I've been looking for predictions and such for the playoff games. I can't find many actual predictions, however, I find a lot about the bets being placed. I do not bet, so none of this makes sense to me. Can someone explain it to me? Like the +4/-4 and -190/+160.... etc.... I understand the odds, like ex: there was one headline about the Super Bowl saying that one team had 11-2 odds that they would beat the other team, I understand that part.... Just not all the other other numbers... point spreads.... money lines.... etc...


Thanks very much!! :)

Very simple. When you see the spread -4 means that team is the favorite. In order to win money on them they must win by more than 4 points. If they win by 4 exactly you get you money back. +4 means the team is the underdog. If the underdog wins you automatically win. If they lose by less than 4 you still win because they were the underdog. If they lose by 4 you get you money back. When you see the money line -190 means in order to win $100 you must bet $190. +160 means $100 bet wins you $160. Just remember - is the favorite and + is the underdog. Good luck if your a beginning better beat on the spread.

Ok let's say we are going to race each other and I say I'll give you a 15 second head start and still beat you. That's basically all a point spread is.

If you bet on the underdog you are given + points(aka the +4) but if you bet on the favored team you get minus points(aka the -4). That means if you bet on the Saints -4 this weekend then you would still lose the bet if the Saints only win the game by a field goal. If they win by 4 exactly you push(don't win but don't lose).

The over under which you may have seen is a bet on if both teams together will score either above X amount of points or below X amount of points combined.

Hope this helps some!

Normally for the NFL, you have something like the Badgers favored over the Turkeys by 6. What they do after the game is add six points to whatever the Turkeys scored, then figure out who won. If the Badgers won the real game 21-14, then the spread score will be 21-20, and the Badgers still win. This is called 'covering the spread'. But if the Badgers won by 17-14, then the spread score would be 17-20, and those who bet on the Turkeys win the bet.
You will also see something called the over/under. In this one they are guessing the total points scored by both teams. If the over/under was 33, and the final score was 21-14, the total would be 35, and the 'overs' would win. But if the score was 17-14, then the 'unders' would win.
That is 95% of what all the betting involves. I would wait on the other 5% until you get a feel for things.

Vote for the Colts in the AFC; vote for the Saints in the NFC and that's the SB.