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09/08/2010 - Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Lincecum pitched solidly into the seventh inning and the San Francisco Giants used three home runs to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6-3, at Chase Field.
Lincecum (13-9) allowed three runs on five hits with 11 strikeouts for the Giants, who have captured the first two of this three-game series and moved within one-half game of the Padres for the lead in the tight NL West race.
The Padres are currently playing the Dodgers.
Pat Burrell and Aubrey Huff both hit a two-run homer while Freddy Sanchez added a solo blast in the victory.
Chris Young homered for the Diamondbacks, who have dropped four straight.
<< Verdasco rallies from two-set deficit to shock Ferrer
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fernando Verdasco came back from a
two-set deficit to stun fellow Spaniard David Ferrer and reach the
quarterfinals at the U.S. Open.
The eighth-seeded Verdasco reached the quarterfinals here for a sec
<< Broncos RB White has Achilles surgery
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denver Broncos running back LenDale White
underwent surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon.
The Denver Post reported Tuesday that White had the procedure done as the
Steadman-Hawkins Clinic in Col
<< Clijsters and Williams to clash in the semifinals
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time champions Kim Clijsters
and Venus Williams advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Open Tuesday night.
The two will face off against one another on Friday.
Clijsters, the 2005 and 2009
<< Hoffman picks up 600th save as Brewers hold off Cards
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Casey McGehee's two-run single in the fifth
inning proved to be the difference, as the Milwaukee Brewers held off the St.
Louis Cardinals, 4-2, on a night that saw all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman
record
Latos sets MLB record as Padres top Dodgers >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mat Latos tossed seven innings of one-run
baseball to set an MLB record, as the San Diego Padres defeated the Los
Angeles Dodgers, 2-1, in the second test of a three-game series at Petco Park.
Lato
Mariners hold off A's >>
Oakland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ichiro Suzuki registered two more hits in his quest
for his 10th consecutive 200-hit season and drove in a run, as Seattle held
off Oakland, 7-5, hampering the Athletics in their attempt to gain ground in
the AL
Nadal cruises into QFs; Verdasco rallies to shock Ferrer >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Nadal breezed in three sets
over fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez Tuesday and moved into the quarterfinals
at the U.S. Open, the only Grand Slam tournament the current world No. 1 has
yet to
Marson slams Indians past Angels >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lou Marson's first career grand slam
highlighted a five-run sixth inning, leading the Cleveland Indians to a 6-1
victory over the struggling Los Angeles Angels in the middle test of a three-
game se
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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