How To Bet On NFL Games: A Comprehensive Guide

When you get started betting on games in the NFL, it’s important to understand how to read a betting line, and what odds mean.

Before we jump in, here are some great sites to use for football betting:

Ok, where were we? Ah yes, the basics of betting. Here is a quick video – watch it and keep reading 🙂

Obviously, blindly betting on something may work a time or two, but in the end, this is not advantageous to successful betting. Before you place any bet, be sure you know and understand all the lines and odds, and what you are betting on.

NFL Betting Lines And Odds

Let’s take a look at some of the basic betting terms you need to know when wagering on the National Football League. Let’s start with the terms point spreads, totals and moneyline bets.

• Point Spreads – When you bet on a point spread, you are taking a team you think is going to win the game PLUS a certain amount of points. You can either have a favorite (-) or an underdog (+).
• Totals – when betting totals, you do not really even need a certain team to win. Totals are over or under bets. In the NFL; each game will have a total. You have the opportunity to bet OVER that number or UNDER that number.
• Moneyline – for the moneyline bet, you are basically betting on who is going to win the game. There is no point amount that you need to win a moneyline bet. Something like +100 would mean no matter what you bet, if you won, you would win that amount.

An example:

New Orleans Saints +1 at Denver Broncos, 37.5 total, with Saints at +100 ML, and Broncos at -120 ML.

This is telling us that the New Orleans Saints are a 1 point underdog. Take their score and add the +1, and if they win the game that way, you win the bet. The Denver Broncos are -1, which means they have to win the game by more than 1 to win the bet.

The total is listed at 37.5. If you think the score total will be OVER 37.5, bet the OVER, if you think it will be UNDER 37.5, bet the UNDER.

Finally, the moneyline number is next. At +100, that is even money. So every $100 you bet, you win $100 with your bet. The -120 for the favorite would be – every $120 you bet, you would win $100.

When looking at odds, you need to understand the three formats: American, Decimal and Fractional.

American: Here you will see a number +125 or -125. This is how you determine your moneyline bet. 

Fractional Odds: When you get fractional odds, you multiply the fraction shown by the amount you bet to show a winning profit of your bet.

Decimal: These odds vary because they will show the amount you would win which includes the original bet. These are shown one number, which would be the amount you win on a $1 bet. So 2.25 would be $2.25 for every $1. 3.35 = $3.35 for every $1 wagered.

Other Popular NFL Betting Types

There are certainly other wagers you can make when betting on the NFL. Future bets are some of the most popular and are very common during the off-season. Bettors love to use training camp to get in with some of the following wagers:

• Super Bowl Winners – each team, no matter how good or bad they are projected to be will have odds to win the upcoming Super Bowl.
• Divisional Winners – each of the four teams in the division will have odds to win their division. Preseason is the best time to get them, because the odds will change as games happen throughout the season.
• MVP Predictions – many of the top players in the league will have odds to win the Most Valuable Player.

When betting on games in the NFL, all games will be available at the major books, and some games will have prop bets available. Prop bets are wagers where you bet on something specific to happen during the game. These types of bets have always been popular at the Super Bowl, are growing in popularity in all regular season games.

Here are three examples of football prop bets:

• Patrick Mahomes passing yards in game against Broncos
• Derrick Henry rushing yards in game against Jaguars
• Justin Jefferson receiving yards in game against Bears

These are just a few. There is money to be won with Prop Bets, but it takes some work to dig through them all and find value.

Parlays are also popular in the NFL. Parlays are when you combine multiple bets into one. So instead of getting payouts on each of the individual bets that you like, you can parlay them together, and give yourself a chance at a bigger payout. The problem with parlays is, you must win ALL the bets in a parlay to win the bet.

Teaser bets are also common in the National Football League. Here the bettor will buy some points, and must parlay at least two bets in it. For example if the Kansas City Chiefs were -3, and the total was listed at 54.5 against the Broncos, a standard teaser would be like buying the 6 points. Then the bet could be moved to Kansas City Chiefs +3, and the UNDER 48.5 of the game. Again, in a teaser BOTH legs must win.

Lastly, live betting continues to grow in popularity. To participate in live betting, you must be ready and available basically at the device and with your sportsbook. Here, you can live bet the result at the end of the quarter, half or game. You can also live bet the total points for the same time periods, or even specific upcoming plays. There are advantages to live betting, but it takes paying attention or careful strategy to be profitable long term.

Frequently Asked Questions About Betting on Football

Betting on the NFL, unless you are a member of the team, such as a player, coach, trainer, etc. is perfectly legal in many states across the United States. Obviously, you must do your betting at a legal regulated sportsbook, as offshore books are not legal in the United States.

There are many legal and safe sportsbooks in the United States, and each has pros and cons to them. Nowadays, there are no big red flags as far as deposits and withdrawals, as the legalization of sports betting has cleared a lot of those previous hurdles.

As we mentioned earlier, the key terms are

• Point Spreads – how many points a team is favored by, or underdog as.
• Moneyline – what amount you could potentially win betting on a specific team.
• Total – the amount of total points scored in the game.

Here is another video, explaining moneyline betting in more detail:

And lastly, while there have been cases investigated all the many years, the National Football League is not “scripted”, and sportsbooks are not manipulating who wins each game.

Best Online Sportsbooks For NFL Betting Lines

While it is important to shop for the best betting lines and odds available, it is even more important to find a sportsbook that you find reliable and easy to use. Obviously, with all the legalization going on, it’s become more and more stringent to own and operate a sportsbook, so at this point, all the legal ones in the United States provide good, quality action.

