That extra half point ensures that there will in fact be a winner and loser in regard to the point spread. There is a very big difference between a three-point spread and a spread that is 3.5. Related: Should I Buy Half Points when Sports Betting?ĭoc’s Sports offers college football expert picks for every game on our college football predictions page.įor starters, when looking at the point spread line for any lined game, 'the hook' is that extra half-point in the line. What we want to help you understand is why half points are instituted in the betting industry and how they affect whether or not you win or lose your bet and the price you pay for such a line. Some would say losing a bet by half a point (AKA ' the hook ') is the bettors' fault, not the actual players or coaches in the game, but I will get to that later in the article.
It is one of the more frustrating losses in the industry, right next to the classic ninth-inning bullpen collapse in baseball.
It doesn't matter if you are a novice bettor just learning the ropes or a professional bettor that's seen everything in their 25 years in the business, at one time or another (more like several times in your life time) you will have to throw away a ticket in which a team failed to cover the point spread by a half point.
