How to Prepare for Betting Football

Let’s prepare for betting football this season.

Key Points

– NFL bettors can take a look at a number of different strategy ideas to get ready for betting football.

– One thing any football bettor – college or NFL – can do is simply shop for the best line.

Every year in the late summer, NFL teams begin reporting to training camp and college football programs follow soon after. When this happens, it’s time for fans and bettors alike to get ready for the upcoming season.

To ensure betting success during the football season, bettors need to know how to prepare for betting football. There are a number of things to look at and consider. If done right though, the average bettor will see his preparation pay off.

It is the most popular sport to bet on in the U.S. The NFL offers a number of markets for bettors, including the current rage – live betting. 

Most bettors will stick to the more traditional point spread and totals bets on NFL games. NFL bettors would be wise to review their preferred strategies and then stick to them only changing after thorough review.

One thing to look at is the road underdog, especially those in divisional games. Remember, each team plays its divisional opponents twice in a season. That familiarity breeds a bit of an advantage for an underdog. 

Underdogs in general tend to cover the spread between 52 and 55 percent of the time in the NFL. Road divisional underdogs have an ATS winning percentage closer to 60 percent.

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Totals is another area where NFL bettors can capitalize. Knowledge of key numbers in the NFL can help the totals bettor. More games end with 41 total points than any other point total. Also, more NFL games end with a scoring margin of three points than any other margin. 

Because of the way scoring happens in football, the most common NFL final scores add up to 41, 40, 51, 47, and 44 points. Those final totals account for almost one-fifth of all NFL games. Knowing that can help the average NFL total bettor prepare for the upcoming season.

NFL player props are a huge market now. Remember, sportsbooks are focused more on the markets where they get the most action – point spread, moneyline, and totals. That means there may be some inefficiencies in the other NFL markets that are less popular.

Smart bettors know where to look and find great team and/or player prop bets. It’s the same with live betting. It’s relatively new and sportsbooks are still trying to catch up and become more efficient. 

Live NFL bettors can take advantage of some market inefficiencies from time to time. The best thing an NFL live bettor can do is 1) watch the game you are betting on and 2) make your moves during breaks in the action (timeouts, commercials, etc.). 

NFL bettors can actually get in on action long before teams even report to training camp. The Super Bowl market opens almost immediately after the previous game ends. 

Oddsmakers establish the odds for the next season’s Super Bowl the day after the previous Super Bowl. The great thing about the Super Bowl market – and other futures markets – is that bettors can get in on some great action long before teams even start making their offseason moves.

There are typically a handful of teams that have the roster to get to the next Super Bowl. It all starts with the quarterback. That’s why teams like Buffalo (Josh Allen), Kansas City (Patrick Mahomes), Green Bay (Aaron Rodgers), and Tampa Bay (Tom Brady) are always among the early Super Bowl favorites in any given year.

One of the best things about betting futures markets is that you can find great odds on even the overall favorite. Depending upon when you place your bet, you might find the overall Super Bowl favorite given odds of +500 to +1000. 

Of course, as you get closer to the actual Super Bowl, the odds on the favorite are going to drop. Even midway through a season, a bettor might find the overall favorite at +500 or +600. Those are still great odds with great payouts. 

It’s the same in other futures markets – NFL divisions, conferences, win totals, and individual awards (MVP, for example). This is why NFL bettors should get in on the action early, long before a new season even starts.

Did you know that using free pro handicapper picks can be a winning venture? Check out a site like Game Advisers.

Betting on college football is also extremely popular. Bettors should remember that betting on college games is a lot different than betting on the pros. 

In the NFL, there are 32 teams each with a 53-man roster. There are 131 FBS teams with around 100 on each roster. The difference between the best teams in NCAA football – Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, for example – and the worst (think UMass, for example) is tremendous.

As a result, bettors will often see point spreads of over 20 and 30 points. Totals will often be in the 70s as college teams rack up the points. Plus, teams only play 12 games as opposed to the NFL’s 17. 

Schedules are also unbalanced. A 6-0 team could play a very good 3-3 team. The unbeaten team might be a slight favorite after beating two FCS teams and a couple weak conference opponents. Meanwhile, the 3-3 team lost three games to teams ranked in the top 10 and lost them all by a touchdown or less. That has happened and bettors would be wise to look at a team’s schedule before placing a wager. 

If you had to stick to just one strategy to improve your football winning percentage, it would be this. Shop around for the best betting line. Always get the best available line on your football bets whether they be on NFL or college games. 

That extra half-point is the thing that separates a winner from a loser in football betting. If you like a college football underdog to cover, why not take it at the sportsbook that has the dog at +19 instead of +17?

The only way to find these differences is to go shopping. Check out your favorite sportsbooks and compare prices. It can pay off in the end.