The NFL ranks alongside soccer and horse racing as the most popular sports in the world in terms of fans and viewing figures. That popularity translates to a healthy following amongst online bettors who love making their predictions on the winners of the Super Bowl during the off-season or gambling on fixtures from important game weeks. Betting on the NFL is a popular pastime for both followers of the sport and those with a passion for gambling.
We all know just how competitive the NFL can be, especially when the regular season enters the post-season. For an armchair fan, that competition and excitement make for great viewing, but for an online gambler, it translates into profits. They see dollar signs in their eyes when looking at ways to boost their betting balance while watching the match live on television. Professional bettors know a good bet isn’t just a winning bet. It’s one made at the right price and placed on the safest market. NFL prop bets are popular, as are handicaps and totals.
Learning the tricks of the trade and consistently beating the bookies isn’t easy. The top gamblers benefit from many years of experience and have suffered their fair share of losses over the years while building that experience. But there are a few things you can do as a novice to intermediate sports bettor that could help turn your bets into profits.
DO YOUR RESEARCH
As we’ve already touched upon, the NFL is big business to bookies, and you can be sure the traders have done their research and have the numbers working in their favor. Yes, you can randomly choose bets, and, on occasion, you’ll get lucky and bag a winner, but that’s not a long-term plan for earning profits from your betting. The more research you do into a fixture before placing your stake money down, the better.
You want to arm yourself with as much information as possible to bring yourself closer to the trader. Find out how both teams have been performing in recent weeks, any injury news to their star players, the upcoming schedule, head-to-head scores, interviews, and more. Watch past games, even read the online gossip columns. You want to build up as strong an understanding as possible. There’s an old saying that tells us knowledge is power and that’s certainly true when betting on the NFL.
This takes more time than simply choosing a bet at random, of course, but the rewards are worth it. You can collect all the information, footage, and interviews you need from the internet. It’s all there, and you should take advantage of it. Modern technology helps take much of the guesswork out of betting on team sports, like the NFL.
BROWSE THE BETTING LINES
As an NFL bettor, you aren’t restricted to simply calling the winner of a match. In fact, many markets don’t even require you to choose the team that will end victorious. Browse the markets that are available on the match you want to bet on, and you’ll be surprised by the options available. There’s match-winner, totals, spreads, handicap, first point scorer, winner of the first quarter, and more. The best bookies also add their own specials and promotions, like cashback and profit boosts or enhanced odds on parlays. There’s so much going on; the most difficult thing is choosing just one bet to have.
How do you decide on the right bet for you? Go back to the previous step and study the stats. A worthwhile bet will often make itself known to you. That could be a team that has been putting up some big numbers, and you’d back them on the handicap, or a meeting of two defensive sides, and you want to go under on the total points.
CONSIDER LIVE BETTING
The most popular way to bet on an NFL match is before kick-off, but why is that the case. You can gamble on a game before the start or at any time during the play. When betting pre-match, you are guessing at many important factors, such as the weather, formations, the mood of the officials, the crowd, and more. When biding your time and betting in play, however, you have all this information already. Study the opening few minutes or even the first quarter before betting. You’ll now have a stronger understanding of the game plan of both sides and how the match should play out.
