A number of sports gamblers, both
beginners and veterans, fail to understand the true meaning of the point spread
and the thought process that goes behind the making of the spread for each
game. The point spread isn't designed to be a true representation of how much
better one team is than another, but is designed to attract an equal amount of
money on both teams, so that the sportsbooks are guaranteed a profit.
Many times you may hear that the point spread is designed to create a case where half of the bettors choose one team and the other half of the bettors make wagers on the other. That's close, but it's not entirely correct, as not all sports bettors wager the same amount. If a sportsbook receives 50 bets on the Lakers for $110 each, but receives 50 bets on the Spurs for $330 each, the person creating the point spread (the oddsmaker) hasn't done a very good setting the point spread, even though the same number of bettors are betting on each team.
The sportsbooks are aware that the so-called wise guys (smart bettors) are going to wager more money on the average than a typical bettor, so the point spread is created with trying to beat the wise guys. If a sportsbook has the wise guys on one team and the general public betting on the other side, they typically will be rooting for the public, with the knowledge that the public bettors are more likely to give back their winnings on another game.
One of the most famous stories
involving the point spread occurred after Super Bowl III when the New York Jets,
who were 18-point underdogs, upset the Baltimore Colts. A reporter asked
oddsmaker Bob Martin if he was embarrassed about making that point spread, and
Martin replied that was one of the best numbers he ever made because it split
the betting money
down the middle.
Because bettors risk $11 to win $10,
any time the money is close to even on a particular game, the sportsbooks are
happy because they guarantee a profit without any risk. If a sportsbook
receives $33,000 in bets on Team A and $33,000 on Team B, they stand to make
$3,000 regardless of who wins the game. Such a scenario doesn't happen nearly
as often as the sportsbooks would like, but it will happen on occasion.
For a number of years, the point
spread for the upcoming football games was released every Sunday night by the
Stardust Race and Sportsbook and it was almost a circus-like atmosphere, as
lottery numbers were drawn to get to see which bettors would have the first
chance to bet into the unveiled point spread. The popularity of Internet sports
gambling has taken away a lot of the thunder from the Las Vegas
sportsbooks, and most sportsbooks now are content to follow the
general point spreads of the other sportsbooks.
A sportsbook who varies its line too
much from the consensus line of the other sportsbooks is likely to receive many
wagers on the
team offering the best odds,
and puts itself in financial risk should that team happen to cover the point
spread. If all of the sportsbooks had the Steelers as 7-point favorites over
the Jets, but one sportsbook released a point spread of Pittsburgh -5, they
would get a great amount of money wagered on the Steelers, and very little at
all on the Jets, and sportsbooks do not like to be exposed to those type of
situations where they can stand to lose a great deal of money.
The next time you see a point spread,
remember the person taking the bet doesn't necessarily believe the favored team
is that many points better than the underdog, but they do think the point
spread will generate an equal amount of money wagered on both teams.
