Multiple-Game NFL Bets. With anywhere from 13-16 matchups to choose from, you may want to bet on more than one game each week. Parlays and teasers allow you to do just that, and they can be very profitable options for those who know how to use them. A halftime bet of $110 dollars on the Arizona Cardinals would lead to a profit of $100, because, not only did the Cardinals beat the spread, they won the game outright. These bets are taken during halftime, leaving a small window for the bets to be placed. You can track halftime odds easily using our Sportsbook Insider live odds software.
How to Bet On Sports > How to Bet on the NFL
By now you know the three main types of bets; moneyline, ATS (against the spread), and Over/Under (a.k.a. The NFL has three betting markets for those bet types: parlays, teasers, and futures. During matches you can bet on live betting markets. All of these can provide value for bettors, as long as they understand how each works. The three most common football bets someone can make on an NFL game are on the point spread, moneyline or total. Let’s break down each of these betting types and how to. Best NFL betting sites and apps There are a number of apps available for sports betting in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Indiana, West Virginia and Nevada. Some of the best: The top players in the industry are DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook, BetMGM, Caesars, PointsBet, and SugarHouse.
“Football is a game played with arms, legs, and shoulders but mostly from the neck up”. – Knute Rockne
Introduction
SportsInsights.com’s general betting articles discuss the intricacies of sports betting as it pertains to each major U.S. sport. This article will concentrate on how to bet on the NFL. We will try to utilize that “neck up” part of our bodies to gain an edge on the linesmakers, but first we must know the basics. The NFL is by far the most popular bet of all major American sports, culminating with the most popular game of the year, the Superbowl. This article will shed light on each football wager type including spread, moneyline, totals, parlays/teasers, halftimes, and futures.
Spread Betting
Like many high scoring sports, NFL wagering is dictated by the point spread. The spread, or line, is a type of side bet that equalizes the chance of winning a wager. The line offered for any given team will be accompanied with a – or + symbol to indicate whether a team is a favorite or an underdog. The example below displays the spread from the Sports Insights archives at the time of kickoff:
| Team | Spread at Kickoff | Final Score |
| Indianapolis Colts | -9 (-110) | 23 |
| Tennessee Titans | +9 (-110) | 20 |
Generally, the number next to the spread is “-110”. This is what’s known as the juice, vig or odds. The juice is a fraction of the wager taken from the bettor if the bet wins. In this instance, a winning wager of $110 will yield a profit of $100.The example above demonstrates that, although Indianapolis won the contest, Tennessee covered the spread by losing by less than nine points. An important aspect of sports betting is capturing the best line possible. A great way to achieve this is by shopping for the best line.
Moneyline
In the parity driven NFL, the phrase “any given Sunday” is more prevalent than ever, which is why Moneyline (ML) bets can be very profitable when betting on the underdog. A moneyline wager is one that is placed on either the favorite or the underdog to win straight up. The example below is from Week 10 of the 2010-11 NFL season:
| New York Giants | -600 |
| Dallas Cowboys | +450 |
To win $100 dollars wagering on the New York Giants one must lay $600. Whereas, a $100 bet on the Dallas Cowboys earns a profit of $450. Due to the high risk and low reward presented by betting on the NY Giants, bettors may choose to fade, or go against them, and place a smaller wager on the Cowboys. The Cowboys did indeed win this Week 10 shocker at the New Meadowlands by a score of 33-20.
The Spread and Moneyline are contributing factors for Sports Insights’ Steam Moves and Smart Money Betting Systems.
Quarter and 1st Half Lines
The majority of bets on any sport are usually on the final outcome of the particular contest. However, for sports like the NFL and NBA, there are 1st quarter and 1st half lines offered as well. The quarter spread is used to determine who will be the winner at the end of the 1st quarter. The same is true for a 1st half line, only the wager ends when the first two quarters are completed. Generally, the 1st half spread will be close to half of the overall spread on the game.
Halftime Lines
There are also in-game bets being placed DURING halftime, to determine the outcome of the second half, known as the halftime, or 2nd half, line. The 2nd half line accounts for what happened in the first half to help determine how the rest of the game will play out.
| Team | Halftime Score | Halftime Spread | Final |
| Arizona Cardinals | 13 | +3 (-110) | 27 |
| St. Louis Rams | 17 | -3 (-110) | 24 |
For the purposes of a halftime bet, the game essentially restarts at 0 to 0. According to the halftime spread, the Arizona Cardinals are expected to be outscored by the St. Louis Rams by 3 points throughout the entire 2nd half. A halftime bet of $110 dollars on the Arizona Cardinals would lead to a profit of $100, because, not only did the Cardinals beat the spread, they won the game outright. These bets are taken during halftime, leaving a small window for the bets to be placed. You can track halftime odds easily using our Sportsbook Insider live odds software.
Totals or Over/Under
The concept of betting on totals, or Over/Under (O/U), is quite simplistic. The bettor wagers on whether the TOTAL points scored in a game will fall over or under a pre-determined number set by the sportsbook. Much like the point spread, game totals can be swayed by public opinion. The example below, from the SI Archive, shows the opening totals line for Superbowl XLV:
| Team | Total or O/U | Final Score |
| Green Bay Packers | 44.5o (-105) | 31 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 44.5u (-115) | 25 |
As you can see above, the combined score for Superbowl XLV was 56, and since this line was offered at reduced juice, a wager on the over at 44.5 of only $105 would yield a profit of $100. This line closed at a high of 46 points at some books, demonstrating how the public, who tend to show a proclivity for high scoring games, can increase an O/U line.
