If the sportsbook is busy with action, it must be football season. Be it the NFL or NCAA, football betting action is fast and furious through the season. For the newbie sports bettor, it could seem a bit confusing, but football bets really come down to two types-straight bets and parlay bets.
Football Betting – Straight Bets
Here’s the workhorse for just about any winning football bettor. http://debatemedia.wharton.upenn.edu/index.html means you’re betting using one football game. If you bet on several game on a single ticket, it’s a parlay, and we’ll talk about that in a minute.
When you make a straight football bet, you could be betting on a side or total. Simply put, when you bet a side, you “pick a side” in the game. For instance, let’s say the brand new England Patriots are playing the Seattle Seahawks. If you are likely to bet a side, you’d bet on either the Patriots or the Seahawks.
Every game includes a point total (except NCAA football, which is most games). This can be a level of points scored between both teams. Once you bet a total, you’re betting under or over that total. For instance, let’s say the total is 47 and you also take the over. To win, both teams must combine for 48 or even more points (47 will be a push, which means you get your bet back).
Football Betting – Parlays
Okay, so you know about straight bets, that is where you bet on just one single thing per ticket. When you want to bet on multiple thing, it’s a parlay. You can bet on 2 – 20 things (depends upon the sportsbook).
For instance, let’s say you bet on the Seahawks and on the total on your ticket. That might be a 2-team parlay (despite the fact that technically there’s only one team on it).
The more items you put on the ticket, the more money you’ll win if they all hit. Naturally, the more items on the ticket, the harder it is to win.
With parlay bets it’s an all or nothing thing. If one pick fails, the ticket is dead. Some sportsbooks will run specials so you can get close, but that’s very rare.
If you get into making football bets via parlay tickets, you might check out “teasers,” which are parlay tickets with added points for you personally. For instance, rather than taking the Packers -10, you can find them at -3. Of course, the payouts certainly are a less since the risk is minimized.
Football betting is really a blast and there’s nothing much better than hitting the sportsbook with a large winning ticket. I hit straight football bets and parlays all season long. I anticipate the NFL and NCAA football seasons.