Before you start betting at a site, be sure you know it’s fully licensed and regulated. Then, do they have solid payout and deposit options for you to use? Do they provide plenty of betting opportunities? Do they have customer service for those that are in need of assistance? Be sure to check those aspects out before you start giving them any of your money to play with.

In the United States, DraftKings and FanDuel certainly have popped out as the best of the best, but Caesars, BetMGM, BetRivers, WynnBet and PointsBet are all good, legal options. Some are in most legal states, while the rest you will need to check to see if it’s legal and available in the state you are betting from.

Basic Tips For Becoming A Sharper NFL Bettor

When you are ready to start becoming a sharper NFL bettor. This is above just going out and mingling in sports betting. Now, you are ready to take the next step and be consistently good at it. This means it is mostly what you do with your life. You are a professional sports bettor. This takes time, effort and money. Here are some tips you MUST do to become a sharp NFL Bettor:

1. Study Teams and Players – know the teams. Know them inside out. Know their tendencies. Know their weaknesses. Know what they are looking to do. Know what they have done. This is very important. Follow those that are around the organization this team is playing for and get all the valuable information you can. There are alot that “think” they know about a team or a player, so be sure to be careful where and who you are getting your information from.
2. If you are wanting to be a sports bettor and make money doing so for a long time, starting with a healthy bankroll, and being sure to operate it safely and wisely is a major key. Bankroll is the amount of money you have available to bet. It’s recommended by many to break them into  “units” and when you go to figure out what you want to bet in the NFL breaking how much you like the bet into “units”/
3. Don’t chase losses. Don’t double wins. Don’t get emotional. If you have a favorite team, don’t beat them because you “want them to win” or they were “due ” to have a reason why you are making the bet, and that reason makes sense.
4. Keep track of your bets. Do research on your results. Find out what you are good at, and what you are bad at. Fix the things you are bad at, and continue with the things you are good at. Track all your bets!

How To Bet On The Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is known as Christmas to the National Football League bettor. Now, the Super Bowl is the “big game”, but it also ends the season on NFL betting. Naturally, more is bet on this game, most because of the sheer volume of bettors. But, also many will put aside some or a portion of their winnings to be ready to put on the Super Bowl.

When you are getting ready to bet on the Super Bowl, be sure, just like during the regular season, you are doing your homework. You are staying within your means. You are keeping good bankroll management.

The Super Bowl has all different kinds of bets. You can bet on the moneyline, the spread, the total, and dozens and dozens of prop bets. These prop bets are as silly as the color of Gatorade dumped on the winning coach to what the coin toss will be: heads or tails.

How Bet on NFL Games Online Legally

Legal Sports Betting is legal in more than 30 states within the United States. Be sure to know and understand the difference between being legal online, and being legal in person. In person betting obviously means a physical sportsbook, where you can walk up and make your bet at the window or at the kiosk. 33 states have in person betting legal, while 25 states have online betting available.

There are two states pending both online betting and in person sports betting. There are another two that are pending their online only status, and another one pending their in-person status. Here are the states where sports betting is NOT legal either in person or online:

• Alabama
• California
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Missouri
• Oklahoma
• South Carolina
• Texas
• Utah

Before you send your money to a sportsbook, do a quick check to make sure they have their sports betting license and following regulations before choosing a sportsbook.

To make things easier for you, pick a sportsbook that we have listed here at BettingLadies.com. We only partner with legal US bookies.

What to Know Before Betting On NFL Games

Back to betting on the NFL. Of course, you follow the game religiously. Of course you are following the teams, and know the players; you know the coaches and might guess how they think and what they want to do. But, in the end, your intuition mgith fail you!

So, here are some more tips to consider:

1. Understand the importance of line movement. There is a reason it moved. The books may be wanting you to go one way or the other or there may be a ton of money on one side or the other. Follow line movements and understand WHY they are moving the way they are.
2. Follow the injury report. Obviously, you will be less likely to bet the Kansas City Chiefs -1 if you find out Patrick Mahomes is out. A common bettor will see the numbers and think “oh wow this looks great” and then find out after the fact, the Most Valuable Player is going to miss the game. That’s a big deal. Follow injuries and follow team news before you make the bet.
3. Follow the weather. We mentioned earlier that you should follow the weather, and it really is an issue. Also, keep in mind what team is at home, and which is on the road. Home games matter, and they matter more for some teams rather than others. Be sure to know and understand what this means.
4. Start small if you are unsure. So, you want to get into sports betting, and feel like you have an idea how it works? Start small. Start small and build your bankroll, then maybe you can re-evaluate your unit sizes.

To Sum It All Up

In the end, betting on the National Football League can be not only a ton of fun, but it can also be very profitable. There has been a lot of money won by betting the NFL. All those that continue to profit betting on the NFL have done things smart.

They are following good bankroll management, they are studying teams, coaches and players and they are making smart bets. They also use multiple sportsbooks, but sportsbooks they know well and trust. They are getting the best lines available. They are avoiding traps, such as parlays when the odds simply are not in their favor.

Be sure when you get started you bet responsibility and become informed on the teams and the league, but on what and how to make the bets.

Learn and adapt. Learn something new with each bet, and adapt accordingly. Sometimes it’s a very small adjustment. Sometimes it’s a new plan all together. In the end, the goal stays the same – win money betting on the NFL!