How To Bet On Football In Vegas Online
NFL Betting News. NFL Lines & Scores. NFL Odds By State. NFL Injury Report. NFL Betting Analysis. NFL Money Report. NFL Power Ratings. NFL Daily Power Ratings. NFL Offensive Stats. NFL Defensive Stats. NFL Referee Stats. How To Bet On Football. There are several ways to bet on NFL action. We’ll begin with the most simple type of bet: The moneyline. Taking the Moneyline means you’re betting on the winning team regardless of the margin of victory. Underdogs will get plus-odds on the moneyline and the favorites will have negative odds.
How to Make Your NFL Bets
There are a few ways that you make NFL bets. You can place your wagers online, which many currently do. You may also make them at a land-based sportsbook in places such as Las Vegas. Some bettors also utilize the phone.
By far the Internet has become the chosen way for many to bet on the NFL. It’s fast, easy and convenient. There are hundreds of online sportsbooks from which you may choose. Some sports bettors give little thought as to which online book they decide to use. They may look at two to three and then pick one.
But just as NFL betting is a process, finding the right sportsbook for your purposes is also a process. Doing the proper research and analysis before game time is important, but it’s also essential to do the same type of research and analysis prior to picking a sportsbook. You should not pick a book just because it looks appealing.
A sportsbook may have exciting graphics, great looking babes and an excellent ranking in Google. But does that mean it’s right for you? Does that make it a book that pays out quickly? Does that mean it covers the NFL? The answer is “no.”
There are a few basic things you need to consider when it comes to choosing a book for your NFL bets. It is important overall that you find a book that is reliable when it comes to taking your bets, when paying out and when transferring cash in and out of your account. It must be safe and secure and offer great customer support. Bettors in the U.S. focusing on the NFL need to locate a book that offers a range of professional football bets and that will also take Americans.
The longer a book has been around the better the possibility that it’s a good place to wager. There’s a lot of competition for the betting dollar and those sites that continue to thrive are doing something right. With the NFL, you want a book that posts early lines and lines that are competitive.
Also, you’ll want a provider that offers a range of deposit and withdrawal methods. Basically, you are looking for a book that makes banking as easy and effortless as possible. Various methods of seeking out help are also preferred such as an 800-phone number, live chat and email. If you have a problem or question, you want to be able to contact them at any time, 24/7.
Once you’ve found at least five books that satisfy these basics, you’re going to need to determine what your specific priorities are in a sportsbook. Do you want a book that has the best NFL lines and odds? If the best lines and odds are important, then take some time to compare various books by going to our NFL sportsbook page. There you’ll get a good sense of how some of the top sportsbooks on the Internet set their odds.
If prop and future bets are important, you’ll find that some sites offer a lot more in this area than others. Do you have another sport other than the NFL that you bet a lot? If so, is it covered at the various books you’re considering? Or do you want a book that also gives you the option of engaging in live NFL betting? If minimum bets are important, you’ll find that these can vary a lot. One site may offer a $5.00 minimum, while another $10.00. Maximum bets are also different from site to site.
Maybe a large sign up bonus is important to you? You’ll find some, those that are doing quite well, that will offer new members little to nothing and others, often newer books looking for new members, that will award generous bonuses. If that’s the case, don’t immediately decide to go with the site that has the biggest bonus.
One site may offer a 100% match on up to $1,000 and another may be giving 150% on up to $300. With the first book, you’re getting $1,000 in free cash and the second $450. Let’s say all of the basic features you’re looking for are the same on each book. You may think it’s best to sign up with the site that’s offering the most money. But this is not necessarily true.
First, if you have $300 to deposit and nothing more then the second site is preferred as they are offering more cash. Also, check to see how much you have to wager before you can clear your bonus and how it will be given out. Sites require that you wager a certain amount before they will give you the matching cash.
If the first site requires that you play through 20 times the bonus amount and the second 30 times the amount, which will you choose? If depositing the maximum at each site, the second book is the better deal despite the fact that you have to spend 10 times more before getting your cash.
With the first you’re required to bet 20 x $1,000 or $20,000 to get your bonus. The second makes you bet 30 x $450 or $13,500. Thus, you’d select the second bonus. (By the way, if you were going to just deposit $300 in either account, then the first book is the better choice. Although it pays $150 less in bonus cash, it also requires you bet far less to clear it—$9,000, which is $4,500 less than the second book.)
Once you’ve selected your sportsbook (and by the way many people go with two or three, betting at the one that has the best deal on a given game), you’ll need to become a member, which means downloading the software, installing it, creating an account and funding your account. Although the amount of time it takes is negligible, it’s best to do it sooner than later, as setting up funding may take some time if you don’t already have an eWallet or another manner of transferring funds.
