Whether you’re completely new to online sports betting or an experienced bettor looking to expand your knowledge, you may be curious about the various wagers available and how to maximise your winnings. Spread betting is one sort that could prove useful in your arsenal of sports betting strategies. Read on to learn about prop bets, how they are calculated, and which sports they can be placed on.
Spread betting is a type of derivative trading in which the bettor does not purchase or hold the stock, commodity, or another underlying asset. Spread bettors, on the other hand, use the prices provided by a broker to make a wager on whether the asset’s price will climb or decline.
Spread bets, like stock market trading, are stated with a buy price (the bid price) and a selling price (the asking price). The spread is the price differential between the purchase and sale. In contrast to regular stock trades, spread bets don’t require commissions because the broker makes money off the spread.
If they think the market will go up, investors will side with the bid price, and if they think it will go down, they will side with the asking price. Spread betting is distinguished from other forms of investing by several important features, including the availability of leverage, long and short trading, a wide range of markets, and favourable tax treatment.
In Other Words, What is the Meaning of Spread Betting?
Spread betting, often called points spread betting, is a type of wager in which the bettor predicts the final score by predicting the point spread rather than the outright winner or loser of a game. The sports book determines a point spread and takes bets on whether that spread will be larger or less than the number shown.
Knowing that there is a favourite and an underdog in a given wager is crucial. Or, to put it another way, one team is favoured to win while the other is predicted to lose. Spread betting, like traditional American sports betting odds, shows this with a minus sign next to each team’s name. This is an example of a spread bet:
- The favoured A-Team is -5 in this match.
- Bettors should consider Team B a +5 underdog.
- A rating of -5 indicates that Team A is favoured to win by more than five points. Conversely, Team B has a value of +5, thus they can’t lose by more than five points.
- If Team A wins by 6 points or more over Team B, then they have “covered the spread” and the bettors who backed Team A will collect their winnings.
- If Team A wins by 5 points, but only because they scored 5 more points than Team B, then Team B has “covered the spread” and the bettors who backed Team B will collect their winnings.
- If Team A loses the game, then Team B has “covered the spread” and the bettors who had Team B as their selection would win their wagers.
What would happen, though, if Team A won by a score of 5 (and Team B lost by the same margin)? A “push,” or a draw, occurs when the outcome is tied. A tie in such a wager constitutes a refund for all bettors at the sports book.
Spread Betting Has Many Benefits
Those who put in the time to master the game are rewarded. When placing a sports wager, betting against the spread can be a terrific opportunity to put your in-depth knowledge of a game to use. You can use your knowledge of a team to your advantage rather than betting on a straightforward win/lose scenario. When betting on a sports book, it’s helpful to have insider knowledge, such as the fact that one football club consistently beats another despite poor performance.
Spread Betting Drawbacks
It’s not as simple as a regular bet. Spread betting demands a bit more knowledge about the teams involved and how they play against one another than other types of wagers, which only require you to pick the winner or loser.
One basketball club might be unbeatable in their conference, yet they might be vulnerable in some way to the underdogs who push them to the limit and sometimes even beat them. This type of bet requires you to look into previous matchups between the two teams in question (unless you’re feeling especially confident on a given day) before placing your stake.
Which Sports Events Do Spread Bets Cover?
Some examples of sports bets that fit this category are as follows:
- Bets on the American Football
- Gambling on Baseball
- Gambling on the NBA
- Bets on Ice Hockey
- Bets on lacrosse
You can place bets on many other sports besides those listed here. Don’t forget to see what bonuses and promotions your preferred online casino or sportsbook is offering. And don’t worry, the fundamentals we’ve outlined above will translate well to any of these sports. The spread bet’s basic structure will remain the same even if the point spreads change.
Spread Betting: Taking Control of the Risks
Spread betting, despite the inherent danger of large leverage, provides useful means of controlling losses. Stop-loss orders, the most common type, help traders cut their losses when their positions fall below a certain price. Once your stop value is reached, a conventional stop-loss order will automatically close out your transaction at the best available price. If the market is extremely volatile, your stop order may cause you to sell at a worse price than your stop trigger.
This type of stop-loss order promises to terminate your trade at the predetermined price, regardless of fluctuations in the underlying market. However, there is a cost associated with this safety net. Your broker may charge you more money for placing guaranteed stop-loss orders.
Betting the Spread: The How-To
- Betting against the spread is straightforward. Just stick to these simple instructions:
- Use the greatest sports betting app you can find, or go to your preferred specialised online sports betting site or online betting site with a sports book.
- Sign in with your credentials, make sure there’s money in your account, and then navigate to the sports betting area.
- Pick the game you’re interested in placing a spread wager on.
- Choose between betting on the favoured team or taking a chance on the underdog.
- Pick your bet and click the “Confirm Bet” button.
- The specifics of placing a wager on a sports book or online casino may vary slightly from site to site, but following these steps should get you there.