Spread explanation

Understanding how the spread works can be difficult for people who don't habitually gamble.  What follows is a very basic explanation of what the spread numbers mean and how it is determined if you would win or lose a spread pick.

Winnipeg vs Saskatchewan

WPG +8.5
SSK -8.5

In this example SSK is -8.5.  This means SSK is favored to not only win the game but win it by a margin of 8.5 points. WPG is expected to lose the game by a margin of 8.5 points.  The team with minus sign is always the favorite, the team with the plus sign is the underdog.

So if the final score was SSK 34 WPG 14  SSK won the game by 20 points, therefore they "cover" the spread.  If you chose SSK in this spread game, you would win.

If the final score was SSK 34 WPG 32   SSK still won the game but only by 2 points, therefore WPG "covered" the spread.  So if you chose WPG for this spread game you would still win even though SSK won the game, they didn't cover the spread

Successfully picking spread games is very difficult but it is the key to success in the CFL pool.  All past winners had success picking spread games. It's what separates the top tier from the rest of the pack