Explain point spreads&over under? (NFL specifically) Please help!?

I'm no expert on sports betting and I'm not sure what format you're looking at for your odds, but this is basically my understanding. You have an favorite, an underdog, and a point spread. If I say that the line for tonight's game is the Steelers by 14.5, that means that Pittsburgh would have to win by 15 points or more to win that bet. The half a point tacked on is so there isn't a push, where a bettor would neither lose nor win--it's something shady invented by the oddsmakers so they don't have to pay you any money unless you absolutely win.

If you're playing a Survivor league on Yahoo!, I think all you need to know who the favorite is. Of course, the higher the spread, the more the bookmakers think that team will win, so they up the spread so they can make sure to make back their money. In terms of simply picking a winner, the higher the spread, the more likely they think that the favorite will win.

As far as points spreads go, its pretty easy. The (-) in front of the number means that the team is favored by that amount of points. Thus, if it looks like -6, that means that team is already losing 6 - 0. If there is a plus (+) in front of the number, the team is the underdog by said amount points. Thus your team is starting the game winning say 6 - 0. You can think of it this way, or just remember that at the end of the game, whichever way you chose, the favorite needs to win by more than that number of points or the underdog needs to lose by less than that amount.

Over/under is very easy. The amount of points that are given, say 45, are the total amount of points scored by the two teams combined. Thus a 28-21 final score means you would have won the overs (if that was your bet).

Now as far as teams go this year, obviously early in the season it is difficult to say. There are few gimme teams such as the Indianapolis Colts, and Cincinnati Bengals for going over in games. Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns are going to be good unders bets this year. Points spreads are exceedingly difficult in the beginning of the season because no one really knows what they have as of yet. If I were you, I'd try to stay away from point spreads the first week or two till you get a chance to see some teams in action and stick with over/unders there usually a little (not much) easier to pick.

The over under or O/U is the total combined points the two teams will score in a game. Hence the reason its almost always a 1/2 number, like 41.5. The spread its how many points the favored team is giving away. What this means is that if the Steelers are playing the Cardinals and the Cards are +6 they get 6 fictional points before the game starts, so to win a bet the steelers have to win by 7 or more

Here's the quick and dirty: point spread is the difference in score. The favorite has to beat the underdog by that amount, if you bet on the favorite. If you bet on an upset, you are not betting that the favorite will definately lose, only that they will not win by at least the spread.

Over under is pretty simple: you are just betting that the combined score of both teams will be over or under a certain number.

Good luck!

1. Spread - the spread is the amount of points that the oddsmakers have predicted will be the difference between the two teams. For example, lets say that Dallas is favored to beat Jacksonville by 4 points (4 is the spread). If Dallas scores 10 and Jacksonville scores 7, then Dallas has failed to cover the spread, and if you picked Jacksonville, then you won.

2. Over/Under - is the total combined score of both teams for the game. For example, lets say that the over/under on the Dallas-Jacksonville game (above) is 30 points. If you think the combined score from both teams will be more than 30, then you choose over. If you think the combined score from both teams will be less than 30, then you choose under. In the example I used to explain the spread, the total score would have been 17. So, if you chose under 30, then you would have won.

Over and Under is a bet on the total number of points that will be scored by both teams in the game. In the NFL, the "total" will usually be somewhere in the 30s or 40s. The bet is simple: if you bet the over, you win if the total points in the game goes over the number. You lose if it doesn't. If you bet the under, you win if the total points stay under the number. You lose if the points exceed the number. The 10 points you are asking about has to be the total for ONE team. The bet would be if you think the team will go over or under 10 points for the game. (Must be Tampa going against the Patriots..hahaha)

Oint spread is how many points the underdog is given

Just say Jets -7 over Rams

Whatever Rams score you add 7 to it and that is the real score

Or take 7 away from jets ..doesn't matter..The Jets have to win by more than 7 points to actually win the bet

Over/Under simple say Jets Rams 35 points You either bet combined score will be over 35 or under 35..simple

preseason really doesn't show anything anyway. it is just to find out the backups for the players.

over and unders. they are the total of both teams in the game. if the over is 42, this is asking you if you think the 2 teams will score at least 42 points combined. so if both teams have a good defense this would be when you bet "under". other than that watch ESPN or HBO and pick your bets.