NFL Spread Betting - How To Bet NFL Point Spreads

The point spread levels the playing field, making betting on either the favorite or the underdog equally attractive. Either the favorite has to win by the margin listed, or the underdog has a buffer to lose the game by that margin, or win it outright.

How does the point spread work?

In the example below, the Colts are the favorite. The minus sign always denotes the favorite, and the plus sign denotes the underdog. For Indianapolis to cover 3.5 points, they have to win by four or more. So in this example, if you bet on the Colts, they need to win by at least four points to cover the spread.

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However, if you bet the Giants, they can lose by three, two or one point, or win the game outright, and you win your bet.

Your payout is determined by the moneyline odds attached to the point spread. A negative number (such as -110) shows how much money you must wager to win $100, while a positive number (like +110) shows how much money you will win on a $100 wager.

Typically, the odds given on the spread are -110 unless otherwise noted, like above. If one side is receiving a lot of action, oddsmakers may adjust the lines accordingly in an effort to balance the action.

What’s a push?

Sometimes oddsmakers will set the line on an even number like 3, 6 or even 10. In cases like these, if the favored team wins by the exact amount set for the spread, the bet would be considered a push and your risk amount would be returned. For example, if the San Francisco 49ers were 7-point favorites and they won by a touchdown (seven points), any wager on the 49ers at -7 would result in a push.

NFL Tips For Betting Totals

A lot of football handicappers will show you when you want to earn money betting on the NFL you need to look towards the totals. There's nothing easy about handicapping the NFL, but there is often more value to locate in the totals than in the spreads and moneylines. Should you choose wish to earn money on totals, though, you will need to be sure that you are making the very best bets you can. Which means avoiding costly mistakes. Here are five things for football bettors to consider when they are wagering on NFL totals:

 

Don't forget the defense – This seems simple, but plenty of bettors don't provide the defense another thought. Casual football fans love offense, so they'll only look at the capabilities of the offenses – specially when one or both offenses are particularly strong. The success of the offenses has a lot related to the defenses they are facing, though. In fact, you may make a very good argument that you ought to be starting by looking at the defense first instead of the offense. A good defense will overcome a very good offense much of times, and even a solid defense could make an average offense have a hard day. That may mean a whole lot as it pertains to wagering on NFL totals.

 

Take into account the flow of the game – When folks are handicapping totals in basketball they naturally think about time of possession because teams can't score a whole lot when they aren't going to obtain the ball a lot. Time of possession and pace of the game is just as important in the NFL, but people don't think about it nearly as much. If one team includes a very run heavy offense, for example, then their opponent isn't going to obtain the ball as much as they normally might. Even if they are a potent offense, then, they could not be able to score as numerous points because they normally would. The casual betting public isn't going to think about that, so they are inclined to give the teams too much offensive credit. By getting a sense of the speed at which the game will soon be played you can give yourself a big edge.

 

What's the motivation? – People often make the mistake of assuming that teams will score around their potential every one of the time. That's just not the case. Quite often a group won't be particularly thinking about scoring more points than they should win. They could be more thinking about benefiting from rest for their starters, benefiting from benefit their second stringers, working out kinks n areas of their games that aren't working very well, or perhaps giving themselves a mental break. If you are creating a total bet that requires a basketball team to try their hardest through the game to reach the sum total you then probably aren't creating a great bet.

 

 

 

Where's the public? – Thinking about the preferences and interests of the public is vital if you are betting on NFL totals. When the public likes a particular team they'll bet them enthusiastically more or less regardless of situation. Typically, public teams are successful teams over the long run with strong offenses and star players at quarterback and other high profile positions. Because the sports betting public will soon be loyal to these teams typically the oddsmakers have the true luxury of inflating the totals slightly in these games to fully capture much more value for themselves and enhance their profit potential on the long term. That doesn't mean that you could never bet the over on public teams. It really implies that you have to be particularly aware of what preferences the public will probably have so you can be sure that there is still value on the game even when the line is inflated. It's most common that the public bets the over and favors offensive teams, nonetheless it is also possible that that they would give too much credit to an especially potent, high profile defense on the under.

 

Injuries – Injuries can have a huge effect on football totals, but not at all times in how that individuals assume. A higher profile injury to an integral player on offense can limit the ability of a group to score, and a defensive injury could make it harder for that team to avoid the ball. You must be careful concerning the impact of those injuries, though. If a person doesn't now have the impact that he is perceived to have, or if the backup is more capable than he's perceived to be, then the public is very possible to overreact to the situation and there can be value to be enjoyed if you can be calm and reasonable as a NFL handicapper.

How to bet on NFL Totals

Totals betting, also known by the name NFL over under bets, has become a popular form of football wagering, rivalling the point spread in some cases.

 

The premise is simple. You don`t care who wins or loses – all you care about is whether the total number of points scored by both teams together is more than a certain number or less than a certain number.

 

That ‘certain number’ is the NFL over under or total. Much like the point spread, oddsmakers set the total and invite you bet over or under.

 

For example, if the Giants vs Cowboys game has an over under value of 45.5 and the final score is 30-17, then OVER bettors win (because 30+17 = 47 which is greater than 45.5). If the final had been 27-17, then UNDER bettors would win because 44 is less than 45.5.

 

 

 

So much for thinking that missed field goal was meaningless, huh? It may have been meaningless to the game, but not to the football total. Hence the reason why every play is important to a football bettors, even after the game is out of hand and it’s obvious that one team will win.

 

Handicapping NFL over unders requires consideration of many of the same principles as point spread wagering. Knowing key offensive and defensive stats is important, knowing coaching philosophies and game plans and knowing the weather are all important factors in determining whether the game will be high-scoring or low-scoring.

 

And betting on over unders can be an issue of timing as well. Often recreational bettors love to bet over the total because they love high-scoring games. That means the total may rise during the week, opening at 45 and getting bet up to 47.5.

 

If you like to bet under, it’s often best to wait until Saturday or Sunday to place your wager. If you like the OVER on a game, it might be a good idea to get your money down Tuesday or Wednesday.