Football Betting
Before we go any further, we’d better discuss where players can bet on football games. Unfortunately, sports betting is highly restricted at this time, with very few places offering physical sports betting. Places, where it is allowed, include Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, Montana, and Delaware. However, in Delaware, the sports betting scene is quite small, and the operators are only permitted to offer parlay cards.
This means that for the majority of players, if they want to place wagers on a football game, online sports betting is their best option. Not only is it more convenient, but there are generally more betting options than you’d find at a land-based casino or sports betting shop. On top of this, just like USA casinos online do, online sports books offer better bonuses and promotions.
American Football Betting Guide
Football has been a favorite pastime of gamblers for a very long time now. Whether it’s playing it when you’re young, or watching it later on in life, there’s no getting away from the fact that we love football. Whether it’s professional football or college level, there’s plenty of interest in watching and betting on football.
If you’re new to sports betting in general, it can be a scary place. This is also true for football betting, as there are numerous different options and new players might not know what they’re betting on. Here is our guide to what some of the basic bets mean.
The Over-Under Line Bet
This is one of the most common bets that players will find when making football wagers. The sports book will give a number, let’s say 100. This basically means that the sports book is estimating that 100 points will be scored in total, by both teams. Players can then wager whether they think more or less points will be scored, by placing an over line or under line bet. If 100 points are scored, it is considered a push and players get their wagers back.
Points Spread
This is a slightly more complex bet to understand. The wager will say Team A +10/Team B -10. This means that the sports book favors team A and expects them to win by more than 10 points. If you bet on Team A and they win, but by less than 10 points, you could still lose. Equally, if team B manages to win and you bet on them, and they win by less than 10 points, they’re still covered by the spread.
Moneyline Bet
A Moneyline bet is one of the simplest bets around. It is similar to a straight bet on the team you think is going to win. The sportsbook will have a favorite, which will have better odds but a lower payout. It will look something like this, Team A -275, Team B +200. This means that team A is the favorite to win. In order to win $100 on team A, you’d need to bet $275, while a bet of $100 on team B would win you $200 if they manage to beat their opponent.
Straight Bet
The straight bet is a player’s best chance at winning. There is no spread involved or any factors that determine if you win or lose, besides the results of the game. As always, there will be a favorite, but this will pay out a very small amount. Players could win just $20 from a $100 bet. While there’s a very good chance of winning your wager, many players avoid straight bets, because the risk is not worth it. We wrote a story about this, where someone bet $50 000 on a basketball game, and they only stood to win $500.
Other Wagers
While the wagers mentioned above are your standard bet types, they’re by no means the only bets you can place on a football game. These are:
Prop Betting
Prop bets are a very popular form of football betting, where players bet on other aspects of the game, not the final result. This could be something like a specific player will have a 300-yard game, a player will score a certain number of touchdowns and so on. Almost any aspect can be wagered on.
Live Betting
Live betting is essentially the same thing as prop betting, except it is done in real time. These bets are popular among die-hard fans of the game.
Football Betting Strategies
We all want to win when placing a wager on a football game. But, what can players do to improve their chances? This is especially important for people who are new to football betting. While there are no ways to guarantee a win, we do have some tips to improve your chances.
Research
Research is the single most important part of improving your chances. You’ve made a good start by reading our guide, but don’t stop here. There’s plenty of information for players and every bit will help you refine your betting process.
Practice
While players can practice casino games by using the free play mode, you don’t have this same option with sports books. You can’t go and place a free bet, but you can write down what bets you would have liked to make. We recommend doing this so you can see how you would have done if you had placed a wager.
Adjust You Betting
Once you’ve seen how your bets did during your practice session, see how you could improve. Did your bets not win much because you bet on the favorites? How could you do better next time? You can keep practicing until you are comfortable enough to start wagering real money.
Build Your Own Strategy
We’d recommend players don’t simply find a betting strategy online and simply follow that. You can use one when you’re just getting started, but we’d highly recommend researching these strategies and trying and develop your own.
Football Betting Conclusion
Football is one of the greatest sports, with millions of viewers. We hope we’ve armed you with some basic information for you to get involved in the world of football sports betting and, hopefully, you’ll be landing some fantastic wins soon!