NFL and College Football together account for almost half of US betting in football season. They are by far the most popular betting sports in the USA.
The NFL has games every Thursday, Sunday and Monday (along with some Saturdays late in the year). This offers a consistency in the schedule that no other sport possesses. The same betting parameters are used with the NFL and College Football. Spread, moneyline and totals are all available for wagers.
Spread
Let’s say a team is -4. This means they are favored by 4 points. So that team would have to win by 5 points or more for you to win your bet on -4. If they win by 4 points, that bet would then push and become void. The bet is lost if they only win by 3 points or less, or lose the game outright. Spreads in college football can get ridiculously out of hand. Teams can often be 40 or 50-point favorites and cover. A circumstance that is almost unheard of in today’s NFL, which has more parity than any other American sport.
Total
The combined score of both teams in a football game is the total, or over/under, available to wager. Again, in College football these can become eye-popping numbers. A good example of this is the MAC conference, known for its high-scoring shootouts and lack of defense. Their totals resulted in over 100 points in multiple games this past year. They call it MACtion for a reason!
The NFL is again much tamer in this regard due to the even playing field of most teams.
Player Props
Catches, receiving yards, rushing yards, passing yards, touchdowns, and field goals are all among the props available to wager in football. The massive growth of fantasy football has made this kind of betting very popular amongst football fans. A way to exploit value out of these props is to have multiple sportsbooks at your disposal. Lines and odds can vary from sportsbook to sportsbook, so it is important to shop for the best number in order to maximize your ROI.
Teasers:
A teaser involves a parlay of two or more bets on either the spread or total that is adjusted 6 points either way normally at -120 odds. If you don’t feel comfortable about the Chiefs at -8, you can tease them down with another bet. A -8 teases down to -2, so now all they have to do is win by 3 to win that leg of the bet.
The only problem with this is you then have to find another game you like that you can tease the Chiefs with, since a teaser has to be with two or more bets. If you teased those Chiefs with an underdog, say the Cowboys are +4, teasing the Cowboys up would then turn that +4 into +10 (the +4 line plus those 6 teased points = 10). Side note: It is a good habit to not tease totals. You only get to change that total for one score’s worth of points (6). One interception for a TD negates that 6 point advantage.
Situations where you can move the line through the key numbers of 3 and 7 are ideal for Teasers. Football games are often won by a field goal or a touchdown. Therefore getting a favorite under that -3 (so they only have to win by a field goal) or getting an underdog above +7 or +8 (so that if they lose by a touchdown or less you still win) is a good way to be profitable in betting NFL.
Mostly due to how accurate NFL lines usually are, teasing through those key numbers of 3, 7 and 8 (more teams are going for 2-point conversions in recent years) can put you in a likelier scenario to win your bet. Another good rule of thumb is to not tease through zero. So, teasing -3 to +3 is unadvisable for a teaser. Just take them at -3 if you like that team and use other teams that can get you through those key numbers to improve your chances of making a profit.
