When you are betting on football games with your friends, you may or may not have to deal with the points spread system. When you bet NFL games online, the point spread will enter into it. So before you do your NFL betting for the 2010 NFL season, you should take some time to understand how the NFL point spread works.

First of all, the NFL itself has nothing to do with creating the point spread. The point spread is done by expert football handicappers in Las Vegas. They look at the upcoming games and determine who is the favorite and who is the underdog. When you look up the point spread in the newspaper or online, the favorite will have negative points attached to them and the underdog will have positive points.

The points listed are what is referred to as the spread. For example, if you read online that the Buffalo Bills are +9 in their upcoming game with the New England Patriots then that means the Patriots are the favorite and the odds makers are giving the Bills nine points. If you bet on the Patriots, then in order for you to win your bet the Patriots need to cover the point spread and beat the Bills by at least nine points. So if you bet on the Patriots but they win 14-7, you lose because the Patriots did not cover the spread.

Betting with the spread can go the other way as well. If you think that the Bills will lose the game but not by nine points, then you can place a bet on the Bills and hope that the Patriots do not cover the spread. If the Bills lose 14-7, then you win.