08/27/2008 - Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton was a late scratch from the lineup in Wednesday's game against the Kansas City Royals.
The left-handed slugger is out because of an abscessed tooth and was replaced by Brandon Boggs in left. Marlon Byrd moved to center.
Hamilton is hitting .298 this year with 29 homers and a major league-leading 116 RBI.
<< Johnson goes the distance to lead Fish past Bravos
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Johnson's brilliant four-hitter marked the
first complete game of his career and Dan Uggla was the offensive catalyst, as
the Florida Marlins defeated the Atlanta Braves, 4-1, and evened their three-
game se
<< Portland signs F Jackson, two rookies
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers signed a trio
of players Wednesday including forward Luke Jackson and two rookies, center
Steven Hill and guard Jamaal Tatum.
Per team policy, terms of the contracts were no
<< Braves obtain Dessens
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves signed pitcher Elmer
Dessens on Wednesday to a contract through the end of this season. He is
expected to be added to the club's roster later this week.
Dessens, 37, last pitche
<< Buscher leads the way as Twins clip Mariners
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Buscher's pinch hit two-run single in
the eighth inning proved to be the difference as Minnesota fought back to beat
Seattle, 6-5, in the finale of a three-game set at Safeco Field.
Denard Span added
O's dodge the brooms with big win over ChiSox >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Melvin Mora, Aubrey Huff and Kevin Millar
all homered as Baltimore avoided a sweep by routing Chicago, 11-3, in the
finale of a three-game set at Camden Yards.
Brian Roberts was 2-for-5 with three R
Redding, Nats edge reeling Dodgers >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Redding pitched six solid innings and
Ryan Zimmerman hit his first home run since May 17, as the Washington
Nationals held on for a 5-4 win over the reeling Los Angeles Dodgers, in the
second
Delgado leads Mets past Phils, back into first place >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Delgado hit a pair of home runs
and drove in three, as the New York Mets rallied to beat Philadelphia, 6-3,
and leapfrog the Phillies to retake the lead in the NL East.
In the first game o
Pedroia helps BoSox slam Yanks >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Bay finished 2-for-4 with four RBI and
Dustin Pedroia added a grand slam as Boston routed the New York Yankees,
11-3, in the middle contest of a three-game set from Yankee Stadium.
Jacoby Ellsbu
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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