American Football Betting – the Best Bookmakers for American Football
American football, arguably the most popular sport in the United States, is a high-intensity, full-contact sport. Eleven players on each team square off against each other on a 360 foot field, attempting to move the ball down the field into the opponent’s end zone. The team with possession of the ball is given four chances, or “downs” to score. If they are unsuccessful possession reverts to the opposing team. If successfully completed, the team has scored a touchdown and receives six points. The team also has the option to score more points with an extra point conversion, meaning the scoring team is given a another chance to move the ball into the end zone. However, more commonly, the team can also elect to kick a field goal through goal posts located at each end of the field. If successful, the team receives one point.
American football betting is extremely popular and there are numerous sports books posting lines. To bet on football, it is extremely important to spend time getting to know the sport, the teams and the rules, which are more complex than can be explained in this short space. However, with a little time and effort, you can learn to objectively and effectively make the best football picks.
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The Most Common American Football Bets
The above bets are called straight bets, where you simply are picking the team you think will win the game outright (moneyline) or against the spread. However there are many other types of wagers you will see odds for:
Over/Under (O/U): Also called betting the total, this type of bet has you predicting how many total points will be scored between both teams in a game.
For example, if the total is listed as 46 but think the two teams playing will score less than that combined, you would bet the under.
Obviously if you think they will combine for more than 46 points, you would take the over. If the teams combine for the exact amount of points listed on the total, then the bet is a push and you get your initial wager back.
Parlay: A parlay is a bet that links together two or more wagers. To win the parlay, all of your individual bets must be successful–even if you get two of three bets in your parlay correct you would still lose.
While parlays are harder to hit, they can pay out much higher than doing straight bets on each individual game.
Proposition bet: A prop bet is a wager placed on anything besides the outcome of a game. These can range to anything from whether the first play will be a run or a pass, which player will score first, to even whether the coin toss will land heads or tails.
Futures: A future bet is what it sounds like: you are betting on something that the result of won’t typically be known for several weeks or months. Examples of these could be betting on who will win next year’s Super Bowl, who will the Heisman, or how many regular season wins a specific team will end up with.
Tips for Betting on American Football
Give yourself a bankroll. This is essentially the amount of money you are willing to lose in sports gambling. And be sure to stick to it–if your bankroll runs dry, it’s usually best to take a break from betting for a while until you have some more disposable income.
Track your bets. The most successful bettors know their exact win percentage, what types of bets they do best and worst at, and exactly how much they’ve won or lost over time. What gets measured gets improved. Once you are a more experienced football bettor, it might be smart to have accounts at multiple sports-books. This allows you to shop around and compare different lines before placing your bets.
Study up. The professionals that set betting lines aren’t just throwing out numbers at random or based who their favorite teams are. Instead, they are the result of endless hours of research. Be like them and do your own homework: many times you’ll even find that they make mistakes, too.
Have fun! Remember, gambling is entertainment: very, very few people in the world are good enough to make a living off of it.
Best Betting Sites by Sport Category
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