Some “Betting 101” nuggets for those of you who may be interested in making some bets for the Super Bowl and are completely new at this.
The Spread:
The “Spread” is the number on the game in which one team is the favorite and one team is the underdog. The current spread on the Super Bowl is Kansas City -1.5/ San Francisco +1.5. Whenever you see the – in front of a team that team is the favorite and the + before a team indicates the underdog. Kansas City being -1.5 means in order for you to win a bet on them they have to win the game by 2 points or more. In order for you to win a bet on San Fran they have to either win straight up or lose the game by 1 point.
The Vig:
The “Vig” is just another name for the price that the sports book charges you to make a bet. Often times you will see a line and see (-110) next to it and asking yourself what that means. For example, if I want to bet the spread in the Super Bowl regardless of what side I pick I have to “Lay -110”, what that means is: I have to put up 11 dollars, for every 10 dollars I want to win. If I want to win 100 bucks on the game, I have to put up 110 etc. etc. This is how sports books make their money
Money Lines:
Some people, especially novice bettors only want to make a bet on who is going to win the game. Good news, you can do that! This is what we call “Money Lines” or the ML. Depending on where you shop the current ML market on the Super Bowl is Kansas City -130/ San Fran +110. This bet is specifically for whoever wins the game. If I want to win 100 on KC I have to put up 130. If I want to put 100 on San Fran and they win then I win 110. Once again the -/+ comes into play.