Parlays/Teasers
Parlays are wagers placed in combination with the spread, moneyline, and totals to increase the payout. A parlay is only a winner when ALL individual plays hit. A teaser is the same as parlay, except you put points down in your favor to help the bet come to fruition. For example, if the proposed line is -13 and you have a 6-point teaser, your new line is -7. A teaser may have reduced some of the risks of the parlay, but you still have to hit each individual play and the payout is reduced significantly. Many sportsbooks let you bet up to 15 times for one parlay, and if all wagers are at -110, that’s a payout of 16,306.94/1!
| # of Teams | Payoff |
| 2 | 2.64/1 |
| 3 | 6/1 |
| 4 | 12.28/1 |
| 5 | 24.35/1 |
| 6 | 47.41/1 |
| 7 | 91.42/1 |
| 8 | 175.44/1 |
| 9 | 335.85/1 |
| 10 | 642.08/1 |
| 11 | 1226.70/1 |
| 12 | 2342.79/1 |
| 13 | 4473.51/1 |
| 14 | 8541.25/1 |
| 15 | 16306.94/1 |
Futures
Futures bets are exactly what they sound like, a wager placed on an event that will occur in the future. As you can imagine, the most popular futures bet in the NFL is who will win the Superbowl. In fact, the Team Odds to win it all are released within a week after the previous year’s championship. It is not uncommon to see last year’s worse team to be 100/1 dogs or worse. Naturally, Futures are not limited to simply who will win the big game. Much like proposition (prop) bets for any particular contest, you can place several futures bets on potential outcomes, from who will win what division to who will win the league’s MVP. Futures Odds can be found at nearly any reputable sportsbook, but some have a limited selection of wagers they will actually take.
- Where to Bet:
Bet On Football Games Legally
How to read Super Bowl 56 Odds
The Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl 55. However, the Chiefs remain the favorites to win Super Bowl 56 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
The Chiefs are listed at 6/1 odds (Bet $100 to win $600), while the defending champion Buccaneers are the third-betting choice at 10/1.
In between Kansas City and Tampa Bay are the Green Bay Packers, who are currently at 9/1 odds.
Here is a quick reference on Super Bowl odds for the upcoming 2021 NFL season.
How to read NFL Las Vegas Odds
The point-spread was developed to provide a balance for both teams involved in a contest to entice bettors to potentially back the weaker team and receive points. The two squads in a game are listed with a title, either a favorite or an underdog. The favorite is usually the perceived better team in the game, as backing them means giving up several points.
The favorite is always listed with a minus (-) sign before the point-spread while the underdog is labeled with a plus (+) label.
Ex. Favorite -10, Underdog +10
On the VegasInsider.com odds page, there is another number associated with the favorite and its listed as -10. This number is simply defined as “vig” or what many in the sports betting industry call vigorish. Another common term is called “juice” and it’s technically the price the bettor has to pay on a straight wager.
Ex. Bet $110 to win $100 (10% juice)
Ex. Bet $100 to win $90.91 (10% juice)
It's not uncommon to see other values posted other than -10. Examples seen on the NFL Vegas Odds pages could include -08, -12, -15 and -20. The -10 price is the most common value in the industry while many books offer reduced 'juice odds' and that would fall into the -08 category.
The lower-juice sportsbooks are normally found outside of the state Nevada. If you are in a state where sports betting is legal, please check out our online sportsbook directory to find the best and most secure places to make NFL bets.
Where Can I Bet On Nfl Games
Another number that’s posted on the NFL Las Vegas is the total or ‘over/under’ for the specific matchup. If the favorite is designated as the home team, then the total will be listed above and vice versa if the visitors are favorites.
All of the above numbers are listed next to the teams, and before each matchup is a Rotation number. The NFL Las Vegas Odds are listed in order of rotation and those numbers are generated and produced by the sportsbooks. Above each matchup and rotation is the Time of the game, which is subject to change. All game times are Eastern Standard Time.
NFL Open Line
One of the best features on the NFL Vegas Odds is the Open Line. This numbers consists of the first betting line received from one of our Las Vegas or Global Sportsbooks. The opening line varies depending on the sportsbook but it provides a clear-cut rating that the oddsmakers use. If you’re betting on the NFL or any other sport, it’s a great idea to view the open line first.
VI Consensus NFL Line
The VegasInsider.com Consensus NFL Line is just as important as the Open Line and also a key resource on odds platform. The Consensus column could be called a “Median Line” since it shows the most consistent number provided by the sportsbooks on VegasInsider.com. The consensus line will be the same as the open line but once the wagers start coming in, this number is often different than the openers.
How do I bet on the Super Bowl?
We know that you can bet on the Super Bowl and all of NFL Futures or bet on the NFL Draft at any time of the year, but what’s the process? The future wager or the “Odds to Win” bet on the Super Bowl is correctly selecting a team to win an event that takes place at a later time. A bettor will have his wagered money tied up until there is an outcome and bettors will receive fixed odds when they place the wager. In the case of the Super Bowl, you’re not a winner or loser until you see zeros on the clock in the final game.
Most sportsbooks offer different ways to read to Super Bowl Odds. In the fractional NFL Futures Odds format below, you simply take the odds and multiply by the amount wagered.
Ex. Green Bay (8/1) to win the Super Bowl
Where To Bet On Nfl Games
The Packers are listed as an 8/1 betting choice to win the Super Bowl. If you wager $100 on Green Bay to win the NFC and they capture the championship, then you would win $800 (8 ÷ 1 x 100). Your online betting account would then credit your account $900, which includes your win and stake ($100).
The American Format would see Green Bay listed at +800 and for the Decimal Format, the Packers would be 9.00.
If you are in a state where online betting is legal, we encourage you to check out our sportsbook directory to find the most trustworthy and reputable sites and mobile apps to place your Super Bowl bets.