By 2016, there were 80 countries around the world with American football federations, and its popularity continues to grow. Increasing global access to online and mobile sports betting means that wagering on American football is expanding too. Here are the basic bets.
Moneyline Bets
Moneyline bets are about picking the winner; there is no spread. Wins are paid according to each team’s odds; favourites pay less for a win than underdogs. In the USA and on many sites these odds are given in a positive / negative format; positive for the underdog and negative for the favourite. Two fictitious teams, the Stars and the Stripes, will illustrate this.
If the underdog Stripes are offered at +140 and they win, anyone with a $100 bet on the Stripes wins $140 plus their $100 back. Divide the positive number by 100 to get the payout odds; in this case 1.4.
As the favourites, the Stars are offered at -250. For negative odds, divide 100 by 250 to get 0.4: a $100 bet on the Stars will only pay $40, plus the original stake. It’s easy to follow once you learn how to convert negative odds.
Understanding The Points Spread
Moneyline bets can make small wins betting on favourites, or occasional big scores on underdogs while losing more often. Betting against the spread makes things more interesting: betting that favourites must win by more than, or that underdogs must lose by fewer than, a designated number of points.
Points spread bets are offered with the odds first, then the number of points. If the Stars are being offered at -125 (-4) they are “laying” points. If you bet $100 and the Stars win by more than 4 points, you win $80 profit. If you bet $100 on the Stripes at +100 (+4), the Stripes are “getting” points and must lose by less than 4 for you to win even money.
Other Options And Hedging
American football also offers futures betting: you can, for example, back next year’s Superbowl winner before the season starts. Props bets let you wager on specific events during a game or a season, or you can bet on individual quarters or halves in a game. Over/Under bets rely on picking a total number of points scored in a game, or by a team, or an individual player, or in a quarter, etc., and betting whether the result will be over or under that number.
Because NFL games only play on the weekend, you have a whole week to follow form and betting, trying to hedge your bets. Favourites might start the week barely ahead in the betting, and then find their odds reduced substantially by Friday, after more fans bet on them. Underdogs can likewise see their odds get bigger.
So, an early bet on a favourite that pays even money and a later bet on an underdog with huge odds is one way of hedging bets to ensure you at least break even, no matter who wins. You’ll get to know more hedging strategies as you become more familiar with all the bets.