Deciphering the Significance of -8 Point Spread in Sports Wagering
A point spread is a crucial betting line that handicaps a matchup between two teams or competitors. It levels the playing field by assigning a point deficit or surplus to equalize the odds for bettors.
The point spread aims to generate close to 50/50 action on both sides, creating a balanced book for sportsbooks. Bettors wager on whether the favored team will cover the spread (win by more than the assigned points) or if the underdog will cover (lose by fewer than the assigned points or win outright).
What is a Point Spread? The -8 Point Spread
Betting against the public and taking unpopular underdog points can yield value if the line overcorrects based on lopsided action. Getting the best price is imperative to become a winning sports bettor over the long-run. Thankfully, BettorEdge is a peer-to-peer platform, or betting exchange that gives you the best priced sports bets in the market as you're matched up against other users in the community.
Covering the -8 Point Spread and capitalizing on the handicapping cushion is the key to consistent profits when betting on point spreads across sports like football, basketball, hockey, baseball and more.
Point Spread Betting Strategy
Factors Impacting Point Spreads
Opening point spreads are determined by community members on BettorEdge. It's good to consider team performances, strength, injuries, and home-field advantage on what a point spread should be. Thereafter, the point spread lines can move based on:
Market Action
Heavy public betting action on one side
Injuries or roster changes
Weather conditions
Other factors influencing expected outcome
Bigger point spreads (e.g. -14) indicate a severe mismatch, while tight lines (e.g. -2.5) signal an even matchup.
How to Bet on Point Spreads
If you bet on the Celtics -8, they must win by 9 or more points for you to win your bet.
If you bet on the Bucks +8, they can lose by up to 8 points and you still win your bet. Or if they win outright.
If the final margin lands directly on the point spread (e.g. Celtics win by exactly 6), it results in a push where all bets are voided and money is returned.
What Does a Point Spread Look Like?
Point spreads are displayed with a plus (+) or minus (-) value next to each team/competitor. For example:
Boston Celtics -8
Milwaukee Bucks +8
In this NBA matchup, the Celtics are 8-point favorites, displayed as -8. The Bucks are 8-point underdogs, shown as +8.
Why do point spreads exist? - The -8 Point Spread
Point spreads exist primarily to level the playing field in sports betting. While creating a more balanced betting environment through attempting to make an uneven matchups more even, interesting and competitive for bettors. They've become the standard to balance betting action, equalize competition, and increase engagement.
Additionally the point spread can move based on public perception if too much interest is on one side, the point spread moves to balance the action. A -8 Point Spread means a team has a 8 point differential to make an even match.
When it comes to MLB Betting and Point Spread Betting, the majority of action is on the runline or -1.5/+1.5 spread. The runline can level the playing field and create more balanced betting scenarios in a mismatch, it can encourage betting interest and variety. While the runline is most common, it is possible for alternative runlines to exist (i.e. -2.5/+2.5 point spread). However, it's highly unlikely that you'd see a -8 Point Spread in baseball betting.
MLB Point Spread Betting - The -8 Point Spread
NBA Point spread betting is extremely common as there's a large variety of factors that impact NBA teams. From skill level to schedule and travel difficulty, the NBA season is long and grueling schedule that creates a large variety of factors that impact the point spread on any given night for two NBA Teams. Additionally, roster changes or injuries can have a more significant impact of key star players given only 5 players are on the court at a time.
While it's common for NFL to have substantial differences in game margins creating key numbers, this is likely in NBA betting, but there's still some key numbers based on basketball games finishing around 2-3 possession games. It's common for basketball games to finalize with a series of fouls that make a difference in the final score. Therefore, analyzing over 27,000 games shows that a final point difference of 5-8 is slightly more common that other final scores. Therefore, point shopping for a half point can be valuable endeavor so long as the additional fee or juice paid for the half point is justified. Around -110, 10 cents of juice means you need to win about 4.8% more of the time to see a benefit in the juice paid.
NBA Point Spread Betting - The -8 Point Spread
NFL Point Spread Betting is an extremely common way to bet the NFL since many teams become more evenly matched with the point spread. Always be sure to understand the juice or vig associated with each spread bet. It can be very advantageous to leverage a betting exchange or line shop to get the best price or best point spread.
Especially because there are many key numbers in NFL sports betting that can have a significant impact on your returns. Once you analyze NFL football scores, you'll see the most common margins of victory is for a team to win by 3, 7, 6, 14, or 10. Therefore, when betting, it's very advantageous to ensure you're on the correct side of these key numbers. For example, betting +3.5 is instead of +2.5 is a big deal. If you were to give up a point from +4.5 to +5.5, it's less likely for a team to win by 5 and therefore will cost you less. The same is also true with favorites that you're much better off to bet at -6.5 point spread than -7.5 point spread.
NFL Point Spread Betting - The -8 Point Spread & Key Numbers
The Point Spread is there to make the selection a toss up or 50-50 option for you to win.
Betting on the moneyline is betting that a certain team is going to win even though the team's may not be evenly matched up. Therefore, the payout is adjusted based on expectations.
Spread (-8 Point Spread) vs. Moneyline
"Middling" refers to a betting strategy where a bettor takes advantage of different point spreads or lines set by bookmakers to potentially win on both sides of a wager. This happens when a bettor places bets on both sides of a game at different times, capturing the variance in point spreads.
For example, if you bet on Team A at -3 and later see that the line has moved to -1.5, you could then bet on Team B at +1.5. If the final score ends up with Team A winning by 2 points, you would win both bets—one on Team A covering the spread and the other on Team B not losing by more than 1.5 points.
Middling can be a profitable approach because it allows for the possibility of winning both bets, creating a scenario where you can secure a profit regardless of which team ultimately wins, as long as the score falls within the "middle" of the two lines you bet on. However, it does require careful monitoring of the lines and a good understanding of the betting market.
What is Middling in Sports Betting Spreads?
In sports betting, alternative spreads refer to betting options that allow you to adjust the point spread on a game. This can provide different payouts and risk levels compared to the standard spread. These can often have different names like teaser bets, pleaser bets, or even half-point lines. Overall alternative spreads provide more flexibility based on the confidence you have in the team's performance.
Understanding Alternative Spreads
