How to Wager on NFL Games for 2021-2022 Season
The NFL preseason begins on Thursday, August 5, when the Dallas Cowboys take on the Pittsburgh Steelers for the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. Training camps for all 32 teams start between July 21 – 27.
The preseason offers 49 games (over a four-week schedule) for newcomers to learn about football gambling. Of course, preseason games represent more of a live practice environment than anything else. But when it comes to Moneyline wagers, point spreads, and over/under bets—football in August provides an excellent opportunity for beginners to learn how to bet on football.
Many states in the U.S. legalized some form of sports betting after the Supreme Court had overturned the federal ban in 2018. As sporting events slowly returned in the wake of Covid-19 restrictions, the gambling industry began setting records all across the country.
Some states legalized sports betting within their jurisdictions in anticipation of the upcoming NFL season. It’s a perfect time to explore some of the basics for how to understand football, American-style.
Understanding Football
The 2021 NFL schedule begins on Thursday, September 9, when the Dallas Cowboys take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ reigning champions. If you want to learn how to bet on NFL games, it might be helpful to understand football first.
What is the best way to learn football? To watch it, for starters.
The NFL breaks down into two separate conferences: the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). Each conference comprises 16 teams split into four divisions: East, West, North, and South.
You can watch NFL games based on your location due to broadcast constraints. Live-streaming options exist depending on your cable provider. Special packages might be worthwhile if you want direct viewership to as many games as possible.
Eleven players on the field from each team switch between offense and defense lineups. When Tom Brady steps onto the field, his job comes from driving down the field with a balanced passing and running game. The role of the defense: to stop the offense from scoring.
The offense gets four “downs” to acquire 10 yards. If they can’t do that within three (or four) attempts, then they will punt. The special teams’ players from both teams step onto the field.
If the offense gets within range of the opponent’s end zone, they’ll attempt a field goal worth three points. A touchdown occurs when an offensive player makes it to the other side of the field while holding the ball: receivers, running backs, or the quarterback himself.
An extra point adds to the six, allotting a total of seven.
Most football games end within two or three hours. The game has four 15-minute quarters, with a half-time intermission.
The clock ticks whenever the offense has the ball, and it stops if and when the ball goes out of bounds.
How Does Football Betting Work?
If you’re wondering: How does football betting work? You should start with something simple. For example, most professional sports gamblers win a little more than half their bets or wagers—so be ready to make mistakes.
Second, a good rule of thumb for betting amounts should be one to five percent of your bankroll. Your bankroll represents the total amount of money you have available for NFL bets today.
Since the season doesn’t begin for another two months, it could be a good idea to put a little money aside for gambling purposes. You shouldn’t use any money for betting that you can’t afford to lose.
The most important thing to keep in mind when approaching football betting should be to have fun. Gambling makes the sport more enjoyable, and it can be rewarding to earn something in return.
Football betting works by setting odds/lines and spreads based on the potential outcomes for each game. You can bet on who you think will win, how many points they’ll win (or lose) by, and the over or under for the total score between the two teams at the end of the game.
Let’s take a closer look at an NFL betting guide.
Explaining Types of Football Wagers
A variety of football wagers exist and depend on your ability to predict winners, losers, points, and more. To get your NFL odds explained, we can start with NFL Moneyline bets.
With this type of wager, you pick which team you think will win the matchup. Each team gets odds assigned to them as either the favorite or underdog.
Dallas Cowboys (+240)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-290)
The clear favorite for this matchup resides with the Buccaneers at -290. A wager of $100 only pays $34.48.
A team listed second usually indicates they’ll be the home team. (Sometimes, an away team receives an “at” sign @ next to their name.) Most NFL games offer a Moneyline where the home team has negative odds, meaning they’re favored to win.
Here, the underdog Cowboys offer a line of +240. That means if you wager $100, then you could win $240. The implied probability of that outcome stands at 29.41%.
