Help! Just recently joined a football pool with some friends online for the first time in several years, only I discovered after the fact that it was a league based on how you handled the point spread, not simply Who wins/Who loses (which is the only way I've ever played in pools). In fact, I'd already even made my picks for Week 1 last week when I found out the ugly truth. And hell, I don't even do that well when I'm picking just winners for any kind of money, thank god this is a pride-only league so my wallet won't feel it when I take the pinch most weeks, I'm sure.

So yea, basically if you're showing me a "line" that looks like this for example...

Home: San Diego (3.5-) Away: Indianapolis

... I still don't really get it. Normally I'd just say, okay I'm guessing Indy would win this game, but apparently that ain't good enough for these fuckers.

I'd sincerely appreciate any help could be offered. And yes, I'll grant you that since after all I am a 30 year old guy who's a moderately big sports fan (though moreso and much more dedicated with baseball), and though I've hardly ever gambled, my predicament is still pathetic enough that I concede I deserve a certain amount of ridicule for it.

THANK YOU!!

if you pick indy they have to win by at least 4 for you to get it right.

lock er up

Although the way the original poster laid out the example is confusing to me. The favorite should always be listed to the left and the underdog to the right where I come from.

Ouch I fully admitted up the top that I'm a dingus who deserves to get ribbed a little for not knowing, but you really feel the thread's lock-worthy?




Well keep in mind if it helps, I wrote out that example 100% as something made up, as far down as to the sequence in which I even wrote out the #'s. Just going from the best of my recollection when reading the paper, I always thought I remembered there being a # in parenthesis inbetween the 2 teams, and with either a + or - next to it. And also for the purposes of my fictional example, San Diego could've just as easily been on the right side, they were simply the team that popped into my head first.

You gotta be smarter than that. He was referring to davo's response, in that it specified the answer to your query.

Ok well I guess I'm not, sorry. As I said I'm not a gambling person in the least, and I guess we've established how clueless I am with point spreads. So no it didn't immediately click that he was referring to the quality of the fictitious pick.

yeah, it's a little weird, but I assume the - sign being closer to Indy means they're the favorites. it's hard to be sure, though.

thats a pretty confusing way to put the line..the 3.5-is listed after the chargers, so it looks like they are givin the points, on the other hand, the - is written to the right of the number (?), so it can mean the colts are giving..(the latter is probably the case, the chargers would be gettin about 3 and a half if they played indy at home)

anyhow..to the original poster..just pick who you think will win the game..85% of the time that team covers the spread..the bookies only use the spreads to even the bets made on each team..it has nothing to do with how much they think a team will win by