Football season is coming up and with it sports bettors are ready to play along, but there’s always new bettors that want to take part in the biggest sport in the US.
For those, this is the right place. Here’s everything you need to get started, and yet you don't need to worry about getting overwhelmed with detail as we keep our explanations as simple as possible.
Different Types of Football Bets
One of the first things you should understand about betting on football is the fact that there are several different types of wagers that can be placed. You won't necessarily use all the different types, depending on what strategies you employ, but it's still advisable to learn at least a little about each one.
There are two types of football bets that are used far more than any other. Many people who bet on football place only the following wagers.
Point Spreads
A point spread is effectively a handicap that's used to create a 50/50 wagering proposition. For example, a bookmaker may offer the following point spread on a football match between the San Diego Chargers and the Indianapolis Colts.
Chargers vs Colts
The MoneylineChargers-3.5Colts+3.5
What this spread means is that, for the purposes of wagering, the Chargers will have 3.5 points deducted from their final score. For a bet on them to be successful, they would therefore have to win by four points or more. The Colts, on the other hand, will have 3.5 points added to their final score. A bet on them would be successful if they won the game, or lost by 3 points or less.
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Totals are just as easy to understand. With these, the bookmaker posts an expected total for the amount of points scored by both sides. On the previously mentioned match between the Chargers and the Colts, for example, they might set the total at 48.50. You then have to decide whether to bet on the over or the under.
A wager on the over will win if the combined score from the two teams is 49 or over (e.g. Chargers 29, Colts 24). A wager on the under will win if the combined score from the two teams is 48 or less (e.g. Chargers 19, Colts 17).
The basic principle of point spreads and totals is that you have roughly a 50% chance of wining so technically a "fair" return on these types of wagers should be equal to the amount staked. However, they are usually priced up by bookmakers at odds of -110 (1.91 in decimal odds format, 10/11 in fractional odds format), which means for every $110 staked you stand to win $100. You don't have to stake as much as $110 of course, but the point is that a successful wager will only return 90% of the amount staked.
This is because bookmakers are in business to make a profit, so they effectively charge a commission for taking wagers. This commission is known as the vig, short for vigorish, and it's one of the ways that bookmakers stay profitable. They don't charge it just for points spreads and totals either, as it's built into the odds for every wager that they offer.
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