It’s hard to argue that football is one of the most exciting sports when it comes to betting. It doesn’t matter if it’s the Super Bowl or regular season, it seems like there’s an incredible win or overtime thriller every Sunday! With that being said, nobody likes to lose so it’s important to find the best odds possible when betting on NFL football.
There are a few important tricks to keep in mind when making your picks. While these tips may seem simple or obvious, most amateur betting circles fail to account for all of these important factors. If you can follow these steps when betting on NFL football, your odds of making some real money can definitely improve.
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Follow NFL ATS Trends
Every week, football fans study the NFL standings and betting lines, trying to get a feel for the league’s ever-changing pecking order. However, far too many bettors make the mistake of assuming that success on the field equals success against the spread.
Just because a team looks like a Super Bowl contender, it doesn’t mean they are just as strong in the betting community. You can see this trend happening right now with the Cleveland Browns, as they started the year an impressive 6-3 versus their opponents but also went 3-6 in that time versus the spread. The opposite is true as well; if NFL odds makers underestimate a bad team, they could be last in the standings but still have a great record versus the spread. The 2020 Cincinnati Bengals are a great example of this, having gone 6-3 against the spread in the team’s first 9 games, despite just a 2-6-1 record over that time.
If you are looking to improve your odds of winning real money with NFL betting, keeping track of each team’s record against the spread is a must. This information can help bettors determine which teams are more likely to cover the key number, and that can go a long way for your bottom line.
Home Field Still Matters
There are many factors to consider when betting on NFL football, but home field advantage has always been one of the most impactful details in determining the outcome of a game. Playing on your home field provides an advantage for teams in any sport, but this is especially true for NFL football. NFL odds makers recognize this trend, which is why they often include a 3-point advantage for the home team when determining the lines for each game. This is also why the Super Bowl is always played on a neutral field.
NFL stadiums have a larger capacity then most professional sports and it can be very hard for visiting teams to communicate when there are 70,000 fans screaming like crazy. On top of that, most NFL crowds know to stay quiet when the home team’s offense takes the field, so that they can more easily focus. While this advantage is limited in 2020 due to the lack of fans in attendance, there are still a number of NFL stadiums where fans are present during games. Even the Super Bowl, which is only planning on having 20% capacity, will be getting plenty rowdy when the game is on the line!
Another reason why home-field provides such an advantage has to do with travel. Most people do not realize the physical and mental toll of travelling around the country on a near-weekly basis. Even for professional athletes, this type of travel can still be extremely draining. So while the road team must pack their bags, leave their family and travel to another city, the home team can stick to their usual routine and focus on the upcoming matchup.
Single Betting for Steady Profit
When it comes to making real money with NFL betting, this is one tip that eludes most casual sports bettors. With so many tantalizing matchups taking place each Sunday, it’s hard for some bettors to ignore the parlay or teaser options and stick to plain old straight wagers. It’s easy to understand the temptation as parlays and teasers provide the betting community with a way of multiplying their potential payout, but these methods also come with additional risk. For those of you who are looking to get serious and make real money on the NFL, single betting provides you with the best odds of success. This is especially true when placing big wagers for major events like a playoff game or the Super Bowl.
Nearly every NFL betting fan has been faced with this conundrum; they feel confident about the outcome of a game but feel that the payout is too low so they add additional matchups to their wager. This is exactly the kind of thinking that Vegas is counting on, allowing greed to take over from logic and push you towards a losing play. The next time your confronted with this situation, resist the temptation of piling on to your bet and simply focus on the game with which you feel most confident. The payout may be lower than you were hoping for but it’s still a victory and over time those victories will add up!
Be Conservative with Parlay Betting
While it’s true that single betting is usually your best chance of winning money, that doesn’t mean you should never try your hand at parlay betting. As mentioned above, parlay betting is a great method for multiplying your potential payout and hitting a big payday. It’s true that it does increase your chance of losing, but if you feel confident about your picks and are willing to take on the added risk, it’s a great way to land a big score!
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The most important tip to keep in mind when parlay betting is not to get too carried away. It’s easy to keep adding games to your parlay and before you know it you’re looking at an incredible payout of +10000, but there’s a reason why you’re getting such great odds. Some amateur bettors add so many teams that their parlay looks more like a lottery ticket, so it’s important not to focus too much on the payout and keep your wits about you when trying to build a winnable parlay at Bovada.
