What Is a Pick Em Game and How Should You Bet It?
Pick em games occupy a unique spot on the betting board. No team is favored, no point spread separates them, and the sportsbook is treating both sides as dead even. That might seem straightforward, but pick em games actually demand a sharper approach than matchups with a clear favorite. Here is everything you need to know.
What Does Pick Em Mean in Sports Betting?
A pick em, sometimes written as "PK" on the betting board, means neither team receives points on the spread. The spread is zero. Both teams are treated as equals, and you simply pick the winner outright — the same outcome you need on a moneyline bet, but without any spread cushion.
You will most often see this in football and basketball, where point spreads are the dominant bet type. When oddsmakers cannot separate two teams by even half a point, they set the line at pick em.
Pick Em on the Spread vs. the Moneyline
This is where some bettors get confused. A pick em on the spread does not automatically mean the moneyline is even odds.
On the spread, a pick em shows as +0 or PK for both teams. You win if your team wins the game outright, and you push if they tie, which matters in overtime scenarios depending on league rules.
On the moneyline, both teams are still subject to the vig, so pricing can differ between the two sides. A standard pick em moneyline looks like this:
- Team A: -110
- Team B: -110
Both sides cost the same to bet. That -110 is the sportsbook's juice, their cut of the action. You risk $110 to win $100 on either team.
Sometimes you will see slight asymmetry even in a pick em game:
- Team A: -115
- Team B: -105
This tells you the book is seeing heavier action on Team A and has adjusted the price to balance liability. The spread is still PK, but the moneyline is not perfectly even. That pricing gap matters when you are hunting for value.
Why Pick Em Games Deserve Extra Attention
Casual bettors often treat pick ems as coin flips and move on. Sharp bettors know these games carry meaningful value for a few specific reasons.
Line Shopping Has a Bigger Impact
In a game with a significant spread, a half-point difference between books is noticeable but not always decisive. In a pick em, even small pricing differences carry more weight because you are already working with razor-thin margins.
If one sportsbook has Team A at -115 and another has them at -105, that 10-cent swing directly affects your expected value. Over hundreds of bets, those differences compound. Comparing odds across books before placing any bet is a habit worth building. The live odds comparison tools on Line Whale let you see every available price side by side.
The Market Is Telling You Something
When oddsmakers open a line at pick em, they are signaling that two teams are nearly identical in their estimation. That consensus carries information. It also means public money and sharp action can push the line more visibly in either direction.
If a pick em shifts to Team A -1.5 within hours of opening, that is a meaningful move. Someone with conviction bet into it. Tracking line movement through a tool like Steam Moves can reveal whether sharp money is starting to favor one side, even in a game the market opened as completely even.
Juice Is Worth Negotiating
Because both sides are priced similarly in a pick em, you have more leverage to find reduced juice. Some books offer -105 on both sides as standard pricing. At -110, you need to win 52.4% of your bets to break even. At -105, that threshold drops to 51.2%. In a pick em, where the true win probability of each side is close to 50%, that difference is more significant than it sounds.
Use the EV Calculator to run the numbers before you bet. Plug in your estimated win probability and the offered odds, and it will tell you whether the bet carries positive expected value.
How to Handicap a Pick Em Game
The sportsbook has already told you both teams are close. Your job is to find where the market might be slightly off.
Focus on Situational Factors
Look at schedule spots. Is one team on a short week? Playing their third road game in a row? Coming off an emotional win or a blowout loss? Situational edges tend to get underweighted when the market sets a line at even, because the public focuses on talent and record rather than context.
Check the Total
The total can give you useful context in a pick em. A high total in a pick em suggests a shootout environment where small execution errors matter more and variance is higher. A low total points to a defensive battle where special teams and turnover margin can decide the outcome. Whether you want to bet the game at all might depend on that context.
Know When to Pass
Pick ems are not automatically good bets. Sometimes the market has it exactly right and there is no edge to find. If your handicapping lands you at 50-50 on a pick em priced at -110, you are betting into negative expected value. Pass and wait for a spot where you have a real opinion.
A Quick Example
Say the Chiefs and Eagles are listed as a pick em for a Sunday afternoon game. After digging into the numbers, you decide the Eagles have a slight edge based on home field and a scheduling advantage. You find the Eagles at -105 at one book and -115 at another.
Betting the Eagles at -105 instead of -115 is not a minor detail. It lowers your breakeven threshold and directly affects long-term profitability. Always check multiple books before placing your bet. The sportsbook rankings page outlines which books consistently offer the best lines and where each one tends to be strongest by sport.
Key Takeaways
- A pick em on the spread means zero points separate the teams. You are picking a straight-up winner.
- The moneyline in a pick em is still subject to vig and can be slightly asymmetric. Always check both.
- Line shopping is especially valuable in pick em games because margins are tight and pricing differences hit harder.
- Watch for line movement. A small shift in a pick em can signal sharp action on a game the market opened as perfectly even.
- Use expected value math to evaluate whether the price you are being offered justifies the bet, even when the game feels like a coin flip.
- Know when to pass. No edge in a pick em means you are paying juice for nothing.
Pick em games look simple on the surface. They reward bettors who dig into the details, shop their lines, and understand what the market is actually saying.