Against The Spread, often abbreviated 'ATS,' refers to a team's record when factoring in the pointspread. All of our football picks are always meant to be played against the spread, as opposed to 'straight up (or SU),' which simply refers to who won or lose the game. For example, if the Chicago Bears are favored over the Green Bay Packers by six points and the football pick you purchase is on Green Bay, the sports handicapper is telling you to bet the Packers at +6 betting odds.

Some sports, particularly baseball and hockey, use what is called the 'money line.' All of our MLB picks and NHL picks are to be wagered using the money line. This means you are simply choosing which team will win the game straight up. In these instances, you will see something like this: Yankees (-150) at Red Sox (+140). Money line odds are always based on a $100 wager. For example, if you played the Yankees, you would have to wager $150 to win $100. If you wagered $100 on the Red Sox, you would win $140. Wagering on favorites on the money line typically yields more winning picks, but also offers little value as you have to wager a lot to win a little. At Footballpicks.com, you will not ever receive picks on money line favorites of more than -150, unless specifically noted. On the other hand, wagering on underdogs on the money line often offers tremendous value, but lesser positive results.

Baseball and hockey also use what is called the run line or puck line. This simply is a pointspread, which will always be +1.5 or -1.5. For instance, if the Yankees are -1.5 runs against the Red Sox, they must win by at least two runs to win the bet. Run line and puck line plays are not as common as money line plays at Footballpicks.com.