How to read the SEC board: moneyline, spread, total and the hold

Every game page on this site shows the same six tables: both sides of the moneyline, both sides of the spread, and the over and under on the total. Here is what each column is doing.

The three markets

Moneyline is simply who wins. A negative price (-180) is the favorite: you risk that much to profit $100. A positive price (+150) is the underdog: you risk $100 to profit that much.

Spread gives the underdog a head start. Alabama -6.5 means Alabama must win by seven or more for that side to pay. The price next to the spread, usually near -110 at a sportsbook and near -100 on Novig, is what you pay for the position at that number.

Total is the combined score of both teams. Over 54.5 pays if the game lands 55 or more.

Profit on $100

Every venue's price is turned into one number: the profit a $100 position returns if it wins. That is the fairest way to line up a sportsbook's American odds against a prediction market's cents-per-contract price. The formula:

• Positive American odds: the profit is the number itself. +150 returns $150 on $100.
• Negative American odds: profit is 100 divided by the odds, times 100. -150 returns $66.67.
• A contract at price p with a fee rate r: the stake buys contracts and pays the fee, so profit is 100 / (p × (1 + r × (1 − p))) − 100.

Best price and the gap

Each table is sorted by what $100 returns, and the top row is marked Best. Every other row shows how many dollars it sits behind that price on the same $100. On a spread or total the gap is only meaningful when both venues are quoting the same number; where a book has a different line, the row is marked and you should compare the line as well as the price.

The hold

The hold is the number most fans never see. For any two-way market, convert both prices to implied probabilities and add them up. A fair market sums to 100%. A sportsbook's -110/-110 sums to 104.8%, and that 4.8% is the book's margin. Novig's two sides typically sum to within a fraction of a percent of 100 because no house is shading the line; the gap that remains is the spread between the best buy and sell on the order book.

The board shows the hold next to every sportsbook row and next to Novig's, computed from that venue's own two sides at the moment the board was fetched. If you only read one column, read that one: it is the price of the venue itself, separate from any opinion about the game.

When the board is stale

Prices refresh about every ten minutes. Kickoff-day lines can move faster than that, so treat the board as a map of which venue tends to pay better on which side, and confirm the live price on the venue before you trade. Games that have kicked off drop off the board, and their pages switch to the final score.