David spent 25 years as both a writer and editor within the betting/casino industries - including at The Guardian, Racing Post, 888Casino and Sky Sports Racing - prior to joining BBI. He has a diploma in sub-editing and law, is the author of four books, and remains a successful sports tipster.
All posts by David MyersPK is short for Pick’Em, Pk’Em or pick and relates to spread betting. One of the most popular ways to bet on sports is betting on the spread as it evens the playing field and means even if a team has no chance of winning bettors can still place bets on them as the underdog essentially has points added to their score before the games even began.
With Pick’ems there are no clear favorites, the bookies believe the two teams to be evenly matched and thus the spread is 0, meaning that a pick’em spread bet essentially becomes a moneyline bet, where you are just betting on what team you think will win and the amount they win by is not relevant.
How Do You Read Odds That Are Pick’Em?
Although a PK means that the spread is zero and the two teams are believed to be very evenly matched it doesn’t mean that one team isn’t slightly favored. You can tell what team is the favorite at sportsbooks by looking at the odds. American odds use+/- symbols and if you want to learn more about what these symbols mean in betting then check out our plus/minus guide.
The typical odds for spread betting is -110 for either team. This number will sometimes move slightly but it’s always going to be around that amount. In a Pick’Em game, the slight favorite will be the one with the minus sign plus the higher number. For example, let us take a look at a hypothetical match between the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs where a sportsbook has listed the game as a PK.
Team
PK Odds
Buffalo Bills
-113
Kansas City Chiefs
-107
In this game, The Buffalo Bills are the sportsbook thinks that the Bills have a slight edge over the Chiefs as you would need to bet $113 on them to make a $100 profit. To make $100 on the Kansas City Chiefs you would only need to bet $107.
What Does PK Mean in Soccer Betting?
In widely followed sports such as basketball and football, contests tend to produce plenty of points and hardly ever finish level, though when regulation does end all square, the outcome gets settled in overtime. NFL matchups can, in theory, still conclude as a tie, but that’s an unusual outcome. Soccer, by contrast, frequently wraps up as a draw, and outside of knockout competitions, there’s no extra time played.
With this being the case you may be wondering what happens if you place a PK spread bet on a soccer game and the game ends in a tie. Well, what happens is that your bet is a push and your stake is refunded. For instance, if you place a $20 PK spread bet on Manchester City to beat Liverpool and Man City wins your bet is a winner, if Liverpool wins you lose your bet and if the game ends tied up you get your $20 stake back.
It’s important to remember that a PK spread bet and a PK moneyline bet on soccer is going to offer different odds. In football and basketball, the odds on a Pick’em spread bet will usually be identical to the moneyline, there may be slight differences but it’s going to be very small. However, with soccer, a pick spread bet odds can be very different from the moneyline.
The reason lies in how the results break down. A PK moneyline bet has 3 possible outcomes (win, lose and draw), and you can back only one of them, which means two outcomes leave you losing money. Set every other factor aside and look purely at those possible outcomes, and you have a 33.3% chance of winning money against a 66.6% chance of losing money. A pk spread bet also carries 3 possible outcomes, yet only one of them costs you money. That works out to a 33.3% chance of winning money, a 33.3% chance of losing money and a 33.3% chance of neither winning nor losing.
How Does a PK Bet Affect the Spread?
For Pick’em betting a spread essentially becomes a moneyline in most US sports. This is because the spread is zero you are really just betting on what team will win the game and how many points they win by is totally irrelevant, like it is in a moneyline bet. This means that the odds of a PK spread and PK moneyline bet will usually be the same although there can be small differences.
Not every sport works this way, though. As covered in the soccer section above, the odds on a moneyline will often be higher in sports where a tie can happen. Back one team to win on the moneyline, and you lose both the bet and your stake if the game finishes level or the other side wins. A PK spread bet treats things differently: if the game ends in a tie, it is graded as a push and you receive your stake back.
Tips to Betting on a Pick’Em Line
Pick’em games are hard to predict the winner as by their very nature the two teams playing are evenly matched and the game is pretty much a flip of a coin. However, you can give yourself the edge when betting on PK spreads by following our top five tips below.
Form
The first thing to check when placing PK bets is to check the form and stats of the two teams for at least their previous six games (if they have played that many in the current season). Make sure to check both their home and away form and think about where the PK match is being played. Also, look at the quality of teams they have beaten or lost to and the points differential.
This information is easily obtainable on the league’s website or a reputable sports site. For example, for NBA you can check the NBA teams page and for the NFL you can check out the NFL website, additionally, ESPN has extensive stats for many sports.
Consider Head-to-Head Record
While form is important it’s also advisable to check the head-to-head record of the two teams from the current season and previous seasons as some teams just seem to have the advantage over another. For example in soccer Tottenham Hotspur football team went 16 years between 1990-2006 without beating Chelsea FC even though both were top-flight football teams.
It’s also important to consider which team is at home and the head-to-head record at the stadium or ground the game is being played.
Check Team and Player News
This is essential as players missing can have a huge impact on these tight games. Try to check team news every day leading up to the game to see if there are any key players injured or likely to miss the game. Also if any players are coming back from injury, check on what the coach is saying about their possibility of playing and how much of the game they might play.
Don’t Place Bets Early
This ties in with our previous tip. The reason you don’t want to place your pick’em bets too early is that even the smallest aspect could affect the results. If you place your PK bet three days in advance a lot could happen before the game starts. A player could pick up an injury, get ill or any number of things could occur that may potentially stop them from playing or negatively impact their performance.
In outdoor sports, the weather could also play a factor and you won’t have a reliable prediction of the weather until at least 24 hours before. That’s why it’s best to leave your Pick’em betting until the day of the game or maybe the day before.
Check the Odds of the Moneyline
As we mentioned earlier even though Pick’em spreads are essentially moneyline bets on sports like basketball and football the odds are not always the same and depending on what team you are choosing to bet on the odds on a PK moneyline bet may give you slightly better odds or vice versa.
It’s only ever going to be a slight difference in sports where a draw is impossible or highly unlikely but these small amounts can add up over time.
FAQs
Before you put any of this into practice with real money, make sure the sportsbook is licensed in your state. Sports betting is only legal in states that have regulated it, and each one keeps a public list of approved operators, for example the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and the New York State Gaming Commission. You must be 21 or older in most states. If betting stops being fun, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER or visit the National Council on Problem Gambling for free, confidential help.
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