12-21-2023, 03:47 PM
Quote: @dadevike said:Interesting. Thanks for posting. Never knew any of that.
The number after the team's name tells you what you need to do to that team's total to make the game even. So Vikings +3 means the Vikings need an additional 3 points to make it even. In other words, the Lions are favored by 3.
Listening to one of guys who set football lines at a Vegas casino, he said they try very hard to come up with a number that will cause 50% of the money to be bet on one team and 50% on the other. Since the casino keeps the vig on all losing bets, this guarantees the casino will make money. The casino is not gambling.
Back when the Cowboys were dominant, they had to really pump the Cowboys' line because Cowboy fans/bettors were so overconfident. If the line should have been Cowboys -3 (because they were on average 3 points better than their opponent) they would set the line at Cowboys -6 or -6.5 to get the money evenly spread out. The "smart" money would bet on the Cowboys' opponent.