If the sportsbook is busy with action, it must be football season. Whether it’s 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 any winning football bettor. A straight bet simply means you’re betting using one football game. If you bet on several game on a single 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. 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 going 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 is actually the level 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 even 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, that is where you bet on just one single thing per ticket. When you wish 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 you bet on the Seahawks and over the total on your ticket. That would be a 2-team parlay (despite the fact that technically there’s only one team on it).
dewahoki put 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 get into 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 look forward to the NFL and NCAA football seasons.