What do the + and - mean in sports betting spread?

One of the most popular forms of betting, spread betting, is often a great way to turn a profit on games that you suspect would be a close thing. Sometimes, the underdog and the favorite could be almost too closely matched for you to pass up on a great wager, and this is precisely what spread betting markets do.

However, to make full use of this betting market, you also need to understand its specific language, and in this case, what the "+" and "-" mean.

Reading spread bets: What do the "+" and "-" mean?

Spread betting is a form of wagering where you essentially bet on the final result plus or minus a given value for every team. In betting parlance, the "+" denotes the underdog and the "-" denotes the favorite. Let’s make things simple enough by offering a real-world example.

• The New England Patriots -4.5 (-115)
• The Denver Broncos +4.5 (-105)

From this selection extracted from a real bookmaker, you can see that the Patriots are the favorite, because they have a "-", whereas the Broncos are the underdog, because they have a "+".

Reading further into these odds, we need to consider what the actual number means as well. Essentially, this is how many points would be subtracted or added to the final results for the Patriots and Broncos, respectively. Let’s assume the game has finished and that the results are as follows:

• The New England Patriots - 33
• The Denver Broncos - 29

Technically, the Patriots have won, but they have lost the spread - i.e., bettors who wagered on the Broncos to win the spread at +4.5 (-105) have won against the bookmakers. Why, because what essentially happens when the spreads are applied is this:

• The New England Patriots - 33 - 4.5 = 28.5
• The Denver Broncos - 29+4.5 = 33.5

For our betting selection, the Broncos have won the spread (or covered the spread) even though they lost the game. This is where spread bets are awesome.

What about the value that we bet on?

This is a great question. The examples we shared also featured (-115) and (-105). This is the American way of representing the odds. In simplest terms, you need to bet the minus value, i.e., 115 or 105, to win $100. You can find out more about how to read odds in our dedicated article here.

Different spreads for different sports

The example we used in our article covers the most standard spread bet out there - whether a team would be considered a winner when applying the spread value to the end results. However, there are other types of spread bets.

• Game Time Spreads: These apply to a part of the game - it could be the halftime or quarters.
• Sports Specific Spreads: Other types of spreads depend on the type of sports you are engaging in. For example, spreads in baseball are called run lines, and in hockey, puck lines.

Conclusion: Mastering the basics of spread betting

Understanding what the "+" and "-" symbols mean in spread betting is essential for making informed wagers. These signs show whether a team is favored or considered the underdog, and how the final score is adjusted to determine the wager’s outcome.

Once you grasp how spreads work across different sports and situations, you can spot value more easily and approach close matchups with greater confidence and clarity.

Image credit: ChatGPT