Football betting is by far the most popular form of sports betting by far.  Most professional gamblers only bet for 5 months out of the year because of this.  When you include College and NFL together there are almost a hundred games to bet on during a 2-day span. This is what is so appealing to the professional gambler; the action packed two days that comes every fall for five months.  The gambler has so much to watch in a 48 hour span that the rush alone makes these bets fun.  Now I do not expect you to go out and bet on every game played on a Saturday or Sunday.  However, I will outline below how you can bet on football also how to become more successful at football betting

There are many ways that you can bet on football and I will go over all of the different options below.  The first and most common bet is the straight bet, which simply means the team wagered on must win by the point spread given at the time of the wager.  Most of the time the odds on a straight bet is -110, which means for every $110 bet, you win a $100 back.  An example of a straight bet is if the team you bet on is a 6 point (-6) favorite, also known as giving up 6 points.  Then in order for you to win, the team taken in the wager must win by more than 6 points in order to collect your winnings.  If they win by 6, then this will be called a push and your original bet will be refunded to you.  You can also bet on the totals, which is also known as the over/under bet.  The totals bet is The combined score of both teams for games wagered on, all totals pay out at -110, which is $110 dollar bet makes you $100, no matter if you bet on the over or the under.  If the total score equals the line, then the bet is a push and you get your original bet back.  Another type of bet is the money line bet.  This bet is simply that team wagered on just has to win the game.  The odds on these games vary depending on the disparity between the favorite and the underdog.  You obviously will win more betting on the underdog; however there is a reason why these bets pay more because the odds of the underdog winning are decreased.  Although betting the moneyline can sometimes return a big sum, it is wise to know that the bookmakers hold percentage is much larger than a typical straight bet on the side or total of a game.  A classic straight wager on the point spread is almost always dealt at -110 on both sides which is 20 cents of vigorish.  Compare that to a double digit favorite in college football with a money line of -600/+450 and you can see the extra 130 cents of vig added in.

There are also half bets, which are a wager placed on the odds posted for the first half or second half of a football game only.  All halftime wagers are calculated the same as a straight wager.  Another type of bet is a parlay which is a selection of 2 or more teams.  All teams wagered on in a parlay must win. If there is a tie on any bet you would be paid out on the next payoff.  For example, if you had a 5 team parlay and two teams tied, you would then be paid on a three team parlay if all the other teams won.  Another type of football bet is called a teaser, which is a selection of two or more teams in one wager in which the point spread is adjusted in your favor. The number of football teams selected and the number of points selected determines the odds for payout.

Regardless of which type of bet you decide to make, there are a few things to look at that will make you more successful at picking winners in the game of football.  I will go over a pretty basic list of what you can use as a barometer for proper football betting.

First and foremost, I would look at the overall offensive rankings of both teams.  Even though the saying is that defense wins championship, offense wins games, and an explosive offense could be the difference between you not only covering the spread, but also hitting the over/under bet.  There is a common belief that sharp sports bettors don’t bet favorites and don’t like offensive juggernauts.  I am here to tell you that is bologna.  Some of our biggest wagers each and every football season will be on a well focused large favorite.  There is no better bet out there than finding an attentive favorite that is ready to pour it on.

The defensive overall rankings are also important as well in order to see how the team is able to handle any type of offense that it plays against. You can also separate the offensive and defensive rankings to run and pass.  For instance, if a team has a great rush defense but a porous pass defense and they are playing against a pass happy team, it will a lopsided match-up, in which the run defense will not play as big of a part of the game.

A few other small factors to look at would include recent matchups between the two teams, home and away records of the two teams, the way the teams have played in the past 3-4 weeks (hot streak/cold streak), and also any injuries to stars that could affect the overall game plan of team.  How does a football team do off a loss, off a win, etc.  Start adding some of these suggestions to your repertoire and I guarantee your sports betting bankroll will keep growing each football season.