Nfl Betting Odds Explained

  1. Nfl Sports Betting Odds Explained
  2. Nfl Point Spread Explained
  3. Nfl Betting Odds Explained Diagram
  4. Nfl Betting Odds Explained For Dummies

Using the +120 odds, it shows us that a $100 bet on that outcome would pay out $120 in profits. Again this can easily be converted into smaller or larger size bets. A $10 bet on +120 odds would pay out $12 in profits. Examples: Below is an example of NFL betting odds taken from an online betting. NFL betting is becoming increasingly popular outside of the United States. With even more regular season games planned on UK soil and talk of a London franchise, the popularity of NFL betting will only continue to rise over the next few years. Read on for a comprehensive guide to NFL betting. Betting line or odds used to determine the gambling margin between the favorite and underdog. Live betting Wagering on a sporting event already in progress, with fluctuating odds in real time. Below is an example of NFL betting odds taken from an online betting site. In this example you can see Los Angeles is listed at +130 ($100 bet pays $130 plus of course your original wager back) and New England is listed at -150 ($150 bet pays $100). NFL Betting Explained This is the Definitive Betting Brain Guide to NFL Football Betting and was written to give bettors a complete understanding to betting on NFL games. As well as being the biggest show in sport, the NFL is the biggest show in gambling.

In the NFL the best team will win the vast majority of the games. Spread betting is the most popular NFL betting option because spread betting handicaps the favourite team, which puts both teams on a more even playing field. This allows wagers on favourites to cover the spread to payout much more than money lines and also allows wagers on underdogs to have an equal chance of winning. NFL spread betting is very easy to understand and this page will explain it in detail.

In NFL spread betting the oddsmakers set a number of points that one team is favoured by in the game. This is also known as the games handicap. For a wager on the favourite to payout the favoured team must win the game by more points than the spread amount. This is known as covering the spread. For a wager on the underdog to win, the team must either win the game straight up or lose be fewer points than the spread. This is known as beating the spread. For example, if a team is favoured by 7 points, then the favourite must win by more than a touchdown to cover the spread and the underdog must either win, or lose by less than a touchdown in order to beat the spread.

SportsbookRatingBonusReviewVisit
50% up to $1000
See Website for Details

NFL Spread Betting Example

Oakland Raiders +10 (-110)
Denver Broncos -10 (-110)

In this example, the Denver Broncos are 10 point favourites over the Oakland Raiders. The (-) sign beside the spread amount indicates the favourite because they are essentially having 10 points taken away from them, while the (+) sign indicates the underdog because they are basically having 10 points added to their score.

In this example a wager on the Broncos will payout if they win by more than 10 points, while a wager on the Raiders will payout if they lose by fewer than 10 points or if they pull of the big upset and win the game outright.

Other NFL Spread Betting Information

The most common odds associated with each side of a spread bet are (-110), which means that a $110 bet would win $100. That being said it is possible for the odds to vary slightly if the spread doesn’t perfectly handicap a game. Here is an example:

Green Bay Packers -3 (-120)
Minnesota Vikings +3 (+100)

In this case the oddsmakers feel that it is more likely that the Packers will cover the 3 point spread than it is that the Vikings will beat it. In this case a $120 wager on the Packers covering the spread wins $100, while a $100 wager on the Vikings beating the spread also pays out $100.

In the two examples given in this article the spreads are whole numbers. If the game finishes with the favourite winning by exactly the spread amount then the bet is pushed and the wager is refunded. It is also possible for spreads to include half points (eg. 3.5, 7.5, etc), in which case it would not be possible for the bet to push.

If you enjoy watching football games, then chances are you would love betting on the NFL. The problem is that a lot of people who are unfamiliar with wagering get scared away by all of the fancy lingo used so I wanted to put something together to explain the difference between futures bets, parlays, spreads, money lines and everything else that goes into football betting. If you are new to the world of sports gambling then hopefully after reading this article you can talk the talk with the experts and feel comfortable putting some bets down.

Nfl Sports Betting Odds Explained

Who Sets the Line?

