NFL Explained: Betting for Beginners

The NFL is one of the most popular sports associations in the US, and it has a lot of fans and bettors. It has events all year round, and with the draft just ended last month, the schedule for the regular season is set. NFL betting goes with a lot of money, and you can have some of them through research and accuracy. 

If you’re new to NFL or sports betting, we have some good news. In this article, we will be talking about the NFL in general and how to bet on it to start your NFL betting career. There’s no need to fret as we will adjust it for beginners, if you don’t know how to bet on the NFL, here’s an excellent way to start it.

How Do Odds Work?

When watching and betting on NFL, you’ll encounter the game’s odds. Odds are usually given in two styles: positive/negative or by ratio. The positive/negative style is how it usually works. To best explain this, we need an example.

• Team #1: -8
• Team #2: +8

In this example, team number 1 is the favorite, and it’s usually signified with a negative sign, while the underdog, on the other hand, is shown through a negative sign. Now, what does this mean? It means that for your favorite bet to win, it needs to win with an 8-point or more difference. If you bet on the underdog, the team would need to win within an 8-point difference or outright win the game itself.

Now that’s settled, what about the ratio? For example, you see an 8/1 odds. In this one, it technically means it has +800 odds. This means if you win this, you will have an 8x payout. If the numbers are reversed as in 8/1, this means that for every $8 that you wagered, you will win $1. Thus, the lower the ratios are, the more likely it will win. 

Now that you know how odds work let’s move on to the different bets you can wager on the NFL.

The Point Spread

This one is the most popular and most common among sports betting, including the NFL. In this type of bet, the oddsmaker will publish a line that they think is fair and get equal action on both sides. 

Remember that these are trained professionals, and they researched every aspect of the matchup and the market to publish this line. They also consider the public team and weigh the action on both sides to adjust the line accordingly. Let’s look at the following spread.

• New England Patriots: -7.5
• Miami Dolphins: +7.5

In the example above, New England is the favorite and is expected to win the game by at least a 7.5-point difference. If you think this will happen and you bet on them, they need to win the game by 8 points or higher. On the other hand, if you bet on the underdog, the Miami Dolphins, they need to win within 8 points or less or win the game itself for you to win the bet.

Moneyline

The Moneyline is the simplest type of bet out there, as all you have to do is bet on the team you think will win the game. It usually looks something like this.

• New England Patriots: -500
• Miami Dolphins: +425

Most bettors want to bet on the games to have fun, and if you’re one of them, this is the best for you. These are the odds for both of the teams. In this example, you’ll have to bet $500 to win $100 if you want to bet on the New England Patriots. It sounds unfair but remember that the New England Patriots are slated to win, and the bigger the bet, the more likely it will happen.

On the other hand, for the Dolphin’s odds, you have to bet $100 to win $425 if they win. While this is a significantly bigger payout than the Patriots bets, remember that the Miami Dolphins are slated to lose.

Totals (Over/Under)

When betting on the total, you are no longer concerned about which team will win the game. Instead, your focus will be on the total points accumulated by both teams at the end of the game. 

In this bet, you have two choices which are over and under. The oddsmaker will publish their predicted total points, and if you think that the total points at the end of the game will be over the oddsmaker’s prediction, you should bet on the over. 

You should bet on the under if you think otherwise that the points will be below the published number. If total points are equal to the oddsmaker’s prediction, then there will be a push where you will get your money back instead.

Final Words

NFL betting is totally easy, and you can learn on your first try. Winning them, however, can be tough and challenging. Start your research with this article if you’re willing to try out NFL betting but don’t know where to start. The points above are what beginners need to know to start their journey into NFL betting. That said, good luck.

For More Great Chicago Sports Content

Follow us on Twitter at @chicitysports23 for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE