1. Who To Bet On In College Football
2. Who To Bet On College Football
3. How To Bet On Football Spread
4. Best Football Bets For Today

If you’re new to football betting and keen to get involved
then you’ve just come to exactly the right place. On this page
we will teach you all the basics of betting on football, and
make sure that you are on the right track from the moment you
place your first wager. If you feel like you’re ready to dive right in, here are the top football betting sites we recommend:

If you bet on the Eagles -13.5, Philadelphia would need to win by 14 or more points in order for your football spread bet to pay off. That makes it harder, but you will earn a much greater profit. To bet on football, tell the ticket writer the bet number of the team you wish to bet, with the point spread and the amount you wish to wager. The payout, unless stated otherwise, is figured at odds of 10/11. How to use 'basic strategy' when betting 2-team NFL teasers. One of the most popular betting options for pro football is the two-team six-point teaser. Longtime bettors know what those are. Compare NFL odds & betting lines Mar 06 to find the best Football moneyline, spread, and Over/Under totals odds from online sportsbooks.

In our opinion this is one of the most useful beginner’s
guides to football betting you’ll find anywhere on the internet.
It covers 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.

For those who are only really interested in wagering for a
bit of fun, you’ll be ready to go as soon as you’ve finished
reading this page. For those of you with ambitions of making
long term profits, we also point you towards a wide range of
additional information and advice that will help you to achieve
such goals. We’re not promising that we’ll make you an instant
expert, but we’ll certainly give you the chance to become one.

If you’re simply just looking to bet on football games right now we have
listed our top recommendations for online betting sites below. These
are sites that we have found to be trustworthy with our money and
offer football bettors true value.

We recommend reading through this whole page from start to
finish, but we’ve listed the various topics we cover below if
you’d prefer to skip straight to something specific.

How to Bet on Football: Page Contents

Before You Start: Recommended Reading

If you’re already familiar with how sports betting works, and
know a thing or two about football, then please feel free to
skip this section. If, however, you’re completely new to sports
betting and/or not much of a football fan, then there are a few
things you should learn before you start placing bets on
football games.

Firstly you really need to understand the basics of what
sports betting is all about, and what’s involved with placing
wagers. These basics are relatively straightforward, so
thankfully it doesn’t take long to get up to speed. It’s
definitely advisable to familiarize yourself with them though.
Our beginner’s guide to sports betting is the perfect resource
for this. Here’s a selection of some of the topics it covers.

In addition to knowing the basics of betting, you should also
know at least the basics of football too. It’s likely that most
people reading this are big sports fans, and fully understand
it, but that’s not necessarily the case for all our readers. We
like to cater for everyone, so we’ve written the following two
articles explaining all about the game at both professional and
college level.

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.

Below we look at the two most popular types of wagers, some
of the other commonly used options, and the various options for
wagering on multiple games with a single bet.

The Most Popular Types of Football Bets

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
• Totals

Some readers will already know all about these and how they
work, but we’ll explain a little about them for those that
don’t.

Who To Bet On In College Football

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.

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.

You can read more about point spreads on the following page.

Totals

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).

We explain totals in more detail on the following page.

Before we go onto explain some of the other types of wagers
you can place, there’s some very important information that we
need to mention.

The basic principle of point spreads and totals is that you
have roughly a 50% chance of winning, 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 (plus the initial stake of course).

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.

If you have any ambitions of being a
successful bettor, we strongly recommend reading our article
explaining vig and how bookmakers make money.

Other Common Football Bets

In addition to point spreads and totals, there are three
other types of bets that are commonly used for wagering on
football. These are as follows.

• Moneylines
• Props
• Futures

We’ll now provide a brief overview of each of these, and
point you towards some additional information on each one too.

Moneylines

A moneyline wager is very simple. It involves simply backing
a team to win a match, with no point spread involved. The odds
for moneyline wagers are based on each team’s relative chance of
winning. For example, the moneyline on a game between the San
Diego Chargers and the Indianapolis Colts might look like this.

The Chargers are the favorites here, and the odds of -175
mean that a stake of $175 is required to win $100. To put it
another way, every $1.75 staked stands to win $1 if the Chargers
win. Initial stakes are returned too of course.

The Colts are the underdogs, so backing them means the
potential for higher payouts relative to the amount staked. The
odds of +155 mean that every $1 staked stands to win $1.55 if
the Colts win (i.e. a $100 wager stands to win $155 if the Colts
win). Again, initial stakes are also returned.

For more information on moneylines, and the strategy involved
in placing them, please see the following article.

Props

Props, short for propositions, are wagers on outcomes that
are decided during a football game, but are not necessarily
directly linked to the final result. Some examples include the
following.

