We all have to start somewhere, and no matter how good you think you are, before you got this “good”, you knew nothing. We’re saying that you may have forgotten how you learned sports betting, how to wager, and how to win (most importantly); but regardless it isn’t a bad thing to review the fundamentals. Plus, you might learn something new ( Peebles made us write that part ).

Anyway, our rambling preamble aside, regular season NFL betting is coming up fast. There are several pre-season games left, however, and these games can be great opportunities to learn how to wager on sports without risking a lot money, or feeling the “pressure” of trying to win every regular season bet (which is nearly impossible, anyway). Also, most people don’t take the pre-season seriously, so you won’t have to sheepishly wander up to the water cooler at work hat-in-hand if you happen to lose a pre-season wager. Save the homeruns for the Super Bowl and regular season.

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Types of Sports Bets, Types of Sports Wagers

1. Straight Bet – Contrary to some articles we’ve read, a straight bet isn’t a simple win/lose wager. Instead, a straight bet factors in a point spread, based on who the “favorite” of the match is, and who the “underdog” is. Essentially, the oddsmakers spot the underdog a few points, in order to make the action on the game balanced from the outset. The best way to understand the system is to look at a brief example, where we’ll bet on the underdog San Diego Chargers against the favored New York Giants.
   

   102 New York Giants -7
   103 San Diego Chargers +7

   In this example, the numbers “102″ and “103″ indicate the team’s identification number for the particular matchup. These numbers have no bearing on the bet, they are just for the sportsbook to keep track of each contest and its wagers.

   The favored New York Giants are indicated by the negative number, in this case -7. The underdog Chargers are indicated by a positive number, in this case +7. Based on these numbers and your hunch about who will win, you can make 1 of 2 wagers:

   Wager 1 – New York Giants Win – For the win, the Giants will need to beat the Chargers by more than 7 points. If they beat the Chargers by 1,2,3,4,5, or 6 points, the bet loses. If they beat the Chargers by exactly 7 points, the bet is a push (in which case the bet is canceled and money is refunded).

   Wager 2 – San Diego Chargers Win – For the win, the Chargers can’t lose by more than 7 points. If they lose by 1,2,3,4,5 or 6 points, the bet wins. This is called “covering the spread”. If they lose by exactly 7 points, the bet is a push (in which case the bet is canceled and money is refunded).

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2. Money Line Bet – A money line bet is a wager for the winner of the matchup, in which the bettor is paid out according to the money “lines” given by the oddsmaker before the game starts.
   

   504 New York Giants -140
   505 Tennessee Titans +130

   In this example, the favored team is indicated by the negative number, which is the -140 money line for the favored Giants. The Tennessee Titans are the underdog, indicated by the positive number +130.

   Wager 1 – You Bet on the Giants for the Win – If you bet on the Giants and they win the game, you are paid $100 for every $140 bet. So, if you bet $140, you would win $100. If you bet $280, you would win $200.

   Wager 2 – You Bet on the Titans for the Win – If you bet on the Titans and they win the game, you are paid $130 for every $100 bet. So, if you bet $100, you would win $130. If you bet $200, you would win $260.

3. Over, Under Totals – Totals are a relatively simple bet, in which the goal is to decide whether you think the combined total of each team’s points at the end of the game will be greater than (over) or less than (under) the amount set by the oddsmaker.

   Let’s assume the New York Giants are playing the Chicago Bears, and the oddsmaker sets the game total at 25 points. You can wager in the following ways:

   Wager 1 – Over, or more than 25 points – If you bet the “over”, you believe that the combined total of each team’s points will be MORE than 25.
   Wager 2 – Under, or less than 25 points – If you bet the “under”, you believe that the combined total of each team’s points will be LESS than 25.

   Now for our game result, using the Giants’ and Bears’ final score:
   Final
   New York Giants 21
   Chicago Bears 6

   Bet on the NFL at Sportsbook.com – USA Players Welcome – Click Here

   The “Total” of this contest is 27 points. Given the oddsmaker’s total value of 25 points, you would win if you bet Over. If you bet Under, you would lose, since the total of the final scores is greater than 25 points.

4. Parlay – Multiple Team Betting – A parlay bet is simply betting on 2 or more teams that you believe will win their games. So, if you bet a 2 team parlay on the Giants/Ravens game and Dolphins/Texans game and correctly picked the Giants and Texans as the winners, you win your parlay. If any game in your parlay is incorrect, you lose. The following is a rough payout guide for a parlay bet up to 10 teams. Note, the odds of hitting more than a 4 team parlay bet are remote, so don’t bet much money.
   

   2 Winners = 2.5/1
   3 Winners = 6/1
   4 Winners = 10/1
   5 Winners = 20/1
   6 Winners = 40/1
   7 Winners = 80/1
   8 Winners = 100/1
   9 Winners = 200/1
   10 Winners = 350/1
   *Payout Ratios vary per sportsbook, see your sportsbook’s wagering guide for more info.

   Finally, some sportsbooks offer “close call parlays”, a specialty alternative that allows you to lose one game or more on a 3 team parlay bet or greater. Example: You bet a 5 team parlay, but one game loses. Therefore, you won 4 of 5 games. In this case, some sportsbooks will drop the losing game and pay you out for a 4 team parlay, or, at a discounted ratio for your “close call” wager.

   If you “tie” your parlay, which is a rare occurrence, your bet is canceled and you are refunded your money.

5. NFL Betting Futures – As it’s name suggests, “futures” wagers are bets on contests that will not occur for several weeks or months. The most common future is a bet on the team that will win the Super Bowl. So, if your sportsbook offers futures odds on the Baltimore Ravens as Super Bowl winners in 5 months, you could make a wager that the Ravens would win and would be paid at the odds set at the time of your wager, if the Ravens do indeed with the Super Bowl. In most all cases, futures wagers pay much more than a regular straight bet, since you are attempting to predict the outcome of a distant event.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our brief NFL betting guide and reference article. To be sure, there are many more types of wagers offered by sportsbooks. As a rule, you should ALWAYS consult your sportsbook’s wagering guide to learn how to place each different wager. You don’t get your money back if you wagered incorrectly because you didn’t understand the rules.

Win, you fools, and enjoy NFL Betting this season from Pete Peebles.

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