Betting lines or point spread betting is a type of betting that was created to make the contest more even. You can compare line betting to a handicap applied to a team you bet on. Basically, the line determines certain limitations for betting. A point spread is a bet on the margin of victory in a game. The stronger team or player will be favored by a certain number of points, depending on the perceived gap in ability between the two teams. A minus sign (-) means that team is the favorite. A plus sign (+) means that team is the underdog.

1. Point Spread: Commonly called the line or spread, it is the number chosen by Las Vegas and overseas oddsmakers that they feel will get an equal number of people to wager on the underdog as on the.
2. What is a Point Spread? Designed to create action on both sides when one is deemed superior to the other, point spread betting was invented by mathematician Charles K. McNeil and introduced in the.

Betting On The Point Spreads

If you believe in the saying “time is money” then watching a three-hour football game only to get your money back is one of the most frustrating things to do. However, depending on how that result came to be, a push could be a positive result if your team pulled off the back-door cover.

What Does Push Mean?

When you hear someone use the term “push” they are referring to the result of game or event that ends right on the listed point spread or finishes in a draw. Pushes are the most common in sports that use the point spread like basketball and football. However, a push can also happen when betting on certain run lines in baseball or spreads in soccer.

How Does a Push Work?

A push isn’t the worse thing in the world since you get your money back if your game happens to land right on the listed point spread. The most frustrating thing about a push is the time spending watching the game only to break even. Fortunately for bettors, sportsbooks don’t penalise you for making a bet that “pushes”, so you do receive all of your wager back.

Betting Point Spread Mean

Let’s use an NCAA basketball game as the first example. If your looking over the card and decide to bet the Baylor Bears -2 over the Oklahoma Sooners, this means that in order for you to cash your ticket, the Bears would need to win by three or more points. A 52-49 win would be just as good as a 90-87 win. If the Bears won by a mere two points (90-88, 52-50, etc.), your bet would be a push and you would receive your money back. If you like the underdog Sooners, a two-point loss would result in a push as well.

The second example comes in the form of a parlay. Obviously if you bet more than one game with a listed spread as a whole number, the chances of more than one game pushing are high. This is where you need to be careful and do your due diligence to understand how sportsbooks treat “pushes” on a parlay.

Some books simple reduces the number of teams in a parlay when there is a push – say you have a four-team parlay and one game pushes, your parlay simply becomes a three-team parlay that’s still in play. Other sportsbooks will treat that entire parlay as a loss.

Knowing how sportsbooks operate and understanding their unique set of rules is crucial to avoiding costly and unexpected losses.

How to Avoid a Push

One way to avoid the possibility of a push is to bet lines with a hook. A hook is the extra half point sportsbooks add to ensure there is a winner and a loser on both sides (also to attract balanced action). Another way to avoid a “push” is to move the line buy buying a half point up or down depending on which side you are backing. In football, moving a line from -3 to -2.5 has the ability to win you more money over time should the favorite actually win the game. The best times to move the line in football to avoid the push is when the point spread is -3, -4 or -7. These are the three most common margins of victory so getting a half point either way will turn your pushes into potential wins.

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The Dallas Mavericks visit the Orlando Magic on Monday night, and if you’re looking to do some last-minute betting research, you’re in luck! We’ll give you the latest point spread, moneyline odds and over-under number, as well as the information you’ll need to make the smartest bet on BetMGM.

Betting On Point Spread

The game tips off at 7 p.m. ET and can be seen on Fox Sports Southwest and Fox Sports Florida.

The Magic are on a three-game slide entering Monday’s game and are 0-1 against Dallas on the season. The Mavericks beat the Magic on Jan. 9, 112-98.

Understanding Point Spread On Betting Odds

The lines, courtesy of BetMGM

Point spread: Mavericks -5.5Money line: Mavericks -250 / Magic +190Over-under: 220.5

Place your legal, online sports bets in VA, CO, IA, IN, NJ, PA, TN and WV at BetMGM.

Advice and prediction

I’m all over the Mavericks at -5.5 on Monday.

The Magic have been devastated by injuries this season and will be extremely short-handed against Dallas, while the Mavericks are at full-strength and coming off an impressive road victory in Brooklyn. Orlando has dropped its last three games by double-digits, losing by 15 to the Jazz, 37 to the Nets and 12 to the Pistons. Luka Doncic has been unstoppable as of late, averaging 30.3 points per game in the month of February on 48 percent shooting. The Mavs will continue to roll on Monday.

Prediction: Mavericks 119, Magic 101

Get more betting analysis and predictions at Sportsbook Wire.

Is Spread Betting A Good Idea

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Betting Point Spread Basketball

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