The first thing that you need to understand is that all of the odds are set by the lines makers. These guys are very good at what they do, but their job isn’t to pick winners and losers on the games, but rather set a number that will balance the action and allow the sportsbook to make their money off of the vig or juice. For instance, it’s pretty standard to have to bet $11 to win $10 and that $1 is called the vig. If the action is balanced each player who bets $11 on team A will have a corresponding wager of $11 on team B, guaranteeing the book that $1. This is why in the NFL you are gambling as much against the public as you are the house. The casino doesn’t really care if you win, as long as they are paying you with other gamblers money.

What are Line Movements?

Knowing that the books set the line to balance action helps when you see the spread moving during the week. If one side is getting a lot of money poured in on them, the books will adjust their odds to favor the other side in the hopes of getting more money poured in there. If a few key players are injured and their teams announce that they will either be playing for sure or sitting on the sidelines, you can bet that it changes the perception of that team’s chances of winning and the spread will adjust accordingly to keep the action balanced. Once you make your wager, your line is locked in, but if you haven’t made your bets yet, you can only get the current number offered. One of the great things about line moves is that you can “middle” the action. Say you get Chicago at +10 against Minnesota but then Minnesota’s quarterback gets hurt during practice before the game and the line moves to Chicago +1. Well if you bet Chicago early and Minnesota late then you could win BOTH of your bets on the same game if Minnesota wins, but by less than 10 points!

Straight Bets

Almost all of the picks released by our handicappers are on straight bets, which means you pick one team in one game or event. Using the standard bet $11 to win $10 ratio, that means you have to win 52.4% of your games in order to break even. You can use either the point spread or money line if betting straight bets (which we will discuss following).

NFL Point Spreads Explained

Most of the wagering is done using point spreads. This is the number assigned to the team that is either added (underdogs with a + sign) or subtracted (from the favorite whose number has the – sign) to the team’s score after the end of the game. Let’s say Chicago is at +7 and Minnesota is -7. If the final score is Minnesota 31, Chicago 21 then Minnesota covered the seven point spread, if the final is Minnesota 24, Chicago 21, then Chicago covered the seven points even though they lost, since they lost by fewer points than they were getting.

Understanding Money Lines

Nfl Point Spread Explained

A money line bet is simply a wager on who is going to win the game straight up. Here you’ll find bigger number like Minnesota -275 and Chicago +200. This means that for every $275 you bet on Minnesota you will win $100 if they win the game outright. If you bet $100 on Chicago then you will win $200 if they come out on top. This is more popular in baseball and hockey than it is in football.

Totals or Over/Unders

Nfl Betting Odds Explained Diagram

Another popular wager for football is to play totals which are also called “over/unders.” This number reflects the odds on the total number of points scored by both teams. If the total is set at 42, then Minnesota and Chicago would have to combine for 43 points or more to win an over wager and 41 or under for you to win an under bet.

Parlay Bets

If you are looking for a bigger return on your wager then maybe the parlay bet is more your style. This is a bet where you take more than one wager and combine them into one single bet, but you have to win all of your selections in order to cash your ticket. Since it’s harder to predict the outcome of multiple events you get paid quite a bit more for parlays, with the amount of your return increasing with the number of events you combine into one ticket. If you know what you are doing then parlay betting can be profitable. You can check our house edge on parlays to see some of the payout tables and how much vig the casino is taking on these bets.

Teasers and Pleasers

A teaser is similar to a parlay in that you have to win more than one of your games in order to win your bet. The difference here is that you get to add points to your team’s odds. If you are taking Minnesota -7, then in a 6-point teaser you reduce the odds down to -1 in exchange for a worse payout. You will win more of these, but you will get less money than if you win a parlay with the same number of teams.

Nfl betting odds explained calculator

Nfl Betting Odds Explained For Dummies

Pleasers are the opposite of teasers. If you really like Minnesota at -7, then in a 6 point pleaser you would end up having them at -13, but here you get much better odds than with a parlay. If you are a high risk, high return gambler then this is the path for you!