Bookies find they make more money if they can balance the competitors up in an event through the use of SPREADS. These are also known as HANDICAPS. Thus, in the Super Bowl this year, Denver was hot favorite to beat Atlanta. Bookies used a SPREAD to even up the teams of seven points. So, if you wanted to bet Denver, they had to cover the spread (i.e. win by more than seven points) for you to win. Likewise, if you liked Atlanta, you bet them with a seven-point advantage and even if they had lost the game, if they had lost by less than seven points your bet would have been a winner.