Check out our featured game of the day with best-given odds. In order to place a smart bet make sure you read through our preview of the game and injury report. We are here to minimize your daily online research and help you make the right betting decision.
Free NFL picks against the spread
FreeNFL picks against the spread from expert predictions.
Checkout our featured game of the day with best-given odds. In order to place asmart bet make sure you read through our preview of the game and injury report.We are here to minimize your daily online research and help you make the rightbetting decision.
Whilemany sports have a pretty strong following in the sports betting community,there is one that has separated itself from the pack. Football is the topchoice among sports bettors.
Theevolution of football in the general sports landscape has been mirrored by thepopularity of the game among sports bettors. In the first half of the 20thcentury, baseball was the most popular team sport in America.
New YorkYankees slugger Babe Ruth was the biggest sports legend during this era.Football was still evolving at this time. The college game was bigger than theNFL at this point.
In thelate 1950′s, pro football began to become more prominent. The 1958 NFLchampionship game between the Baltimore Colts and New York Giants played a bigrole in the growth of pro football.
Millionstuned in to watch the dramatic, overtime contest on black and whitetelevisions. While baseball was still the top sport heading into the 1960′s,football was closing fast.
The AFLwas formed to compete with the NFL. Both leagues broadcast its games on Sundayafternoons. With the advent of color TV during this period, pro football’spopularity as a televised sport grew quickly.
Theaddition of the Super Bowl and merger of the leagues in the late 1960′s wouldsoon have football on the brink of passing baseball heading into the 1970′s.
The NFLcontinued to grow in the 1970′s. Television ratings climbed for the networks.ABC’s Monday Night Football proved to be an instant hit after debuting in 1970.In the middle of the decade, the sport’s betting aspect was introduced tomainstream America on the NFL Today pregame show on CBS.
FormerLas Vegas bookmaker Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder was part of the telecast eachweek.
Whilepoint spreads and odds were rarely ever mentioned on the show, his predictionsfor the upcoming games were obviously done with the sports bettor in mind tosome degree. By the end of the 1970′s, football was clearly the most popularsport in the nation.
In the1980′s, ESPN and other cable television outlets enabled more college and progames to be shown than ever before. In the next decade, sports talk radio andthe Internet enabled fans and bettors to gain a constant stream of informationrelated to college football and the NFL. Along the way, football betting hasplayed a significant role in the overall popularity of the sport.
FootballBetting Basics
The mostpopular football bet is the point spread wager. Because there are about 40points scored in a typical NFL game and usually a little more in collegecontests, it is useful to have a point spread in place for football.
Due tothe disparity in teams, a typical NFL slate of games on a Sunday afternoon willhave point spread ranges from a pick up to about two touchdowns.
Forcollege games, big favorites can be favored by three, four or more touchdownsin a prospective mismatch. Money line or straight up prices for any pointspread that is six points or higher forces the bettor to lay a huge price towin a far lesser amount by backing the favorite in these circumstances.
Thepoint spread is the great equalizer. Once a point spread is established for afootball game, the bettor only has to lay the vigorish or juice (usually 10%)on the wager. Here is what a typical NFL point spread might look like:
Steelers(+4) Cowboys (-4)
In thisexample, Dallas is a 4-point favorite. The team with the minus points is thefavorite while the underdog club has plus points. To win a bet on the Cowboys,Dallas must win the game by five points or more.
If thebettor backs Pittsburgh, the Steelers must win the game or lose by three pointsor less for the bettor to cash in.
The nextmost popular bet in football is the total or over/under wager. In this type ofwager, the bettor picks an over or under option for the total combined pointsthat will be scored in the game by the two teams.
Thepoint spread and over/under bet options for a particular game are parlayedtogether.
In aparlay, two or more bets are placed on a single wagering ticket. These bets arepopular among novice bettors because there is less risk and more reward for awinning wager.
In atwo-team football parlay, the bettor can win about $260 for a $100 bet. Parlaysare avoided by most professional bettors because all of the bets on the parlayticket must win.
A 1-1record on the two bets of a parlay is the same as an 0-2 record. Both arelosing tickets.
Moneyline bets are more popular in lower-scoring sports, like baseball, but arestill used in football on occasions.
In pointspreads that are small, like a field goal or less, the bettor can place a moneyline bet on a favorite without having to lay a huge price.
In turn,bettors will sometimes focus on underdogs to win straight up due to anattractive plus price on the money line. Prop bets on individual players arealso quite popular among football bettors…Read More
