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02/02/2012 - Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Charlotte Bobcats guard Gerald Henderson is expected to miss 2-4 weeks after an MRI on Thursday confirmed a right hamstring strain.
Henderson suffered the injury during the third quarter of Wednesday night's game in Portland.
A product of Duke University, the 12th overall pick in the 2009 draft is averaging 15 points and 4.4 rebounds in 21 games this season.
<< Sundhage names U.S. women's training camp roster
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - U.S. women's national team coach Pia Sundhage
named 28 players Thursday for an upcoming training camp, including 19 of the
20 players who were on the recent Olympic team roster.
Ali Krieger, who tore the AC
<< Blue Jackets activate Carter
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated
center Jeff Carter off injured reserve.
Carter separated his right shoulder during a game against Anaheim on January
8.
He has posted 10 goals and 17 points
<< AZ signs coach Verbeek to two-year extension
Alkmaar, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AZ Alkmaar gave coach Gertjan Verbeek
a two-year contract extension on Thursday, locking him up through the 2014-15
season.
Verbeek, 49, joined the Dutch side before the 2010-11 season and led the c
<< Louisiana Tech RB dies at off-campus apartment
Ruston, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Louisiana Tech running back Tyrone Duplessis was
found dead at his off-campus apartment on Thursday morning.
The 21-year-old was in his third year at Louisiana Tech.
The cause of death is not yet known and an
Packers promote Clements to offensive coordinator >>
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Green Bay Packers have promoted Tom
Clements from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator, the team announced
on Thursday.
Former offensive coordinator Joe Philbin left two weeks ago to become
Magic's Howard to start All-Star Game in Orlando >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic was the
leading vote-getter with 1,600,390 votes and will start for the Eastern
Conference in front of his home crowd at Amway Center in this month's All-Star
Game.
The star
Padres agree to terms with P Owings >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres agreed to terms with
right-handed pitcher Micah Owings on a one-year contract.
"Micah will compete for a spot on our staff," said executive vice
president/general manage
Palmer leads delayed Phoenix Open >>
Scottsdale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Palmer fired a seven-under 65 Thursday
to grab a one-stroke lead with the first round of the Phoenix Open suspended
due to darkness.
Palmer earned his third PGA Tour title at the 2010 Sony Open.
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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