Are you curious about how to bet the spread or wondering what betting ATS is? If that’s the case you’ve come to the right place.
Betting against the spread is one of the most popular (and profitable) methods of sports betting. For some, it’s the only betting lines they look at with Parimatch.
ATS sports betting may seem a bit confusing at first, but really it’s quite simple to understand.
Continue reading to educate yourself on what the spread is, how to bet against the spread, and the most popular sports to consider when betting ATS.
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What Is the Spread?
Before getting into how to bet against the spread, you must understand what the spread is.
What’s the fun in wagering on a horribly one-sided match? The payouts are lousy if you pick the favourite and the risk is too high if you back the underdog.
The spread or otherwise known as the handicap is a virtual advantage (or disadvantage) applied to either team to balance the odds of a lopsided match.
The handicap is a specified amount of points given to the underdog before the match begins. After a handicap is applied, the odds balance out and thus become more appealing to bet on.
The best way to understand the spread (handicap) is to look at a football example from Parimatch:
Here you can see the original 3-way moneyline odds. Azam is the clear favourite in a heavily lopsided match versus Namungo FC.
Take a look at what happens to the odds when a +1.5 point (goal) handicap is applied to Namungo FC:
The odds become nearly identical. The new odds are so close because, in the bookmaker’s eyes, Namungo FC is starting the match with a 1.5 goal advantage.
In this scenario, if you’re betting ATS on Namungo FC to win with a +1.5 handicap, your bet would pay out so long as Namungo FC didn’t lose by more than 1.5 goals.
If Azam won the match 2-1 your bet would pay out because they didn’t win by more than 1.5 goals or in other words they didn’t cover the spread.
If Azam won the match 3-1 your bet would not payout because Azam covered the 1.5 spread — winning by a margin of 2.
You might be wondering why some (not all) handicap lines have a decimal point of .5 instead of an integer (whole number). This is because it’s impossible to score half a goal, therefore the bet can’t result in a push (tie).
What Does ATS Mean in Sports Betting?
Betting against the spread (ATS) is a strategy focused on wagering against the moneyline favourite in a handicap market. In other words, you are betting that the favourite won’t cover the point spread.
Thinking back to the previous example, if you wagered on Namungo FC to win with a +1.5 handicap, you would have been betting against the spread.
On the contrary, if you bet on Azam (the favourite) to win with a -1.5 handicap, you’d be betting with the spread.
How to Bet Against the Spread
If you think the oddsmakers set the handicap (virtual advantage) too high, then you would want to consider betting against the spread.
With ATS sports betting, the question you have to answer boils down to a simple yes or no. Is the advantage given to the underdog so lofty that it will be too difficult for the favoured team to overcome?
If you answer yes, then you would consider betting ATS.
If you answer no, and think the favourite will overcome the handicap, then it’d be wise to bet with the spread.
Here’s an example from Parimatch from the same match between Azam (the moneyline favourite) and Namungo FC (the moneyline underdog):
The handicap is set at 3.5. As you know, this means Namungo is up 3.5 goals to zero (in the bookmaker’s eyes) before the match even begins.
Surely that is too large of a deficit to overcome. The bookmaker thinks so too, which is why the odds are so low (1.07) for Namungo FC.
The odds are high for Azam because you’d be taking a huge risk picking them to win with a -3.5 handicap. They would have to completely dominate and win the game by four goals or more — which is unrealistic.
Use of ATS Across Popular Sports
Some sports are more popular than others when betting ATS. The main aspect to consider if you’re interested in betting against the spread is the point totals for each sport.
Basketball
Basketball games are a high scoring affair. Typically in the NBA, the point total will hover somewhere around 200 points.
Furthermore, basketball points are scored by one (free throw), two (basket inside the three-point line), or three (three point field goal), at a time. This differs from soccer, where only one point (goal) can be tacked on to the scoreboard.
When deciding which sport to choose when betting against the spread, you have to consider how (and how many) points are scored to better understand the spread lines.
American Football
In regards to point totals, football falls in the middle. Total points scored in a game average out to around 45.
Like with basketball, there are a few different denominations tacked on to the scoreboard depending on the situation.
For example, a touchdown is six points, followed by the opportunity to kick an extra point or go for a two-point conversation. This means with a single offensive position a team could score up to eight points.
Similarly, there are three-point field goals or a possible two-point safety in American football.
With a variety of ways to score and a complex scoring system, betting ATS in American football can get very interesting — hence why it’s so popular.
Football/Soccer
Soccer has the smallest handicap lines. Usually, they are set between one and three points.
As you’re surely aware, in soccer a team can only score one point (goal) at a time. So logically, the handicap lines are very small.
Soccer is a popular option in ATS sports betting due to its simple scoring format and infrequency of points. This also means that it’s harder to predict who’s going to win — leading to potentially bigger payouts.
All it takes is one misplaced tackle in the penalty area to turn the tides of a match (and your bet).
Conclusion
Betting against the spread is a killer way to test your sports knowledge against the bookmaker.
Be bold and trust your intuition. If the handicap is set too high, betting against the spread could earn you some big money.
Download the intuitive dual language Parimatch betting app if you’re curious to see our stellar handicap lines and odds.
If you want to learn how to calculate payouts or are interested in other bet types, check out this comprehensive guide from the experts at Parimatch.