betting on football

Football Betting LinesFootball betting lines come in many shapes and sizes and give us many different betting opportunities. I’ll explain the many football betting lines you are likely to see, and give you examples of each of them so you understand what you will be looking at. Let’s begin by going over the various football betting lines you are likely to encounter. The first basic football line lists the side and the total and looks like this:
101 New England Patriots -3102 Miami Dolphins 41
You are risking 110 for every 100 dollars wagered on either the side or the total. If you like New England you must win the game by more than three points to collect your bet. If you like Miami you must either win the game outright or lose by less than three points to collect. If the Patriots win by exactly three points you get a tie, or what is called a push, and your money is refunded. The total number of points is 41 and you can wager the game to go over or under that amount. The next betting line you are likely to see is called the moneyline and looks like this:
New England -160Miami +140
The moneyline wager is just a bet on who will win the game outright, no points involved. If you like New England you are risking 160 for every 100 dollars wagered. If you like the Dolphins and they win, you win 140 dollars for every 100 dollars wagered.
The next most common football betting line you are likely to see is the halftime line. It looks like this:
New England PK -140Miami 19
If you like the Patriots for the second half you are risking 140 for every 100 dollars. If you like the Dolphins you get 120 for every 100 wagered. The take back on the Dolphins is 20 dollars lower than the price on New England; therefore, it is called a 20-cent line. The total of 19 is the amount of points for the second half and you can wager over or under that amount risking the traditional 110 for every 100 dollars bet.
At some sportsbooks you can also bet the first half. The line would look very similar to the example listed above for the second half. You may also find individual quarter bets in the NFL and they would look like this:
New England PK -120Miami 7
That could be the example of a first quarter line and it is the same as the previous examples. Those are the basic football betting lines you are likely to see. Now let’s take a look at another possibility for a football betting line you might see during the season.
Future odds are very common in football as odds are posted for NFL teams to win their individual divisions, conferences, and ultimately the Super Bowl. Odds to win those events are very simple and straightforward and look like this:
New England 7-1Miami 15-1
Those are two examples of odds to win the Super Bowl. You would win 700 for every 100 dollars wagered if New England won the Super Bowl and 1500 for every 100 dollars risked on Miami if the Dolphins won the Super Bowl. The odds look the same but are lower for winning the conference and individual divisions. College football has similar odds to win the National Championship and the separate conferences.
Those are the basic football betting lines you will see during the football season. If there is any line you don’t understand, ask your sportsbook, and they will be happy to explain it to you.