Tier 2 · The Bet Types
How point spreads work
A point spread levels an uneven matchup by giving the underdog a head start and the favorite a handicap. This guide explains how to read a spread, what covering means, and why the hook and push matter.
Updated 2026-08-01
When one side is a clear favorite, a straight win bet gets boring and one-sided. The point spread fixes that. It handicaps the favorite and spots the underdog points, so the bet is about the margin of victory rather than the winner alone.
Reading a spread
A spread is written as a number with a plus or minus sign attached to each team.
Rivertown Foxes -6.5 Mesa Miners +6.5
The Foxes are favored by 6.5 points, shown as -6.5. For a bet on the Foxes to win, they must win the game by 7 or more. The Miners are the underdog at +6.5. A bet on the Miners wins if they lose by 6 or fewer, or win the game outright. The spread has turned a lopsided matchup into something close to a coin flip, which is why both sides are usually priced near -110.
Covering, the hook, and the push
Beating the spread is called covering. A favorite covers by winning by more than the spread. An underdog covers by staying within it.
That half point in 6.5 is called the hook, and it exists on purpose. A whole number like 6 allows a push, where the favorite wins by exactly 6 and the bet is a tie, so your stake comes back. Adding the half point removes the tie and forces a clear winner or loser on the bet.
Why half points exist
The hook removes the chance of a push. With a spread of 6.5 there is no way to land exactly on the number, so every bet resolves as a win or a loss.
Spread versus moneyline
The spread and the moneyline are two lenses on the same game. The moneyline asks only who wins. The spread asks by how much. Betting a heavy favorite on the spread pays far better than the moneyline, but it asks more of them: they have to win comfortably, not just win. Choosing between the two is really a question about how confident you are in the margin, not just the outcome.
Tier 2 · The Bet Types
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