You may have heard sports bettors refer to a spread as “3 and a hook”, or (any number) and hook. The hook is a half point. The term hook is slang for the half point that is on some point spreads. A thee and a half point spread (for ex.) would look like this: 3.5 or this: 3′

The half point is an in between number that serves several functions:

It allows the sportsbook to move the line without giving up an entire point. An entire point move can affect the bottom line.

The hook also serves as a way to not have to deal with “pushes” or ties. You may notice that some sportsbooks seem to have half point spread moreso than others. It is no coincidence.