If the outcome falls exactly on the number (San Francisco wins by exactly 5 points), the bet is declared a “Push” and your original stake amount gets refunded – no matter which team you picked. Louis +5, they must either win the game or lose by less than 5 points for this to be a winning bet. Louis +5 points.įor the player who wagers on San Francisco -5, San Fran must win by more than 5 points for this to be a winning bet.įor the player who wagers on St. A player can choose to bet on the matchup, either San Fran -5 points or St. The number after the matchup (41) is the projected total points to be scored by both teams added together. Whenever you see a team with a (-) negative number next to them, (-5 in this case), it means that team is favored to win by that number of points. How to Read and Bet Point Spreads “What does -5 mean in sports betting?” The odds are what you are to be paid (covered later). You may look at that and be intimidated and feel helpless, but I’m going to decode this little bugger for you.

Okay, you look at the games for Sunday and you see the betting lines displayed something similar to I will painlessly explain all of the mysteries of sports betting 101 aka “ Sports Betting for Dummies.” First of all, you have nothing to be ashamed of, you have taken the first and most important step of all – learning! Why waste money on a game that you don’t fully understand? You shouldn’t! That is why you are here now – to learn how it works and how to win! Sports Betting For Dummies Topic #1 The Point Spread and Totals In fact, we have been offered enormous sums of money to recommend less than reputable services and have emphatically declined these bribes. What does minus/plus or giving/taking points mean?ĭisclosure: While we are compensated when someone joins one of our recommended sites, this is the case for all reviews sites and we have the luxury of choosing the sites that we recommend.If you have any of the following questions, this article is for you! You want to put a few coins on this weekend’s games, or perhaps you just want to be able to decode all of that jibberish you see in the sports section every week.

Instead, contact me via the form at the bottom of this page, and I’ll help you in any way I can. Please don’t be embarrassed if you don’t grasp these concepts right away. We’ve all been in the position of learning something new. NOTE: Click here to save the Sports Betting For Dummies PDF! It’s a tutorial for those who want to start betting on sports or those who want to gain a better understanding of some of the terminology and theory behind it. I’ve titled this Sports Betting For Dummies. Sports Betting For Dummies How to Read Sports Odds and Betting Lines

Sports betting explained for dummies