them. Whether your decision will be based on the signup bonus they offer or the speed of withdrawals, it’s up to you and does not relate to sports betting. The main point here is to not go into it alone, trying to do your own research, etc., because there are tons of rogue online sportsbooks praying on people like that. Leave the reviews to the professionals – our reputation over the years has proved times over that we do not recommend shady sportsbooks.

Learn how the online sportsbooks work

Once you have chosen a sportsbook or before you do that, it’s recommended that you have understanding about how the online sportsbooks work and how they differ from the traditional sportsbooks. There is a procedure for everything with the sportsbooks operating on the internet and we have written about it all in our how the online sportsbooks work guide. Simply follow the link to read all about how things work with the online sportsbooks. This is, in our opinion, an indispensable guide and one that is hard to find on the Internet. For some reason all websites assume that you know how an online sportsbook should work.

Understand the basic sports betting terms and workings

Considering you are new to sports betting, learning the basic terms and working of it will be a must. Here is a list of some of the main terms you will face when you start betting on sports. We are constantly adding new betting guides, so make sure you visit the main section to see if anything new has been added to the list.

Odds – we recommend you follow the link to really understand the betting odds. There are a lot of assumptions made by beginner bettors, since the term “odds” is used in quite the different fashion and caries a bit different meaning at the sportsbooks that what you may be used to. And speaking of odds, make sure you dig deeper to:

Money Line – which is basically the odds the sportsbooks gives you for each team to win outright

Point Spread – we talk about this famous betting option in depth in our point spread guide, you must read it.

Other important parts of sports betting include parlays and straight bets. If you don’t feel like becoming a professional bettor, the above 5 terms are the minimum needed for most people to begin betting and do so with confidence. If, on the other side, you have greater aspirations, head over to our betting guide section to see what else is available for the advanced bettor.

Be disciplined

The final point in our Sports Betting 101 guide has to do with your discipline as a bettor and practicing money management to the fullest. Always follow the golden rule of gambling – don’t bet more than you can lose. Set a budget and always stick to it, avoid chasing the losses as this is the main reason why so many bettors end up in hot water. Be patient and cool-headed when you select your bets and you’d be so much closer to being a winner.

Many people make the switch from the traditional brick&mortar sportsbook to the online sportsbooks. Here we will talk about how the online sportsbooks work and look at the overall layout and options presented to the player when they choose to bet online. Because unlike a traditional sportsbook, where you would go to the counter, place your bet, take your slip and if winner – go and get your cash, things are a bit different online.

The Layout of an Online Sportsbook

Every online sportsbook has two main sections – the betting section and the cashier. The cashier section handles all money transactions – deposits, withdrawals, bet grading and bet history. The betting section of an online sportsbook is the place where you would go to actually place your wagers. If you need to fund your player account – you will go to the cashier and initiate the transaction. If you want to place bets – you go to the betting section and drill down to the wager you want to place.

The Process

The process of playing at an online sportsbook is pretty straightforward, yet different from the traditional sportsbook. With the internet sportsbook you have to first and foremost open an account. The account will be forever tied to your personal information – name and address, unlike at a Vegas book, where you don’t need any accounts to place wagers. On the bright side – there is no slip or ticket to keep (and possibly lose), all your bets are tracked to your account and winnings are automatically paid to your player account.

Once you have opened an account with an online sportsbook, the next step will be to fund your account and collect your bonus. All good sportsbooks offer “sign-up” bonus, which is free bets to first-time players. In order to fund your account you will have to go to the cashier section of the sportsbook and use one of the payment methods available. If the bonus requires a bonus code, this is also the place where you would enter it. Some online sportsbooks like Bovada will automatically give you the bonus, no codes needed.

When the money has become available to you, you are free to go to the betting section of the website and choose your bets. Once your bets are placed, if winners, the money will be paid to your account right away. Withdrawing winnings works the same way as depositing money – go to the cashier and request a withdrawal. Keep in mind that for your first withdrawal all online sportsbooks will require documents verifying your identity, often consisting of a copy of your drivers license and a copy of a recent utility bill with your address on it. Depending on the withdrawal method you have chosen, you can receive your money anywhere from 24 hours to 5 days.

As you can see, the online sportsbooks work a bit differently than the Vegas sportsbooks and while they may require a few extra steps at first, are much faster overall. Not to mention that no travel is required.