Straight bets are the most common sports bets. When you place a straight bet, you simply pick the team that will win or lose the game. But of course you'll also need to consider the point spread or moneyline.
The oddsmaker sets a point spread for football, basketball and hockey games. The point spread is the number of points that the favored team is expected to win by. For example, say the New York Knicks are favored to beat the LA Clippers by a point spread of 7. That means that if you pick the Knicks to win, they have to win by more than 7 points for you to win your bet.
If they win by fewer than 7 points or lose the game, you lose your bet. If they win by exactly 7 points (the point spread), the result is a push or tie. That means that you don't win or lose, your original bet is refunded.
The favorite is always indicated by a minus sign and the underdog by a plus sign. For betting purposes, the result of the game is determined by taking the actual score and subtracting points from the favorite's score or adding points to the underdog's score. In our example, we could say that the Knicks are -7 or that the Clippers are +7. In other words, we subtract 7 points from the Knicks final score or add 7 to the Clippers score to determine the winner.
If the teams are evenly matched and there is no spread, the sportsbook will display PK or PICK, which means the spread is zero.
Sometimes the points spread is not an even number but a half point - 5 ½, for example. By setting the spread at a half point, the oddsmakers ensure there will not be a push because a team can't actually win a game by 5 ½ points.
So, a favorite can win the game but lose it for betting purposes and an underdog can lose the game but win it for betting purposes. If you wager on an underdog, your selection can lose the game and you still can win if they do not lose by more than the point spread.
Straight bets pay $100 for every $110 wagered.
All selections must be played on the scheduled date or there is no action on these selections. Make-up games or games that have been rescheduled will have no action.
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