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03/03/2009 - Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash returned to the court on Tuesday vs. the Orlando Magic after missing three games with a sprained left ankle.
The Suns went 2-1 without Nash during the stretch.
The two-time MVP has missed eight games this season due to a plethora of injuries, his latest occurring in a February 24th bout against the Charlotte Bobcats.
In 51 games prior to Tuesday, Nash has averaged 14.1 points and 9.7 assists for the Suns.
<< Bucks' Redd has successful surgery
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Milwaukee Bucks sharpshooter Michael Redd
had successful knee surgery Tuesday to repair a season-ending injury he
suffered in a January 24 game against Sacramento.
In the game, a 106-104 win for
<< Falcons re-sign nine players
Flowery Branch, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Falcons have re-signed
tight end Justin Peelle, linebackers Coy Wire and Tony Gilbert, defensive
tackle Jason Jefferson, offensive lineman Ben Wilkerson and safety Jamaal
Fudge,
<< This Week in Auto Racing March 6 - 8
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After two weeks on the West Coast, the
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns east to one of the fastest tracks on the
circuit, Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Camping World Truck Series kicks off the
Atlanta
<< Ottawa stadium agreement deadline extended
Hamilton, Ontario (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Canadian Football League has
extended a deadline imposed to reach a stadium agreement with the city of
Ottawa in the continued effort to bring a CFL franchise back to the country's
capital
Berenson, Michigan agree to extension >>
Ann Arbor, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Michigan signed fabled
hockey head coach Gordon "Red" Berenson to a one-year contract extension
through the 2009-10 campaign, athletic director Bill Martin announced Tuesday.
Bere
Report: Oakland, Garciaparra near deal >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics are reportedly close to
signing infielder Nomar Garciaparra to a one-year contract.
A source familiar with the negotiations confirmed to MLB.com on Tuesday the
two parties are in the
Coast Guard calls off search for missing boaters >>
Clearwater, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Coast Guard held a news
conference Tuesday afternoon to announce they have suspended the search
for three missing boaters, including Oakland Raiders linebacker
Victor
Columbus forward Chimera out for remainder of regular season >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Columbus Blue Jackets forward Jason Chimera,
who was placed on injured reserve earlier this week, will undergo surgery on
Wednesday to repair his injured groin. Chimera is expected to be sidelined for
the rem
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 online football betting 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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