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12/23/2008 - Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Binghamton Senators forward Kaspars Daugavins has been reassigned to the Mississauga St. Michaels Majors of the Ontario Hockey League, the American Hockey league club announced on Tuesday.
In 23 games with the B-Sens this season, Daugavins has scored twice and added one assist, while recording nine penalty minutes.
<< Jaguars' personnel director resigns
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Jacksonville Jaguars have announced
the resignation of player personnel director James Harris, effective at the
conclusion of the season.
Harris, known as "Shack," has held the position since Ja
<< Blue Jackets activate Klesla off IR
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated
defenseman Rostislav Klesla off injured reserve. He had been sidelined since
mid-November because of an ankle injury.
Klesla was hurt during a November 14 game
<< Celtic signs young Czech star Misun
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic completed the signing of the Czech
fullback Milan Misun on a four-year deal on Tuesday.
The 18-year-old is the Bhoys' second capture of the day following the
confirmation that Dundee Uni
<< Celtic confirms deal with Dundee goalie Zaluska
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic has confirmed that Dundee United
goalkeeper Lukasz Zaluska has signed a pre-contract agreement with the club and
will join Gordon Strachan's side at the end of this season.
The 26-year-old Pol
Pittsburgh sends Stone back to Wilkes-Barre >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins re-assigned forward
Ryan Stone to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Wilkes-
Barre/Scranton Penguins, it was announced on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old Stone appea
Caps recall Helmer, Gordon from Hershey >>
Arlington, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals recalled defensemen
Bryan Helmer and forward Andrew Gordon from the Hershey Bears of the American
Hockey League, it was announced on Tuesday.
Helmer, 36, is the Bears captain and
Williams feeling sweet again under DiLeo >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Like him or not, understand Philadelphia
76ers general manager Ed Stefanski isn't a stupid guy.
Stefanski pulled the trigger on Mo Cheeks after two consecutive games with
LeBron James and the Cleveland Cav
Chelsea's Alex escapes FA action >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Football Association will take no action
against Chelsea defender Alex over an alleged stamp on Everton's Tim Cahill
during Monday evening's 0-0 draw at Goodison Park.
The FA asked referee Phil Dowd
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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