When you have everything in place, you simply go to the NFL betting area, select the game and types of bets you’re going to make and decide on how much you’re going to wager. As the games end, your account will either be credited if you win or the book will keep your cash if you lose.
When you’re in Las Vegas, you’ll find the basic process it the same but you’ll be surrounded by a bunch of sports bettors, standing in line to make your NFL bets and placing your wagers with a real person. Before going to a Vegas sportsbook, it’s important that you know what you are doing and how the betting process works.
Also, if you’re not familiar with the sportsbook, it’s a good idea to go there ahead of time and check out the features, options and ambience. When at a land-based book you’ll be expected to behave a certain way. Here are five basic guidelines for wagering at a Vegas book.
Before placing a NFL bet, you need to know all of the correct terms. Also, understanding how the odds listing works, such as knowing what the rotation number is and how a stake is expressed, is important. If you cannot look at NFL odds and explain each part of the listing, you’re not ready to go to a land-based book.
The second guideline involves knowing what you are going to do. Prior to betting, you’ll need to know the rotation number of the club on which you’re wagering (you’ll use it instead of the team name when betting), how much you’re wagering and the type of bet you’re making. Before going to the betting window, you want to know all of these things. Don’t stand at the window and hold up other bettors by making your decision there.
Here’s an etiquette guideline to use when winning. If a bookie offers you advice on a wager and you win big, you should tip him. If you win $600 on his advice, then give the person who offered you that great advice $60. A 10% gratuity is standard on a winning tip.
It’s bad manners to boast when you win. There are people around you who lost their bets and others who even though they did win may have whished they bet more. Some sports bettors may have dug themselves into a huge hole and your bragging is just rubbing salt in the wound. When you win do so with humility and grace.
The final guideline, like the prior one, also involves sharing information. It’s bad manners to ask another bettor how they did. Either way, whether they’ve won or lost, you’re putting them in a difficult situation. Additionally, it’s bad form to give another bettor advice when they have not asked for it. Playing the part of the bragging expert is a great way to make enemies with winners and losers.
Use the information in this article when preparing to find an online sportsbook for your NFL wagers or when venturing to a land-based sportsbook. When you’re deciding at which books you’re going to bet be sure to choose one or more that fit the criteria that are important to you. A sportsbook, no matter how great it looks, is no good unless it fits your needs.
How To Bet On Football In Vegas
Contents
How to Bet on Football
If you're looking to learn how to bet on NFL football, you're reading the right betting guide. There isn't a more popular sport to bet on in North America then football, as bettors each fall clamour to anything and everything related to betting on football. From point spreads, to over/unders, to money lines, to everything in between, there is no busier time in the sports betting landscape then during those fall and winter months when football season is going on.
How to bet on football during the season is about as easy as it comes as sportsbooks everywhere make the sport their priority. There is never a shortage of betting options on football games, and with the popularity of fantasy football as well, player props – NFL bets based on the player's production – are plentiful as well. To learn more about the NFL game and NFL players check out ourNFL headlines page which is constantly being updated for the latest NFL news and injuries to help you with your NFL bets.
Best Football Betting Sites
Rank | Football Sportsbooks | Welcome Offer | Legal States | Bet Now |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | BetMGM Visit Review | Risk-Free Bet up to $600 T&C’s Apply, 21+ | Available in CO, IA, IN, MI, NJ, NV, PA, TN, VA, WV | |
2. | PointsBet Visit Review | 2 Risk Free Bets to $2,000 T&C’s Apply, 21+ | Available in CO, IA, IN, IL, MI, NJ | |
3. | WynnBet Visit Review | Up To A $500 Risk-Free Bet T&C’s Apply, 21+ | Available in CO, MI, NJ |
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Understanding Football Odds
The biggest thing in regards to understanding NFL odds relates to the point spread that's put up on each game. Betting on football isn't as simple as just picking the eventual winner of the game, you've got to consider who will win, but more importantly by how much. The point spread is considered the great equalizer in football betting, and being on the right side of that line is the goal of every football bettor. An example of this would be seeing the Kansas City Chiefs as a -4.5 favorite over their opponent, meaning they would have to win the game by at least five points for a bet on KC to win. Otherwise their opponent covers the point spread and that side would win.
Aside from the point spread, the next biggest betting option in football odds each year is the over/under, or total for the game. All these are are point totals bettors are asked to go over or under on for the total combined points in a game. For example a total may be posted at 48.5, and the bettor's job is to predict whether or not the total number of points in the game will exceed or stay below that number. A final score of 30-20 would cash an 'over' bet (50 total points), while a final score of 24-21 (45 total points) would connect on an 'under' selection.
