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 during the season. For the newbie sports bettor, it could seem a bit confusing, but football bets really drop 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 is a parlay, and we’ll talk about that in a minute.
When you make a straight football bet, you will be betting on a side or total. Simply put, once 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’re likely to bet a side, you’d bet on either the Patriots or the Seahawks.
Every game has a point total (except NCAA football, that is most games). It is the quantity 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 take the over. To win, both teams must combine for 48 or more points (47 will be a push, therefore 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 upon the sportsbook).
For instance, let’s say without a doubt on the Seahawks and on 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 more income you’ll win should 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 enter making football bets via parlay tickets, you may check out “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 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 big winning ticket. I hit straight football bets and parlays all season long. I anticipate the NFL and NCAA football seasons .