If the sportsbook is busy with action, it should be football season. Whether it’s the NFL or NCAA, football betting action is fast and furious during the season. For the newbie sports bettor, it can seem a little confusing, but football bets really drop to two types-straight bets and parlay bets.
Football Betting – Straight Bets
Here’s the workhorse for any winning football bettor. A straight bet simply means you’re betting using one football game. If you bet on multiple game on a single ticket, it’s a parlay, and we’ll discuss that in a minute.
When you create a straight football bet, you will be betting on a side or total. To put it simply, 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 has a point total (except NCAA football, which is most games). It is the amount of points scored between both teams. When you bet a complete, you’re betting under or higher that total. For instance, let’s say the total is 47 and you 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. You can bet on 2 – 20 things (depends on the sportsbook).
For instance, let’s say you bet on the Seahawks and over the total on your ticket. That would be a 2-team parlay (even though technically there’s only 1 team on it).
The more items you placed on the ticket, the additional money you’ll win should 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. Winbet 138 will run specials so you can get close, but that’s very rare.
If you enter 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. Needless to say, the payouts are a less because the risk is minimized.
Football betting is really a blast and there’s nothing much better than hitting the sportsbook with a big winning ticket. I hit straight football bets and parlays all season long. I look forward to the NFL and NCAA football seasons.