NFL Future Wagers
Future wagers in football are what bettors everywhere spend a good chunk of the summer breaking down, as it's all about what football teams will ultimately come out on top in whatever category the future wager concerns itself with.
The biggest future wager deals with who will ultimately win the Super Bowl that year, and that's one where all the teams will have varying odds on their championship potential. The more likely the team is to be in the championship/playoff fold, the lower their odds will be, but that shouldn't discourage you from looking at teams further down the odds list. Anything and everything can happen during a football season and often does.
Aside from trying to correctly predict the outright champion, other future wagers in football deal with eventual winners in different categories. For team-based futures, these include things like winning their respective division or conference (in college football), winning the AFC or NFC conference in the NFL, and probably the most popular, whether or not a team will go over or under their season win total projection. That's as simple as it sounds. Numbers are put up on how many outright wins a team will have in a given year – say 8.5 for the Buffalo Bills – and the bettor's job is to decipher whether or not the Bills will finish with at least 9 wins (over) or less (under).
How to Bet the Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the single biggest betting event on the sports calendar each year, and finding a place to bet on the game is never hard. How to bet on the Super Bowl is a tough thing to explain because you can literally bet on everything about the game and all the surrounding festivities that go on within it, so it's really up to the individual bettor on their wagering preference.
Super Bowl odds for the game itself are the first numbers to hit the market, as the Super Bowl line for the game is the number that quickly gets quoted and discussed about once the matchup is set. But Super Bowl betting is such a vast landscape as a whole, that it's a good thing for some that there is a two-week lead up to the game itself. Below are various tables of the best NFL betting sites with signup bonuses to get you started on your NFL betting journey.
How to Bet the College Football Playoff
NCAA Football odds bring a bit of a different dynamic to football betting overall, as the disparity in talent a lot of the time between college programs brings much larger college football point spreads in general. That tends to not be the case once the college football playoff arrives, as these are the consensus four best teams in the country that year, and with a full season of data behind them, sportsbooks are able to put out some of the toughest (aka sharpest) college football lines out for those playoff games.
College football betting lines during the CFB playoff are dissected for weeks, as bettors look to get what they believe to be the best of the number depending on which program(s) they are looking to back. It's a format where you get three total games to break down from a side and total perspective, and hopefully when it is time for that National Championship game, you keep the big picture in mind of what said teams did over the course of the entire year, and not just how good/bad they looked in advancing through the semi-final matchup.
Popular Football Wagers
Popular football wagers can generally be described as any and all wagers on the point spread or total for football games because of the overwhelming popularity of the sport for betting on the whole. Part of the reason for such popularity is the format of the game itself, as bettors get essentially a full week to do all the research they deem necessary to be successful and then go from there. There are fewer snap decisions or feelings of unpreparedness as there can be with the other major North American sports that operate on a daily schedule because there is only so much one can do in a single day.
NFL Point Spread
If you had to rank or make a list of the most popular football wagers, the point spread would have to come in at the top. All football fans/bettors believe they have more of a grasp on the general question(s) of what team will win and by how many, as opposed to the total points scored, which effectively can be a bit more random. Point spread wagers are where everyone likes to concentrate their attention first.
Bet On Football Game
NFL Over-Under
The total, or over-under, for a football game would have to be classified as next on the popularity list, as it is a wager where you can find a bit more of an edge over the oddsmaker if you are confident in what your handicapping process entails for totals. Yes, the total points scored can be considered a bit more random then the eventual winner of the game, but it's over-under numbers that see more movement on the whole each week leading up to a weekend of football action because bettors everywhere believe their data models etc give them a significant edge at certain numbers and don't hesitate to exploit them when available.
NFL Money Line
Money line bets in football are those where bettors can eliminate the second half of the questions regarding what football team will win and by how much. The “how much” doesn't matter at all in money line plays and oddsmakers price them accordingly. A bettor will have to put up much more money to win say $100 on the ML for a team that's got a -10 number beside their name on the point spread as opposed to a -3 favorite. But that's the price some are willing to pay to avoid getting burned by the 'winning by how much' question.
How Do I Bet Football Parlays
Speaking of money line wagers in football, one of the most common forms of getting a bulk of money line wagers is to have a few of them parlayed together. Betting football parlays is relatively simple in that you need at least two games to make a parlay, and whether or not you chose to use the money lines, point spreads, totals, or any combination of those three is completely up to the bettor.
An example of a football parlay would go like this: Say you believe the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos are both going to win their respective matchups on Sunday. This would be where you are using money line prices only and not concerned with the point spread or over/under for the games.
