In the last decade or so, fantasy football and other types of sports betting emerged. The stigma surrounding all types of pokie games and online gambling dissipated as tons of fans took their passion for the sports one step further.
This opened up the industry for more platforms to offer better options and exciting offers. Not to mention how much more convenient it is to participate. You can now place and track your bets on your phone or tablet. It’s something you don’t need to do at specified times, you can receive updates instantly from anywhere, at any time.
Additionally, now that sports betting is completely legal and regulated in so many regions. Millions of first-time bettors will be joining online casinos and sportsbooks to place bets on football and every other type of sport in existence.
Most might find themselves a little lost when it comes to the terminology and rules of betting on football online. Therefore, we put together this short guide of the most important and common tidbits to get you started!
How Much Should You Bet?
Your bets will depend on your personal and account limitations. You will always have the final decision about how much you spend betting on football. Just like with casino gaming, it’s always best to play with only an amount you can afford to lose. You will have great days where you win but be prepared for days when things just don’t go your way.
Most experts recommend flat betting on football. What this means is that you bet the same amount on every game, and the only risk losing up to five percent of your total per play. For example, if your bankroll is $100, you shouldn’t bet more than $5 in each game.
This will protect you from losing your entire bankroll for the day, week, or month in one play. While also setting you up for decent wins when you do get lucky.
Common Terms in Football Betting
Spreads
There are two main categories of bets, favorites, or underdogs. Your first point spread is essentially on the margin of how much the team will win. Your favorite will give up points while your underdogs receive points.
Underdogs & Favorites
You’ll see the words underdog and favorites tossed around a lot. Basically, when oddsmakers determine betting lines on games, they must first assign a team as a favorite and another one as the underdog. As the name suggests, the favorite is the one they expect to win and the underdog is expected to lose.
Under/Over the Totals
Once oddsmakers assign the favorite and the underdog, they’ll also release a number of the total points scored by both teams. This is referred to as the total over/under. You can also make a wager on whether you think the game will go over or under this predetermined score.
Moneylines
Another way to bet after underdog or favorite is on the Moneyline. Which is a bet on which specific team will win. Favorite teams always get a minus of a specific number. For example, there might be -100 beside the team, which means that you need to risk $200 in order to win $100.
