Best Football Betting Strategy : How To Bet on Football Not Super Stupid Dumbly

There is no bigger sport in the United States than football and with sports betting becoming legalized across more states, both new and weathered football fans are placing wagers throughout the week.

Football is a mainstay on the calendar from September to the Super Bowl in February, with games on Monday, Thursday, and Sunday (with the occasional Saturday) in addition to college football taking over Saturdays.

Football is different than daily sports such as baseball, basketball, and hockey, where teams play once a week and there is a buildup in the betting odds.

Unlike the trio of daily sports that do not give customers that much time to change the odds or line of a game, the week in between football contests gives more data points and with more data comes the sportsbook operators creating tougher lines to win against. After going over the basics of football wagering there will be some basic strategies that can be implemented throughout a football season.

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Football Betting Basics

Customers have the option of wagering on a team to win the game without the use a point spread. The team with the minus sign (-) next to the money odds is the favorite. All money lines are based on $100. For example, players can bet the Dallas Cowboys to win the game at -160.

A $160 wager on Dallas would win $100 and the customer would receive $260 in total when the bet is graded as a winner. A $100 bet on Washington at +140 odds would win $140 and the customer would receive $240 if Washington wins the game.

Another common football wager market is the point spread. A customer chooses a team that must cover the point spread set by the sportsbook operators.

This means that the favored team must win by a stipulated number of points, or the underdog will receive that number of points. Wagers on the point spread are usually offered at 11 to 10 odds, which are most seen as -110 odds.

The third part of a traditional six pack that a customer will normally see is the totals market. The Over/Under is the combined number of points scored by both teams. A customer can wager that the final score will be more or less than this number. All points scored in overtime are counted in the final score.

Football Betting Example

	Line	Total	Money Line
Dallas Cowboys	-3 (-110)	Over 48 (-110)	-160
Washington Commanders	+3 (-110)	Under 48 (-110)	+140

Football Parlay Betting

If one bet for one game isn't enough, customers can combine multiple games to create a parlay. Parlay bets require two or more different bets to be tied together in hopes for a larger payout.

The more bets added to the parlay, the higher the payout and the higher the risk. For the entire parlay bet to win, all the bets included must win. If one or more bets lose, the whole ticket is graded as a losing ticket. If a customer takes three, -110 football spreads and creates a parlay ticket, the odds increase to +600.

The odds for the number of teams placed in a parlay are based on the pay table below when the selections a default line of -110. This may differ very slightly across sportsbook operators but in general are using the same math to get to the same odds.

All Football and Basketball Parlays (Point Spreads and Totals all – 110)
2 Teams	+260
3 Teams	+600
4 Teams	+1000
5 Teams	+2000

Teaser Football Betting

Teaser wagers allow customers to alter a spread or total a designated number of points for two or more games, but it comes with a cost. The most common teaser used in football betting is a six-point teaser.

Customers can move a spread or total by six points to their advantage but again, needs to be done for two or more games, which increases the risk. The more bets added to the teaser, the bigger the potential payout and the bigger the risk.

Teaser Payout Table

Football	2 Teams	3 Teams	4 Teams
6 Points	-110	+180	+300
6.5 Points	-120	+160	+250
7 Points	-130	+140	+200

Football Betting Props

Customers cannot avoid seeing boosts and promotions from sportsbook operators where football prop bets are the focus. The popularity of fantasy football and the addition of the Same Game Parlay functionality has led to an influx of prop betting over the past few seasons.

Football prop bets such as "First Touchdown Scorer", "Over/Under Passing Yards", "Anytime Touchdown Scorer", "Over/Under Rushing Yards", "Over/Under Reception Yards" are some of the most popular props wagered on every week. In addition to being taken as a wager on their own, prop bets can be combined into a parlay ticket, labeled as a Same Game Parlay.

This is combining multiple props, such as Patrick Mahomes throws for 2+ touchdowns, Travis Kelce catches 2+ touchdowns and Kelce catches 6+ catches and creates a parlay ticket that deals with props and not the result of the actual contest.

Football Betting Strategy #1: Pay Attention To The Lines

Football odds are usually released the week before, making it one of the only sports that allows customers a runway in terms of placing wagers. More wagers cause sportsbook operators to react and possibly change the odds associated with a line or change the line altogether. It is possible to see a team be a 4-point favorite early Monday morning and before kickoff on Sunday land on –6.

Determining the best time to bet is a valuable practice that must be learned, which is based on the line movement from the sportsbook operators. There is a level of patience needed to see if a favorite is going to balloon to a higher number or if a underdog gains the steam of public opinion and their line shrinks throughout the week.

Football Betting Strategy #2: Key Numbers

Football has key numbers for point spreads therefore betting on or around those numbers is a significant part of having a successful stretch of betting. With the way points are scored in football (touchdowns, field goals, extra points, etc.), there are common results that sports fans have seen over the countless number of football games throughout time.

Because of this, most football games are decided by either three, six, or seven points. Point spreads are commonly set at those key numbers. Betting a favorite at -6.5 or an underdog at +7.5 is valuable due to a higher probability of the final score being decided by exactly seven points.

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