New England has a money line price of -200 while Denver has a money line price of -150. Bet separately, a bettor would have to put up $200 to win $100 on New England and $150 to win $100 on Denver, but combining the two teams in a money line (aka ML) parlay would have those odds multiplied together. In turn that creates a +150 price overall, and now a single $100 bet would end up potentially paying out $150 in profit for the bettor. However, both teams have to win their games, otherwise the parlay wager is a loser. That's the risk you take with parlays.
What are NFL Prop Bets
Prop bets, short for proposition, are bets that are essentially on anything and everything not specifically related to overall result of who wins and loses. That's not entirely true on specifics, but that's also part of a discussion for another day.
In general proposition bets cover things like statistical results for players – how many completions will a QB have, how many catches or receiving yards will a player have, or even how many points a field goal kicker will account for in a game. The list for what's offered in prop wagers for a specific football game is extremely long at sportsbooks, far too long to fully get into here, but if football bettors come to them with a fantasy football background they are much more easily digested. Prop betting is a market that's picked up exponential interest in recent years on online betting sites because the numbers oddsmakers typically put out are believed to be more beatable, but again, it takes plenty of time and research to feel completely comfortable in what you're doing with them. For example, you can place an NFL prop bet on Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper to have over 8.5 catches on Sunday Night Football against the New York Giants. NFL Prop bets allow the game to remain entertaining even when the score is lopsided.
NFL Teasers
Teasers are another popular football bet where NFL bettors can essentially manipulate the point spread and/or over-under line to a more favorable number for their selection. Sportsbooks offer NFL teasers in a variety of point ranges – as even buying a half-point on a spread is a form of a teaser, but in general, 6, 6.5, 7 and 10-point teasers are offered.
Depending on the range a bettor selects – say a 6-point teaser – lines are then manipulated plus or minus 6 points for the bettor depending on what team/side they like. If the New England Patriots were a -7 favorite against Buffalo and you wanted to use a 6-point teaser on them, the new point spread would be New England -1 (moving 6 points lower), whereas if you liked the underdog Buffalo Bills instead in that game, the teased line would then be Buffalo +13 (moving 6 points higher. Teasers do also function like parlays in the sense that you've got to have at least two teased options to make a single teaser.
NFL Live Betting and In-Game Wagering
Many bettors and oddsmakers alike believe that live betting and in-game wagering is the future of sports betting on the whole, and with football betting being the biggest piece of the sports betting pie, live betting football games can be quite thrilling and profitable all at once.
How it works is exactly as the name suggests, as point spreads, totals, and money line prices (among numerous other things including prop bets) are offered throughout each game and before each play. Prices reflect the current score at the time and who has the football and where on the field, so if a pre-game favorite finds themselves in an early hole on the scoreboard, you can rightfully assume that that team is getting at least some support on the ML or new point spreads in live betting offerings.
Super Bowl 54 that saw the Kansas City Chiefs come back in the 2nd half to the beat San Francisco 49ers saw plenty of in-game wagering overall, as bettors who believed the Chiefs would ultimately come back did not hesitate to get as good as underdog price on the ML as they could with Kansas City when they were trailing.
With the way that data is consumed instantly these days, in-game wagering is offered on all NFL games each week and the majority of college football games as well. So whether it's Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football, or just a typical Sunday afternoon of following a full slate of football, live betting is something that every bettor should be willing to add to their toolbox as a handicapper.
NFL 1st half and 2nd half bets
These NFL bets are rather self explanatory as well, as they are just point spreads, totals, and money line prices for the respect 30 minutes of play they are titled as. Generally speaking (although it's by no means exactly how they work) 1st half bets are the full game numbers cut in half, give or take a point or so. So a full game line of New England Patriots -7 with a total of 48.5 would see 1st half lines of New England -3.5 or -4, with a 1st half total likely somewhere around 23.5 to 24.5.
2nd half bets are a bit of a different beast as they have to account for what's happened in the first 30 minutes so far and adjust accordingly to what was listed pre-game as well.
Other Football Leagues in United States and North America
XFL Football
XFL Football returned in 2020 before being shutdown like every other sporting event in the spring because of world events, but in the short time XFL action was on the football field, it had plenty of sports from football bettors everywhere. The success in that market proves just how much bettors love to bet on the game of football regardless of the league, and with the XFL coming back for 2021, and the league's initiative to welcome sports betting talk and referencing with open arms, there is likely tremendous growth in store for XFL betting markets in the future.
Canadian Football
Canadian Football (aka the CFL) has a few key rule differences to that of the NFL/NCAA football, but it's still the same game out there on the gridiron and can still be bet on accordingly. Given scoring and rule differences – like the XFL – key betting numbers in terms of the point spread and over-under lines are a little different, but CFL betting lines aren't nearly as obsessed over NFL/NCAAF lines are for oddsmakers and if you are able and willing to put in the time, CFL profits can be just as green for your bankroll's bottom line.