The biggest mistake people make when thinking about taking the points is that this makes it easier for teams to cover spreads. Get free sports picks for every league and nearly every matchup on Doc’s free picks page. When you bet on the favorite in this example it is as if you are trailing 7-0 when the game starts. The opposite of taking the points is laying the points. When betting the underdog in this example it is as if the game is 7-0 in your favor before it even begins. You are said to take the points because the number of points in the pointspread become your advantage. If they lose by eight or more points then the favorite has covered the spread, and those who bet on the underdog lose their money. That means that if the team wins the game, or loses by seven or fewer points, then those who bet on that team won.

Pointspread betting is most common in football and basketball.Īn underdog could be expressed, for example, as +7.5. Taking the points simply means betting an underdog against the spread.

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