NFL betting is one of the most popular sports betting markets around the world, especially in the United States. Since online betting has become legal in many states, many sportsbooks have started to offer NFL betting and many other sports betting services around the web. Now, you can choose from diverse categories and markets for any game that draws your attention – playoffs included.
If you’re new to NFL betting and would like to get into it on the right foot, the first thing to do is to be informed about the different types of bets there are available within the scene. There are a lot – but this article will describe the essential types for you to choose whatever suits you better.
How to bet on the NFL
Moneyline NFL Betting
Moneyline is perhaps the simplest way of betting in any sport, including football. It’s all about picking the team you think is most likely to win the game. Other factors don’t have any relevance – it’s all about the winner, making it perhaps the easier NFL wager of all.
In Moneylines, you can identify two teams: the favorite and the underdog. The favorite is the team that is expected to win the game and has a negative Moneyline, so the bettor is required to risk more money. On the other hand, you can find the underdogs, the team that is expected to lose the match and have a positive number as odds.
Team A (+175) vs. Team B (-210).
Favorites represent how much you need to risk for every $100 you’ll potentially win. On the other hand, the underdog moneyline tells you what you can win if you risk $100. In the example given above, you would need to risk at least $210 to win $100 if you place your wager on Team B. However, if you choose Team A instead, a $100 wager would give you $175 as the payout if such a team happens to win the match.
If you’re going for the moneyline, it’s highly recommendable to focus only on events where the spread is relatively close. Otherwise, you’re at risk of losing a lot due to the high juice or vig associated with the favorite. You may also avoid losing potential profits if the team wins, but the spread remains uncovered.
Most of the time, the Moneyline is tied to the Point Spread, which we’ll explain next.
NFL Point Spread Betting
The point spread is another simple way of betting, which often comes together with the moneyline. This market is always present in NFL betting.
For starters, a point spread is a determined number the oddsmaker establishes as the “winning” or “losing” margin for the favorite and the underdog, respectively. Since all teams have different performances, oddsmakers reflect their expectations through these numbers.
Typically, spreads look like this:
Team A -3.5 (-115) vs. Team B +3.5 (-105)
In this scenario, the favorite must win by more than 3.5 points for you to win the prize. You’d need to risk at least $115 for every $100 you would like to win.
In this case, betting for the underdog is a lot easier to understand. This time, Team B has a point spread of +3.5, which means that you would have to risk $105 to get back $100, even if such a team loses by less than three points.
Sometimes, the spread can be a whole number without decimals. If the favorite happens to win the game with that exact number of points, the bet will be null. It’s also possible for matchups to have “Pick ‘Em” or “PK,” which refers to a match without a point spread and, therefore, a “balanced” game.
NFL Totals (Over-Under)
Next up, there are the totals or over-under. This type of betting is easier than the previous two types, as it is all about whether the total score of both teams combined is over or under a particular number.
Typically, totals in the NFL are between 40 and 50. For instance:
Team A vs. Team B over 54.5 (-110) / Team A vs. Team B under 54.5 (-110)
In this scenario, the bettor needs to risk at least $110 to win $100 regardless of what they choose. If the bettor chooses the “over,” the match must end with at least 55 points for them to take the prize. On the other hand, if they choose “under, the match must end with 54 or fewer points to get the cashout.
There are several aspects to take into account to strategically bet in this category, such as the weather, lineup, and injuries, among many other aspects of the game.
Summary
This article has presented some of the easiest ways of betting in the NFL. This sport has one of the widest markets available, but the ones presented here represent some of the easiest ways to get started as a first-time bettor.
