Every game on every sportsbook offers the same three core markets. Understanding exactly what each one asks — and what it costs — is the foundation everything else in betting sits on.
The spread handicaps the better team. If the Chiefs are −3.5 against the Ravens, a Chiefs bet wins only if they win by 4 or more; a Ravens +3.5 bet wins if Baltimore wins outright or loses by 3 or fewer. The number moves until roughly equal money is attracted to both sides, and both typically cost −110 — bet $110 to win $100.
That −110 is the juice, and it's why break-even on spreads is 52.4%, not 50%. You can pick winners at a coin-flip rate forever and steadily lose money.
Two spread details worth knowing in football: margins cluster on key numbers (3 and 7, the field-goal and touchdown margins), so the half-point between −2.5 and −3.5 matters far more than the half-point between −7.5 and −8.5. And a final score landing exactly on the spread is a push — stake returned.
No margin, no handicap — just pick the winner, at a price that reflects how likely it is. A −150 favorite requires $150 to win $100 (implied probability 60%); a +130 underdog returns $130 on $100 (implied 43.5%). Add those two implied probabilities and you get more than 100% — that overage is the book's margin, baked into the prices.
The conversion every bettor should know: for negative lines, implied probability = line ÷ (line + 100); for positive lines, 100 ÷ (line + 100). A bet only has value when your estimate of the true win probability is meaningfully higher than the implied one.
The over/under ignores who wins and asks only whether the combined score clears a number. Totals respond to different forces than sides do — pace, weather, officiating style — which is why some bettors specialize in them. One structural note: the public loves betting overs (rooting for points is fun), and books know it, which means popular overs often carry a shaded price.
The common thread: name what your opinion actually claims, then pick the market that pays most precisely for that claim. Most losing bets are right opinions expressed in the wrong market.
−110 means you must risk $110 to win $100. It's the standard price on spreads and totals, and it sets the break-even win rate at 52.4% — the book's built-in margin.
Neither is inherently better; they express different opinions. The spread pays for being right about the margin; the moneyline pays for being right about the winner. Underdog opinions are usually better expressed on the moneyline, where an outright win pays plus money.
That's a push: the bet neither wins nor loses and your stake is returned. Half-point lines (−3.5, 44.5) exist precisely to make pushes impossible.
It's the win rate a betting price assumes. A −150 price implies 60% (150 ÷ 250); a +130 price implies about 43.5% (100 ÷ 230). Comparing implied probability to your own estimate of the true probability is the basis of every value bet.