Sports Betting-Half Points in Spreads?

Question

If a team has a +3 1/2 line what does the half mean? I do not want to buy a half either way, so is it just an OPTION to buy that half?

Answer 1

No, it's used to ensure that there aren't any "pushes" with the house.  If your team wins by 3 you lose the bet.  If they win by 4 you win the bet.  No ambiguity.

Answer 2

The sample line you listed above and buying points are two different things.  If a team is +3.5, then in order to cover the spread, they must not lose by more than 3 points (the half a point in this case eliminates "push" or tie results).  If the line was +3, and the team lost by 3, then the result would be a push, and your wager would be returned.  

Some sportsbooks give you the option to buy points, as you were referring to.  In this case, if you wanted to buy half a point for a lesser payout, you could if the sportsbook offers that service.  If you bought a half point, the line would be +4.  Hope this helps.

Answer 3

It's not an option, that's the line.

If the line were +3, most of the money would be on one team (if they only win by a field goal, your bet is a push)

If the line were +4, most of the money would shift to the other team (17-13 is a common score)

So, the line moves to +3 1/2, so that half the money is on one team, half is on the other, and so the house doesn't care who wins.

Answer 4

Half point means rather than having an even like of +3 or +4 you get the .5 one way or another.  Now if the team you have is +3 and lose the game by the 3 points. you push, but if you have +3.5 and they lose by 3 you win the wager.  I usually never by the points.  Football may be a good case though if you have a +2.5 underdog and buy it up to +3 for the fieldgoal difference it can save you a loss veres a push.  Check out the web here for great sportsbooks. http://www.universityofsportsbooks.com and our forum at http://universityofsportsbooks.myfreefor... feel free to post any questions on the forum or email me though the sites.

Answer 5

No, it's not an option...the spread is +3.5.  This means that if the team loses by 3 then you win, but if they lose by more than 3.5 (meaning 4 or more) then you lose. Quite often the spread will have a half point, it's just part of the regular spread.  You will find a detailed explanation of sports betting, a glossary of sports betting terms, free sports picks, free sports specific betting guides, and much more at http://GamblingReviewsSite.com