Online NFL Football Betting
While baseball is still often referred to as the “national pastime” in the United States, there’s no denying the fact that American Football simply attract bigger crowds these days. Consequently, even the Europe-facing online sports betting sites have plenty to offer for fans of this exciting sport, particularly when it comes to wagering on high-profile NFL games. Finding a sportsbook that covers all the important events while simultaneously allowing you to take advantage of lucrative bonuses and promotions isn’t all that hard, but many people are still reluctant to start betting online due to the necessity of learning how each of the popular bet types works.
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Ways to Bet NFL Online
Fortunately, learning the ropes isn’t actually all that hard, as the most popular wagers are very easy to understand. Once you master the basics, taking advantage of the more complicated combination bets shouldn’t be much of an issue. Furthermore, it is worth pointing out that many successful bettors prefer to avoid advanced wagers like parlays in favor of the traditional money lines, which allows them to simplify the handicapping process and reduces the amount of risk involved. In the end, whether you stick to the standard wagers or choose to go for the more exotic markets, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to bet on your favorite teams both pre-match and live as the action unfolds.
Money Line Betting
Betting the money line is the most basic type of wager, as all you have to do is predict who will win the game outright. The catch here is the fact that betting on the favorite requires you to risk more money than betting on the underdog. On the other hand, placing a winning bet on the underdog will result in a significantly higher payout. Money lines involve no handicaps and tend to express the odds using a $100 basis. This means that a positive line will require you to pay $100 for a chance to win the amount of money listed on the site. Conversely, if you want to bet on a negative line, you’ll have to wager a predetermined amount for a chance to win $100. A sample money line should look similar to this:
San Francisco 49ers -310
Ottawa RedBlacks +240
In this case, betting $310 on the 49ers allows you to win $100 if they come out ahead, while wagering $100 on the RedBlacks gives you a shot at claiming $240. Quite obviously, you don’t have to risk exactly $100. For example, if you prefer to bet $50 on the RedBlacks, your potential payout will drop to $120 ($100/$50 = 2, $240/2 = $120). Keep in mind that while the odds are designed to create a lot of action on both sides and usually aren’t supposed to reflect the exact strength of each team, you’d be extremely unlikely to find a positive line for a team that is widely considered to be the favorite.
Point Spread Betting
Point spreads are essentially symmetric money lines with added handicaps, which modify the actual score when it comes to determining whether you win the bet or not. The actual number of points that are added to the score of the underdog and subtracted from the score of the favorite is determined by the bookmaker. Sounds complicated? Take a look at our example:
Miami Dolphins +7.5
Calgary Stampeders -7.5
In this case, the Stampeders are favored by 7.5 points. This means that winning a wager placed on the Calgary team requires it to win by at least 8 points. On the other hand, if you decide to bet on the Dolphins, you’ll receive a payout even if your team loses by 7 points or less. Generally speaking, point spreads require you to wager $110 for a chance to win $100 regardless of the team you pick.
Over/Under Betting
Over/under bets are also known as totals and are very close to money lines and point spreads in terms of popularity. When you place an over/under bet, your goal is to predict whether the combined score of both teams will be higher or lower than the number that has been set by the bookmaker. For example, if the total is set at 45.5, winning an under bet would require both teams to score 45 or less. Conversely, cashing in on an over bet would be possible only if the combined score of both teams was equal to 46 or higher.
Parlay Betting
Parlays are combination bets that allow you to link two or more plays for an increased payout. The catch here is the fact that losing one of the wagers will result in losing the entire bundle. For example, if you place a three-team parlay and win on the first two selections, you won’t receive any money if you lose on the third. Most parlays are composed of money lines, but it is not uncommon for bettors to include over/under bets or point spreads. Furthermore, many sportsbooks allow you to parlay multiple wagers that have been placed on a single match – one of the most common combinations is a parlay that consists of an over/under bet and a money line bet with both of them being related to a particularly important game.
Futures Betting
Betting on American Football futures is yet another way of engaging in some high-risk, high-reward action and generally involves wagering on a particular team to win a championship or division. Keep in mind that while trying to predict who will win the Super Bowl can spice up your viewing experience throughout the entire season and may result in a massive payout, every bet of this type is a long-term investment. Consequently, the funds you use for betting on American Football futures won’t be available until the actual champion is crowned, which means that you won’t be able to use them for standard money lines or totals.
Proposition Bets
Proposition bets are bets that allow you to predict the performance of specific players or whether something will occur during the match. For example, a prop bet might require you to guess whether the coin flip in the Super Bowl will be heads or tails, or whether a star player like Tom Brady has more passing yards than his rival throughout the week. The specifics differ from site to site, which means that bettors who enjoy placing gimmick bets should definitely check out the available markets before deciding which sportsbook to pick.