Betting Football at Online Sportsbooks

Online sportsbooks catering to US bettors such as Vice offer a full array of betting options for American football in the NFL and the NCAA. Over the years, this has turned into the biggest betting sport in the country.

It is extremely easy to bet on football which helps add even more excitement to the action on the field. The four most basic ways to bet on football and football games are with the use of:

• Pointspreads
• Total Lines
• Moneylines
• Futures and Props

Betting a Football Pointspread

A football pointspread is not the predicted margin of victory between the favorite and the underdog. It is actually a handicapping tool used to balance out the money bet on either side (team) in a game.

The favorite gives points to the underdog as follows:

New York Giants +7

Philadelphia Eagles -7

In this betting scenario, Philadelphia is the home team (listed second) and it is favored by seven points (minus sign). If the Eagles win by eight points or more, they are the winning bet. If the Giants win or lose by six or fewer points, they are the winning bet.

If the Eagles win by exactly seven points, the game has no betting action as a PUSH (tie). That is why most football pointspreads add a ½ point to the betting line.

Betting a Football Total Line

Another popular way to bet on any football game is the OVER/UNDER on the combined total score. All points count through four quarters of play plus any points scored in overtime to break a tie.

It does not matter which team wins or loses. This bet pertains to the combined score of each team. Using the same game above, the total line is presented as follows:

New York Giants          (OVER) 49

Philadelphia Eagles   (UNDER) 49

If the total combined score is more than 49 points, a bet on the OVER wins. If the combined score adds up to less than 49 points, the UNDER would be the winning bet. If the combined score adds up to exactly 49 points, the bet would be a PUSH.

Most total lines have an added half point to avoid a tie with no betting action.

Betting a Football Moneyline

While betting the spread remains the most popular way to bet a side in football, most online books such as Vice will also post a moneyline.

This is a straight-up bet on the winning team. It will cost you more to bet the favorite and the overall return is higher for betting the underdog. A football moneyline bet would be posted as follows:

New York Giants +300

Philadelphia Eagles -450

The minus (-) sign indicates the favorite. To take the Eagles as straight-up home favorites, you would have to bet $450 to win $100. If the Giants win the game straight-up as road underdogs, you would win $300 for the same $100 bet.

Betting Football Futures and Props

Football futures odds cover long-range bets such as winning that season’s Super Bowl or college football championship. You bet well in advance of an actual event. Football props cover betting options in the immediate future such as which team scores first in Sunday’s game?

Futures and props are great ways to supplement your weekly betting strategy for the games. The only limit on the types of football futures and props you can bet on these days is the imagination of the online book posting the odds.