The implied probability for the Buccaneers to win translates to 74.36%. Three-fourths of the time, this outcome will occur.
The point spread odds offer a closer matchup.
Dallas Cowboys +6.5 (-105)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers -6.5 (-115)
Both teams receive negative odds for the point spread. The actual spread stands at 6.5. Since the Buccaneers are favored to win the game, they’re getting “negative” points.
That means they’ll need to win by at least seven points to cover the spread. (A touchdown and an extra point will do it.)
For the Cowboys to cover, they’d have to win outright, or they’d need to lose by six points or less. So, if the final score looks like this:
Dallas Cowboys 20
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24
Then that means the Cowboys lost the game, but they covered the spread.
How to Read Football Odds
If you’re just learning how to read football odds, it might seem a little confusing. But American football represents one of the easiest ways to get started with sports betting.
To continue with the previous example, let’s look at the over/under for the game.
O51.5 (-110)
U51.5 (-110)
These odds represent a coin-flip, although the bookie’s fee comes from the -110 line. So, if you wager $100 on either the over or under, you’ll win $90.91.
A bet of $110 pays $100. You get the picture.
As for the half a point for the O/U (and for the point spread), that’s the bookie’s way of handicapping the matchup. In other words, if the total score turns out to be 51—then it would represent a draw or push.
Your money would be returned.
If you bet the underdog for the point spread and the outcome turns out like this:
Dallas Cowboys 20
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 26
Then that means the Cowboys at +6.5 cover the spread, as well.
If you can understand these basics, you can apply that knowledge to other odds associated with futures, parlays, teasers, pleasers, and prop bets.
Futures represent the odds of an outcome happening at a much later date.
Here are the odds to win the 2022 Super Bowl:
Chiefs +525
Buccaneers +650
Bills +1300
Ravens +1400
Rams +1400
49ers +1400
Packers +1600
Browns +1800
Broncos +2000
Colts +2500
These odds offer higher payouts since the season hasn’t even started yet.
How does an NFL parlay work? NFL parlay bets come from combining separate wagers into one betting slip. Payouts increase while the likelihood of an outcome decreases.
You’d need to win all your bets.
If you want to learn how to win sports betting, start small.
Where to Bet on NFL Games
Now that you’ve had NFL betting lines explained, you can learn where to bet on NFL games. How do you bet on NFL games?
The first step comes from finding a sportsbook. Keep in mind; you’ll need to place wagers from a jurisdiction that offers legal gambling. (Most sportsbooks will require proof of identity as a security measure for deposits and withdrawals.)
Look for the best bonuses and don’t forget to read the terms and conditions.
Here’s a list of a few sportsbooks you may want to try:
*BetUS – 125% sign-up bonus up to $2,500 (Promo code: “JOIN125”), 150% crypto bonus (Promo code: “SU150CRYPT”)
*BetNow – 100% sign-up bonus up to $500
*Bovada – 50% welcome bonus up to $250
*MyBookie – 50% sports welcome bonus up to $1,000
*SportsBetting – 50% sign-up bonus up to $1,000
For additional details and analysis, you can learn more about the most secured and trusted online sportsbooks for NFL wagers.
Conclusion
Once you’ve got some of the basics down, you can take some time to learn about how to bet on football and win. That comes from research and experience.
It might also be beneficial to try different sportsbooks when getting started. Using more than one sportsbook provides bettors with a variety of options to consider.
If you get the hang of it, you can find the best value across many sportsbooks for your wagers.
Also, you’ll want to remember that lines change constantly. So, make sure to stay ahead of the crowd to get the best chances of winning.
Bryan Myers is a freelance writer from the U.S. In 2019, he traveled to 12 countries around the world. He also teaches English online. Currently, he’s living in Da Nang, Vietnam. He’s been writing for Safest Betting Sites since August 2019, covering the 2020 U.S. Election, entertainment, and sports betting.