Football has been the most popular sport in the US for a long time. People worldwide are tuning in to watch their favorite NFL teams and players on the field. With a huge fan base comes a huge betting community.
For years, bettors have been perfecting their knowledge of every matchup, strategy, and tip they have for the game. Not to mention that betting on the NFL makes everything much more exciting if you’re both a bettor and an NFL fan.
If you want to join in on the fun, there are many things we have to talk about. From how to bet to some basic tips you have to know about when betting on the NFL, there’s a lot you have to know about NFL betting.
NFL Odds Explained
Before talking about the different types of bets you can make in the NFL, you need to know how the odds work first. Typically, the odds are represented with the minus (-) or the positive sign (+). These signs usually represent the favorite and the underdog of the matchup and signify the amount of money you’ll have to bet or the payouts when you bet on that specific team.
For example, let’s say you were looking to bet on a game where the Dallas Cowboys (-300) are playing against the New York Giants (+240). Since the Cowboys are represented with a minus sign in this matchup, they are the favorite, and the Giants are the underdogs since they are with the positive sign.
Therefore, if you bet on the favorite with $33 and they win, you will have a payout of $133, which includes $100 for winning and your original bet of $33. On the other hand, if you bet on the underdog, a $100 bet on the Giants will yield you $340, including a $240 winnings and your original bet if they win the game.
However, this changes when it comes to NFL draft odds because you’ll be betting which player will be drafted first. Most of the picks will be signified with the positive sign, which means they have a small chance to be drafted first.
Most of the time, there’s only one or two candidates for the first draft and of course, they’ll be represented with a minus sign.
Related: NBA, NFL, Or MLB: Which League Makes More Money Right Now?
NFL Point Spread
The most popular type of bet in the NFL or most team sports games, in general, is the point spread. This involves making a wager where you’ll bet if either the favorite or the underdog will cover the spread. Using the last example, Dallas is -3 over the Giants. If you bet on the Cowboys, they have to win the game with more than three points in this matchup.
If you bet on the Giants, they will have to lose by less than three points or outright win the game. But what if the Giants or the Cowboys win or lose the game with 3 points exactly? A push will happen where nobody wins a bet, and the money will be returned to the bettors.
Money Line Betting
This is also a popular one since it’s very simple and straightforward. All you have to do in this bet is predict which team will win. The payout for this one is dependent on how high the prices are in the point spread. The higher the point spread, the more money there is to be had in the money line betting.
With the last example, let’s say that the Cowboys are the favorite with -300 odds and the Giants have +240. If you want to bet on the Cowboys, you’ll have to bet $300 to win $100, and if you bet on the other team, you’ll have to bet $100 to win $240. Sounds unfair, right? But remember that the Cowboys are slated to win, making it less risky than betting on the underdog.
However, if you think that the Giants will win the game, then putting your money on the underdog on the money line is a much more profitable decision than betting on them on the point spread.
NFL Totals (Over/Under)
If you’re not interested in which team will win the game, there’s another way to bet on the games: the NFL totals. In this bet, the bookie will publish their predicted total number of points by the end of the game. This point includes both of the teams’ points. If you think that the published total points of the bookie are lower than what you think they will be, then you should bet over.
However, if you think it’s higher, then you should bet under; simple as that. However, if the bookie’s prediction is the same as the total number of points by the end of the game, then there will be a push.
Final Words
NFL betting is easy as long as you know how the odds work. However, winning your bets is more complicated since you’ll have to do your research. So before you go onto more complicated stuff, you have to learn more about the basics first, starting with this article.
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