What Do + and – Mean In Sports Betting?

By Daily Fantasy Focus

November 9, 2021


Sports betting has now become part of everyday culture. People can bet on sports at their nearest casino and even on their phones.

Each game has odds that the bookmaker places. The odds typically have a + and – symbol next to each bet. What does + and – mean in sports betting?

The + and – symbols in sports betting represent the odds. If the bet has a + symbol, the team is the underdog. If the bet has a – symbol, you are picking the favorite.

This article will show you in-depth what + and – mean in sports betting.

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+ And – In Sports Betting

The + and – symbols in sports betting represent the odds. The bookmakers put them on each team to show the favorite and the risk’s significance.

If you want to bet on a solid team, you will need to risk more money because there is more chance that they’ll win. This gives you less of a payout if they do their best.

If you’re willing to bet on a weaker team, your payout will be higher than if you bet on the stronger one.

Betting on the underdog is a form of gambling that is popular among beginners and experienced bettors. Some successful bettors even specialize in betting on underdogs, and they’ve figured out how to make a lot of money through it.

If you’re betting an odd that has “-” before the number, you will need to pay more money to win more money. This is called betting the “favorite.” When one team is better than the other, they are known as the favorite.

Because the odds for them to win are so high, bet makers will encourage betters to pay more money to win more money. The trade-off, of course, is that if the favorite loses, the bet maker will win more money.

A “+” sign labels the underdog in sports betting before the number. This indicates that this team is expected to lose or not cover the spread.

While nobody can predict the outcome of sports, odds-makers try to use data and analytics to predict the results.

When To Bet On a + or – Team

When you begin betting on sports, you might feel tempted to choose any team and bet on them. That’s certainly not an intelligent way to gamble and throw your money away.

The more intelligent and most profitable strategy is to know which side is the favorite before placing your bet.

It’s not enough to know the favorite; you should also be able to know which team is the underdog. The more you understand sports, the better your decision-making process will become.

The more you know about each type of sport, the easier it will be for you to predict which team has a chance of winning.

In the case of football, you need to distinguish between a good team and a bad team. If you don’t understand the difference between a strong and a weak team, it will be hard for you to predict which one will win.

Betting on an underdog can be difficult because you have to predict which one will win.

At first, it may seem easy because you know which team is favored; however, it becomes tough for you to choose if both teams are equally matched.

If they are equally matched, they will most likely score some points and make some turnovers. When this occurs, most people hedge their bets on the underdog due to the longshot odds of winning.

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Understanding The Spread

If teams are evenly or unevenly matched, odds-makers will put a spread on their odds. The spread is the difference in the score that makes the teams even.

For example, if Team A is better than Team B by a longshot, it’s evident Team A will win. To make the game enjoyable ( and fun to bet), odds-makers will give points to the other team in hopes of keeping it close. This works for every sport.

For instance, in soccer, the favored team may have -1.5 or -2 next to their odds. When they start the game, they are down 1.5 or down two goals.

They need to score more goals than their odds favor to cover their spread.

If a team is an underdog, you will often see +1.5 or +2 next to their odds.

This means the underdog starts the game up 1.5 goals or two goals. This is how odds-makers adjust the spread to make the game more enjoyable to bet.

If the two teams just played straight up, then the underdog would most likely win all of the time. Adding in the spread makes the game more enjoyable and gives the underdog a chance in odds-makers’ and bettors’ eyes.

Conclusion

The + and – symbols in sports betting represent the odds. The bookmakers put them on each team to show the favorite and the risk’s significance.

There are several types of odds, such as money line, spread, and total.

If you want to bet on a solid team, you will need to risk more money because there is more chance that they’ll win. This gives you less of a payout if they do win. If you’re willing to take the risk of betting on a weaker team, then your payout will be higher than if you bet on the stronger one.

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