Betting on Football for Gridiron Thrills

Football is the most popular sport in the United States, so it’s not surprising that football betting is on the rise, too. You can place your football bets at BetRivers Online Sportsbook in numerous states throughout the country.

Crisp autumn air, colorful leaves, and the first few flakes of snow – they’re all signs that football seasons is upon us. Each fall, tens thousands of college football players take to the field in hopes of a national championship. And the National Football League gets into gear, too, as players like Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady fight for the chance to play in the Super Bowl.

Football betting is fast-paced fun with a huge variety of wagering options. Are you certain your team will win the Super Bowl? Place a futures bet and wait out the season to see if you were right. Or mix and match parlays, moneylines, and boosts until you have the best odds to win big! Whether it’s the Chiefs or Patriots, the Alabama Crimson Tide or the Clemson Tigers, BetRivers Sportsbook has all the latest football odds each week of the season.

American Football Odds and Betting on Futures

NFL futures bets are a fun way to find out just how savvy you are when it comes to watching professional football. With futures, you bet on an outcome that’s far into the future (thus, the name) and your money is locked in until the event ends. The Super Bowl is, by far, the most popular futures bet in the United States.

If you have a good feel for your favorite team and the level of competition throughout the NFL, you may well be able to predict the teams that reach the playoffs, the NFC and AFC Championship Games, and even the Super Bowl. Put that knowledge to use by placing an NFL futures bet now, before everyone else figures out what you already know.

You can also choose from other NFL betting styles, including: Point Spread, Moneyline, Totals (Over/Under), Teasers, Parlays, Futures, or Props.

All of these bets require different strategies that change along with the ever-shifting odds. By familiarizing yourself with various wagers and balancing them with your knowledge of the game, you have numerous opportunities to win cash each week of the football season.

NFL Odds and NFL Betting Explained

Before each game, oddsmakers create NFL odds for games around the league. Each set of odds shows a number along with either a plus sign (+) or a minus sign (-) denoting the underdog and the favorite, respectively. The number helps you calculate the final payout on a winning bet.

As you check out the odds at your favorite online sportsbook, keep in mind that all NFL betting odds are based on a $100 bet. If you were to bet on the Tennessee Titans (-300) and Kansas City Chiefs (+240) game, the Titans are the favorite and the Chiefs are the underdog. In the end, a winning bet on Tennessee would pay you $133, which includes your initial $100 bet plus $33 profit. If you bet on the Chiefs instead, your $100 bet would return $340, including your $100 bet plus $240 profit.

Football Betting Odds & the Point Spread

The most popular way to bet on college and NFL football is taking a team against the spread (ATS). In this system, you make a bet either the favorite or underdog to cover the point spread. The point spread refers to the number of points the favored team is expected to beat the weaker team by for the bet to win.

As an example, let’s say the Eagles are -3 favorite over the Cowboys, so the Eagles are the favorites and the Cowboys are the underdogs. If you bet on the Eagles, they must win the game by more than three points to win your bet. If you bet on the Cowboys, they must lose by fewer than three points (or win the game outright). If the Eagles win by exactly three points, the bet is considered a push and your wager is refunded.

The vig, or juice, is the what the sportsbook charges for taking your bet. That means whether the bet is on the Eagles or Cowboys, you must wager at least $1.10 for every dollar you win. In other words, a $110 bet pays $100. The typical vig on an NFL wager is -110, but this varies from sportsbook to sportsbook, which is why it’s wise to check odds at different books before you bet on football.

NFL Line Betting

If you bet the moneyline, you’re betting on a team to win the game outright – there’s no point spread involved. Moneyline prices do shift, though, depending on the point spread for a particular matchup. The greater the point spread, the more money you have to wager on the favorite and the bigger return on the underdog, which is why underdog betting can be so profitable.

If the Chiefs are a -300 moneyline favorite, you must risk $320 to win $100. If the Titans are +240 on the moneyline, a $100 bet wins $240, for a profit of $340. Many bettors will the moneyline on an underdog they think has the momentum or matchups to win, simply because the potential payoff is higher than taking a favored team on a straight bet with the point spread.

Football Totals Betting

This is also known as Over/Under betting. The odds depend here on the total number of points the sportsbooks estimate will be scored during a football game. The bettors, then, bet on whether the total score is going to be over or under the one already created by the sportsbook. It’s a way to bet on football without having to pick an outright winner.