What Key Number means
A key number is a final-score margin - most famously 3 and 7 points in NFL football - that occurs unusually often as the actual final margin of victory, because of how scoring works in that sport (a field goal is worth 3, a touchdown-plus-extra-point is worth 7). Spreads set near a key number are especially sensitive to small adjustments, which is why moving from -3 to -3.5, for instance, is a meaningfully bigger shift in true value than moving from -8 to -8.5, even though both are the same half-point change.
Key points
- A key number is a final-score margin - most famously 3 and 7 points in NFL football - that occurs unusually often as the actual final margin of victory, because of how scoring works in that sport (a field goal is worth 3, a touchdown-plus-extra-point is worth 7).
- Spreads set near a key number are especially sensitive to small adjustments, which is why moving from -3 to -3.5, for instance, is a meaningfully bigger shift in true value than moving from -8 to -8.5, even though both are the same half-point change.
Example and context
Spreads set near a key number are especially sensitive to small adjustments, which is why moving from -3 to -3.5, for instance, is a meaningfully bigger shift in true value than moving from -8 to -8.5, even though both are the same half-point change.
Related glossary terms
These terms sit in the same part of the betting vocabulary and are useful to read next.
← Back to the complete betting glossary