• The first team to score.
• The distance of the longest touchdown.
• The total passing yards of a quarterback.
• The number of field goals kicked.

These are just a very small selection of some props. Many
bookmakers offer dozens of different options, particularly on
high profile matches. Props are generally considered a fun type
of bet rather than a way to make money, but it is possible to
make consistent profits from them. We explain more about props
on the following page, where we also offer some strategy advice.

Futures

Futures are wagers on how teams, or individual players, will
fare over the course of an entire season. A wager on a team to
win the Super Bowl, placed at the start of the season, would be
considered a future. So would a wager on a team to be the
National Football Conference champions, or a wager on a player
to win the Most Valuable Player award.

There isn’t a lot more to explain about futures, and there
isn’t really much in the way of specific strategy for them
either. We do go into a bit more detail on them on the following
page though.

Betting on Multiple Football Games

A lot of people like to bet on multiple games at once, as
this can provide the potential for big payouts. It’s not
something we particularly advise beginners to get involved with,
but it doesn’t hurt to understand the options available. The
main ones are as follows.

• Parlays
• Teasers
• Pleasers

Let’s take a quick look at what these are all about.

Parlays

A parlay basically combines several different wagers into
one. For example, a parlay could be made up of five point spread
wagers on five separate games. The payout for such a wager could
be very attractive, but only if ALL the wagers were correct.
Just one wrong pick would mean the whole wager failing. That’s
why these are considered quite risky. They’re a bit more complex
than the previous wagers mentioned, but we won’t go into any
more detail here. We do on the following page though.

Teasers & Pleasers

Teasers and pleasers are essentially types of parlays that
use modified point spreads or totals. With teasers, the spreads
or totals are moved in the bettor’s favor. With pleasers, they
are moved in the bookmaker’s favor. There’s plenty more to
explain about these wagers, which we do on the following pages.

Where to Place Your Football Bets

Now that you know about the different wagers you can place on
football, the next step is actually placing them. The question
you’re probably asking now is “how and where can I do this?”
There are a few options, which we list below, but please be
aware that not all of these are available in all parts of the
world.

• Casino Sportsbooks
• Bookmaking Shops
• Telephone Betting
• Online Sports Betting Sites

Casino Sportsbooks

Many casinos around the world contain a sportsbook. They
usually feature several big screen TVs showing any live sports
action currently taking place, and computerized odds boards
displaying all the latest odds. There are typically cashier
windows where you can place your wagers with a real person, but
some books have interactive machines instead. Either way, these
are great places to place some bets and watch the games at the
same time. The problem for Americans, though, is that they are
only legal in Nevada. There are plenty of sportsbooks in Las
Vegas casinos, but not in other parts of the country.

Bookmaking Shops

Bookmaking shops are mostly like sportsbooks, they’re just
not inside a casino. They also generally have lots of TVs
showing sports, and a counter where wagers are placed. These
shops can be found in many countries around the world, but
they’re not legal in the United States.

Telephone Betting

A lot of bookmakers offer telephone betting services, and
they are usually very straightforward to use. It’s a simple
matter of calling the relevant number, telling the operator you
reach which wagers you want to place, confirming the odds, and
then providing your credit card details. Some bookmakers take
other payment methods too, and some even offer credit lines to
select customers.

This is another option that’s not available to Americans. Not
legally at least, as the Federal Wire Act of 1961 made telephone
betting illegal. You might be getting disheartened by now if you
live in the US, and wondering exactly how you’re ever going to
place any wagers. Don’t worry though, as we have one more option
to tell you about.

Who To Bet On College Football

Online Sports Betting Sites

Using an online sports betting site is far and away the best
way to bet on football, or any sport for that matter. It’s the
most convenient and accessible option, and there are several
other advantages too. Best of all, it’s legal in the United
States. There are some laws against online gambling in the US,
but these mostly apply to companies and individuals providing
gambling services. There’s no law that states it’s illegal to
use a gambling site of any kind, so Americans are at liberty to
place football bets online if they so choose. We’ve written the
following page explaining things in more detail for those
interested, or you can just keep reading for a quick guide to
getting started online.

Using Online Betting Sites

Using sports betting sites to bet on football online is
relatively straightforward. It’s super easy to open accounts at
most sites, and the majority of them are very user-friendly.
Finding and placing wagers generally takes no time at all, and
can be done from the comfort of your own home with just a
computer and internet access. You can even use most sites from a
smartphone or tablet these days.

Please make sure that you use the right sites though. Most
places are pretty good, but there are some that are best
avoided. It’s vital that you use a safe and trustworthy option,
and you also want to use somewhere that is suitable for
football. We suggest taking a look at the following sites.

