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 can 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. A straight bet simply means you’re betting using one football game. In the event that you bet on more than one game on the same ticket, it’s a parlay, and we’ll discuss that in a minute.
When you make a straight football bet, you could be betting on a side or total. LGO4D To put it simply, when you bet a side, you “pick a side” in the game. For instance, let’s say the 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 the quantity of points scored between both teams. When you bet a total, you’re betting under or higher that total. For instance, suppose the total is 47 and you also take the over. To win, both teams must combine for 48 or more points (47 will be a push, which means you get your bet back).
Football Betting – Parlays
Okay, so you find out about straight bets, which is where you bet on just one thing per ticket. When you want to bet on more than one thing, it’s a parlay. It is possible to bet on 2 – 20 things (depends on the sportsbook).
For instance, let’s say without a doubt on the Seahawks and over the total on your ticket. That would be a 2-team parlay (even though technically there’s only one team on it).
The more items you placed on the ticket, the more income you’ll win if they all hit. Naturally, the more items on the ticket, the harder it really 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 for getting close, but that’s very rare.
If you enter making football bets via parlay tickets, you might have a look at “teasers,” which are parlay tickets with added points for you. For instance, rather than taking the Packers -10, you can find them at -3. Needless to say, the payouts are a less because the risk is minimized.
Football betting is a blast and there’s nothing better than hitting the sportsbook with a large winning ticket. I hit straight football bets and parlays all season long. I look forward to the NFL and NCAA football seasons.