As the sports betting industry grows, so does the range of betting options available. In our experience exploring many forms of sports betting, we’ve found “against the spread” or ATS betting to be a popular choice. Despite its growing popularity, many are still unsure of what it involves. In its simplest form, it’s a form of wagering often utilized in points-based sports like football or basketball.
Against the spread betting can seem a bit confusing, particularly to those just getting started in sports betting. If you want to learn what ATS means in betting, you can read more about it below.
What Does Against the Spread Mean?
Bookmakers establish a points spread for a game, which essentially hands the favored team a hypothetical deficit to overcome. Bettors, therefore, don’t simply have to predict the winner of the match, but consider the points handicap in their wager.
For example, if a football team is favored to win by 7 points, betting against the spread could mean you believe they’ll win by more or you’re betting they won’t win by that many points. It adds an extra layer of strategy to your betting, requiring you to think not just about outcomes, but about performances.
Point Spread Explained
Think of the point spread like a handicap between two teams. The sportsbook decides how many points the favored team is expected to win by. This makes betting more interesting, because now the question isn’t just who wins, but by how much.
To get started with spreads, read our guide on betting with point spreads.
Examples of ATS Betting
Let’s use a real-world example. Say the Los Angeles Lakers are playing against the Boston Celtics. The Lakers are favored to win by 7 points (-7). If you believe the Lakers will perform well and beat this spread, betting on the Lakers means they need to win by more than 7 points. However, if you bet on the Celtics (+7), you’re hoping they either win or lose by fewer than 7 points.
Now if you’re betting on a football game where the point spread is set at -3.5 for the Patriots against the Jets, a bet placed ATS would mean the Patriots have to win by 4 or more points. This differs from straightforward betting, where the bet would be successful as long as the Patriots won, regardless of the points difference. Should you bet on the Jets in this example, they would need to win the game outright, or not lose by more than 3 points, to cover the spread – even if they lose the game, you could still be successful in your wager.
Betting Against the Spread vs. Betting with the Spread
It’s important to understand the difference between betting against the spread and betting with the spread. Against the spread betting often means wagering on the underdog – you’re predicting they will not lose by more than the spread. On the other hand, betting with the spread involves putting your money on the favorite, predicting they will win by more than the spread.
For betting with the spread, let’s use a football example. Suppose the New England Patriots are playing the Miami Dolphins, and the Patriots are a 7-point favorite (-7). Betting with the spread on the Patriots means you are predicting they will win by more than 7 points. If the Patriots end the game with a scoreline that gives them an 8-point lead or more, your bet is a win, as they’ve succeeded in covering the spread by outperforming the handicap set by the sportsbook.
How to Bet Against the Spread?
In ATS betting, your focus shifts from merely predicting the winner to analyzing how much a team will win or lose. You need to get into the details – form of the teams, player injuries, head-to-head stats, and more. These factors can all impact the final scoreline and therefore influence the result in terms of the point spread. For instance, an unexpected injury to a star quarterback could dramatically shift the odds, making what once seemed like a sure thing more of a gamble.
Moreover, the location of the game and public betting trends can also sway how a spread is set and moves before the event. Home-field advantage often gets factored into the spread, as teams tend to perform better in familiar environments.
NFL Betting Against the Spread
The NFL is a league where spread betting is popular, given the high-scoring nature of games. Let’s use another example to illustrate: if the Steelers are listed as -7.5 against the Ravens, a bet on the Steelers ATS would require them to win by 8 or more points. Calling your bet correctly means analyzing the teams’ recent performances, player performances, and external factors that could influence the game like weather conditions.
Other Sports
ATS betting isn’t limited to the NFL. It’s used, perhaps to varying degrees, in baseball, and even lower-scoring sports such as soccer and hockey. Like the NFL, basketball is high-scoring, making NBA ATS bets widely popular.
What Do We Think?
From our perspective, ATS is a compelling option for those after something more intricate than a straight win or loss wager. Its appeal is in the added layer of complexity and the deeper dive into game analysis it mandates. However, as with any betting style, it comes with its own sets of pros and cons. Let’s break these down:
| 👍Pros | 👎Cons |
|---|---|
| Greater potential profit – ATS bets often attract higher odds, especially when betting on the underdog. | More research required – Successful ATS betting requires detailed knowledge about team form, player injuries, and head-to-head stats. |
| Engages bettors at a deeper level – It demands the analysis of the intricacies of the game, making the betting experience more immersive. | Potential loss – Betting against the spread can be risky, as you’re staking on the underdog or counting on the favorite to win big. |
| Works across multiple sports – ATS betting is used in football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and even soccer, thus offering a swath of betting opportunities. | Not for beginners – The complexity and depth required for ATS betting can make it a challenging starting point for novice bettors. |
Our Opinion on Against the Spread Betting
To summarize, we believe that betting against the spread requires a nuanced, detailed approach, going beyond simply identifying potential game winners. It demands analysis and understanding of the teams and their performance. That level of detail might require extra effort, but it can also make your betting experience more engaging and rewarding. Ultimately, the key to succeeding in against the spread betting, like any form of betting, is knowledge, attention to detail, and informed decision-making.
FAQ
Here are some of the frequently asked questions about this type of betting:
Betting against the spread means wagering on whether a team will cover the point spread set by oddsmakers.
ATS stands for “Against The Spread.” It refers to a team’s performance relative to the point spread. When a team covers the spread, it means they performed better than expected according to the oddsmakers’ spread, resulting in a win for those who bet on them ATS.
Yes, you can bet ATS on football. It’s a popular way to wager on both college and NFL games, focusing on whether teams cover the point spread.
