The point spread works by favoring the stronger team to win by a certain number of points, while the underdog is given the same number of points to either win outright or lose by less than that margin. For example, if a team has a point spread of -5, they must win by more than 5 points for the bet to win. Conversely, if a team has a spread of +5, they can either win the game or lose by less than 5 points for the bet to succeed.
Point Spread Example
For example, if Team A has a point spread of -7 and they win the game 24-17, the bet wins because they won by more than 7 points. If Team B has a point spread of +7 and they lose 24-20, the bet also wins because they lost by less than 7 points.