One way to refer to this is the Eagles are “getting six.” Underdogs have a positive number, such as Eagles (6).
If the Chargers win by three on a last-second field goal, hey, good for them but you still lose.įavored teams will be listed with a negative point spread, such as Chargers (-6). So if the Eagles are 6-point underdogs against the Chargers and you bet the Chargers to win, the Chargers have to beat the Eagles by more than a touchdown for you to collect. How it works: Oddmakers predict by how many points the favored team will beat the underdog.
You can still bet that way, but McNeil opened his own book-making joint in Chicago and introduced what he called “wholesaling odds,” which was betting on point spreads.
Back then, if you wanted to bet on a football game with your local bookie, you got odds on the winner – the Bears would pay 2-to-1 if they beat the Giants, for example.
