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07/07/2010 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed unrestricted free agent defenseman Brett Lebda to a two-year contract.
The 28-year-old Lebda had a goal and seven assists while playing 63 games for Detroit last season. He has 18 goals and 50 assists over five seasons, 326 contests, all with the Red Wings.
<< Dodgers put Belisario on restricted list; re-instate Monasterios
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher
Ronald Belisario on the restricted list Wednesday due to personal reasons.
Belisario had been a lynchpin in the Dodgers bullpen, posting a 1-1 mark with
a 3.79
<< Jags release DE Hayward
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Jacksonville Jaguars have released
defensive end Reggie Hayward, who spent nearly all of the 2009 season on
injured reserve.
The club had just re-signed him on April 1.
Hayward suffered a
<< NBA salary cap set at $58.044 million
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NBA has set the salary cap for the 2010-11
season at $58.044 million.
This year's cap marks a surprising increase from 2009-10, when it was $57.7
million. The current figure is higher than the $56.
<< Clippers introduce Del Negro
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Clippers introduced Vinny
Del Negro as their next head coach.
The team held a press conference Wednesday for the 43-year-old Del Negro, who
had one season and about $2 million remaining on h
Arroyo dominant as Reds down Mets >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Phillips' solo home run and run-
scoring double was all of the offense Bronson Arroyo needed as the Cincinnati
Reds won the rubber match of a three-game set over the New York Mets, 3-1, at
Citi Fi
Report: Vick in confrontation before shooting >>
Virginia Beach, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Virginia Beach Commonwealth's
Attorney has reportedly said Michael Vick was in a confrontation prior to the
shooting that occurred last month outside a restaurant celebrating his 30th
birthda
Report: Ray Allen to re-sign with Celtics >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nine-time All-Star Ray Allen will remain in
Boston after coming to terms on a two-year, $20 million contract, according to
Yahoo! Sports.
The news comes on the hinges of the Celtics reportedly agreeing
Braves down Phils again, win series finale >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Prado hit two solo home runs and
Matt Diaz added a two-run clout to power Atlanta past Philadelphia 7-5 to
finish off a three-game set.
Brian McCann doubled in three runs to put the Braves
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.
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