NFL betting side wagering is far and away the most popular form of sports betting. Side wagering is also referred to as “spread,” “line,” or “pointspread” football betting. Regardless of what term is used, side betting, particularly on football, dwarfs all other forms of sports betting.
NFL betting numbers are set to establish a favorite versus an underdog in a matchup, with the idea that the pointspread football betting number posted on the sports betting lines board will attract equal amounts of nfl betting action to both sides, which will guarantee the sportsbook a profit due to the ten-percent “juice” that losers forfeit with their stake money. Let’s take a look at a sample demonstration at how the NFL betting lines work in terms of sides.
Let’s say that you are looking over the NFL betting lines and you see on the pro football board something that reads, “Atlanta Falcons +4 – Philadelphia Eagles -4.” You would have the chance to either take Atlanta, who would have to either win the game in an “upset” or lose by less than four points to “cover” the NFL betting spread or to take Philadelphia, who would have to win the game by more than four points to “cover” the spread. If Philadelphia won the game by exactly four points the game would be considered a “push” and all NFL betting gamblers would get their money back.
Now it is possible, in our example, that Philadelphia could win the game and yet not win the bet. If the Eagles won 24-21, the margin of victory was just three points and therefore Atlanta “covered” the NFL betting spread and won the wager, despite losing the game. Now let’s say that the NFL betting sports book took in two wagers. Player A bet $500 on Atlanta and Player B bet $500 on Philly. Keep in mind that each NFL betting gambler had to put up an additional $50 in “juice” to cover their bets. Player A won the bet on Atlanta, so he got $500 in winnings. Player B lost his entire $550 on Philly. The sportsbook, therefore, made $50 for booking the game.