Second half betting in the NFL offers you a terrific way of making the most out of your investments. There are several benefits of betting on the second half of a NFL game and we will explore them in this article. NFL halftimes are an oddsmaker’s nightmare. The bookies have 15 minutes to set a spread, a moneyline and a total for the second half of a game. With several football games going into halftime at virtually the same time, oddsmakers are more bound to make mistakes than on straight lines.
If you see a second half line that seems off to you by the way the game is going, here is the chance to pounce on an odds & not; maker’s mistake and win some additional money. Another advantage of second half betting is that many recreational bettors play second half bets, which leads to oddsmakers shading the second half lines towards the favorite. They knowingly overvalue the favorite, because they know that many inexperienced bettors will automatically pick the favorite in the second half. Most of the action in second half betting ends up on the favorite’s side, which allows you as a football bettor to look for great value in underdogs.
With services like the NFL Sunday ticket or NFL network’s redzone channel, you can stay updated on multiple games at a time and follow the action.
Does “your” team play better with the lead or coming from behind? Did the weather change? Is a favorite struggling? Did a key player get hurt? Are you watching a blow-out in which starters on the winning team might get some rest in the second half? As expert NFL handicappers know, all the information you gather in the first half of a game comes in handy for a second half bet.
An underdog you would never pick in a full game might win you some money in the second half. The football team might be down by a lot, but the other team resting their starters could give them a chance to score a couple of late touchdowns. All of a sudden, they cover the second half spread and you increase your earnings.
You might be watching a game and recognizing that the score does not accurately reflect the way the game is going. Those games usually offer a good value for second half betting, since the majority of the betting public might just be looking at the score, or the oddsmakers might not be following the game as closely as you are.
In-game injuries are a big thing to look for in second-half betting. One of the best examples is Tom Brady’s injury in the 2008 season. The Patriots went into the game against the Chiefs as a 15 point favorite. Then, the unthinkable happened. Tom Brady got hurt early and he was done for the entire NFL season.
The Patriots still won the game 17-10, but failed to cover the 15 point spread. Matt Cassel did what he needed to do to secure the victory, but the Patriots’ normally high-flying offense didn’t score anywhere close as many points as they would have with Brady at the helm. In a situation like this, you, as a smart sports bettor, can recover from placing a big bet on the Patriots to cover by placing a second half bet on the under. Yes I said under, not the Chiefs. Why is this you ask? Well the bookmakers know that most sports bettors were looking to fade the Patriots by placing a bet on the Chiefs, so taking this into account the sportsbooks line was shaded and already adjusted correctly for the spread, but a bet on Under the 2nd half total was a sharper play.
Second half betting also allows you to look for full game totals that seem to be completely off at halftime. If there is a game with high point total for the full contest, but the score is really low at halftime, you can be pretty sure that scoring will pick up in the second half. The football teams might not end up reaching the total posted for the full game, but you can probably go with the over in the second half bet.
When looking at the available lines at halftime, you might also be able to hedge bets that you made on the full game. You might have bet on a game based on information that has changed during the game. Or your team might just have “one of those days”. Second half betting allows you to go in and secure a risky bet or make up for a wrong bet you made based on information that played out differently than you thought it would.
You could even find lines that allow you a good shot at middling the book. This means that you would find a bet that is probable to win, but doesn’t conflict with your straight bet. If the football game goes as expected, you could end up winning two bets on the same event.
Second half betting on the NFL offers many benefits and like other savvy sports bettors you should always look for value at halftime.