Our Top Ranked Football Betting Sites:

How To Bet On Football Spread

Football Betting Strategy - How to Win Football Bets EveryTime

You're tired of putting money on football matches, only to lose out when it comes to the crunch. You want answers, and you want them fast - you want a Football betting strategy that works!. Stick with us, and we'll show you how to win football bets.

Get to Know Football

I know, it's a pretty obvious point to make, but would you go into a computer shop and say to the person behind the counter, 'I don't know much about computers, but give me the best one you have'?

Nope, you'd find out what you could about computers from websites, magazines and word-of-mouth before going shopping, because the last thing anyone wants is to get fleeced. You've got to know your market, whether you're looking at buying a new PC or betting on football.

This means making sure you have all the knowledge at your disposal that could be useful. With these, you can understand how to win football bets every time. From where can you get this knowledge? Allow me to explain.

Statistics
It's a point we often make on Bookiesmash, but the best bets are not made on hunches or hope. They're made on a clear understanding of what football teams, and footballers, do best. This means looking at the statistics on offer from various websites.

Bookiesmash is a good place to start. We analyze the games, looking at past form, player fitness, and how teams are set up. We also provide you with regular content that puts all that together and explains to you how to win football bets better than Yahoo Answers ever could. Simply put we give you the best possible information out there in order for you to develop your own personal Football Betting Strategy that works for you.

Check out our Football Betting Strategy 101 section for updates on the latest changes in football betting strategy, and we'll make sure you get the best possible return for your football bets.

Go Deeper
It's notable that a lot of recent success stories in football have been teams that have taken a statistical approach to the game. Footballers are not machines, but you can track their every move out on the pitch now, and there are sites that can tell even the newest bettor important tips on how to win at football betting.

Best Football Bets For Today

The best on the web, in our opinion, is whoscored.com - a goldmine of statistics on the best goalscorers, defenders, and so on. You can use the data on whoscored to show, for example, the teams in any major league which score or concede the most goals before or after half time; with this information, you could place a bet on the Half-Time/Full-Time result.

There is a world of information on whoscored, and it's very easy to get lost in it - so take your time, get to know the stats, and don't be afraid to ask questions, either of your old friend Google or that mate we all have who knows everything about the game. A bit of extra knowledge, and you will know how to always win football bets.

Get to Know Different Kinds of Bets

How about the different kinds of bet you can make on a football match? There are many, some of them with great value to the smart bettor, others proving a bit of a distraction from the top prizes. Be careful what you put your money on, and you won't go wrong.

Bets on exact scores are the ones that people seem to flock to - but they shouldn't. Why? Well, for starters, they're not going to win you the big money the high odds promise, unless you're very fortunate. Let's suppose you bet on Team X to beat Team Y 2-0. What happens if team Y scores in the final minute to make it 2-1? You've lost a lot of money, that's what.

Protect yourself from this nightmare scenario, by betting on odds that might be shorter, but are for more likely occurrences. These might be the overall result (win, lose or draw), or the previously-mentioned Half-Time/Full-Time result, a useful bet if you know a team that has a few slow-starters in its ranks.

Rather than betting on the first goalscorer, as the TV commercials always implore you to do, think if that is the most sensible thing to do. Sure, your chosen player might be good. In fact, he might be the best goalscorer in the land. But how likely is he to score before anyone else, and will it really make a difference to the team's result whether he scores first or second?

Better to bet on your player scoring anytime. The odds aren't as long or as attractive as with first goalscorer, but you're more likely to win the bet, and so to get a return. This is another example of, with a bit of astute application of knowledge, how to always win football bets.

Accumulators
The accumulator, or acca, is the bet that can go so right, or so wrong, because of its increased level of risk.

What you do is put together a series of bets, usually on the same thing, across multiple matches. You might bet on the winner of, say, five different matches, with the aim of getting a bigger return when those matches are all over. Here and in Football Betting 101, we'll show you how to win football accumulator bets.

The benefit and the problem with accas is that, although when you add the matches together, they make for very attractive odds, if you invest in a five-fold (five-match) acca on match result, and four teams win but one team loses, you've lost your acca.

To avoid this situation, study team form carefully, look at sides in all major leagues which are on winning runs or which are facing sides that they are likely to beat, and place your bets accordingly. Look out for bookmakers offering promotions such as acca insurance - this is a way of getting your money back, usually as a later free bet, if one part of your acca lets you down.

The Bookie

In the middle of all this stands the bookmaker or bookie. This is the company that sets the odds that you will bet on. Choose your bookie wisely. On Bookiesmash we've got the best bookies reviewed and rated - check out all the different sites available to you, check out the statistics behind the football, and you will understand how to win football bets every time.

You can use these free money offers to place your first bets:

_{picture courtesy of sportskeeda.com}