Find the Best American Football Odds Online in 2024 at BettingRanker

How to read American football betting odds?

The ball is transferred by carrying it with oneself (rushing), or by throwing and passing from one member of one's own team to another (passing).

Points can be scored in a number of different ways, including passing the ball over the goal line, throwing the ball to a player who has crossed the goal line (which is a touchdown in both cases), or shooting through the goal posts (field goal). The winner is the team with the most points after the time has expired.

The game usually lasts 60 minutes divided in 4 periods of 15 minutes.

All about American football odds, betting lines and spreads

Most of the bets on American football are actually bets on NFL league. The NFL consists of 32 teams, divided into 8 divisions, and each team plays 17 games during the regular season. This is a short season compared to most other leagues, playing from early September to early February.

Due to the short length of the season, the NFL can be a challenge for those who like to bet on the league, as the limited number of games and opposing teams make it difficult to assess the true potential that the teams have. But it is a challenge that everyone faces and can become an advantage for those who are prepared.

American football moneyline odds and how to bet on American football

A moneyline bet is one in which you pick who will win the match. You don't need to predict other aspects of the game just choose the winner between team A and team B. Most beginners choose this type of bet because it seems the simplest.

American football spread

The most popular form of betting on American football is spread which is also called handicap betting. The best way to describe this form of betting is by example. So if you see the game between the New Orleans Saints and the Dallas Cowboys with a -3.5 points spread on New Orleans, what exactly does that mean?

This means that the Saints, in order to cover the spread, must win by a minimum of 4 points. On the other hand, if you're going to bet on the Cowboys, you win if they win or lose by a maximum of three points.

In essence, the bookmaker thereby estimated the margin that makes the game 50-50. In our example, the American football bookmaker has set the spread for New Orleans to -3.5 because he believes there is a 50% chance that Chicago will win by at least 4 points or a 50% chance that it won't.

Unfortunately, if we know that bookmakers do not offer "even money" odds of 2.00, and it is usually odds of 1.85 to 1.90 on spread betting, this means that you need to win at least 52.5% of your bets to break even. This is harder than it seems. Either way, to be successful long-term, the golden ratio would be 55.5%.

American football betting lines explained

Something that is very important to keep in mind when betting on the American football betting lines is something called Key numbers.

Key Numbers are the most common margins of victory in NFL games. In order of appearance, they are 3 points, 7 points and 10 points. Over the past 20 seasons, nearly a third of games have ended with one of these three margins.

So why should you keep Key Numbers in mind? Well, if we consider that in the last 20 seasons 16% of the games ended with a margin of 3 points, it is important that if you bet on the NFL spread you understand the difference between the 2.5 line and the 3.5 line, or 6.5 and 7.5.

Since so many games end on these margins, this means that a 1 point difference between a 2.5 and a 3.5 spread is much more significant than a 1 point difference between a 4.5 and a 5.5 point spread, or even a 2 point difference between a spread from 10.5 to 12.5 points.

To simplify things: let's say the Baltimore Ravens got a spread of +3.5 points. Because the 3-point margin is so established and common, that 0.5 more that the Ravens got above is far more valuable than some 0.5 points in a 5- or 8-point case because they occur far less often.

How to find the best American football betting odds

Given the fact that NFL is the most popular league in the USA, every American football sportsbook offers a variety of lines on the NFL and college football games. Knowing that spread bets are the most common line played on American football, the bookmakers give extra effort to make them as good as it gets.

Still, that doesn’t mean there are not any differences regarding the odds and the lines between online sportsbooks. American football is a sport in which changing one point in the spread is making the biggest difference in all the sports.

Usually, there is at least one week between two games a team plays. In that time many events can occur that will influent the odds and the lines. This is the period when the odds comparison should take place. Any significant change can be used for placing a bet on odds that would bring in good value.

The best online betting sites for American football odds

American football season does not offer many games as baseball and basketball does. This fact makes finding the right American football bookmaker online even more important since you want to have the best possible betting odds and lines ready when the season starts.

10bet, BetVictor, Gunsbet and Melbet offer everything any American football bettor would need.

American football, as one of the most dynamic sports, can be described as a game of chess between two teams. Each team has dozens and even hundreds of actions in their playbook that they have at their disposal and that they have practiced diligently.

Some actions are very safe while other actions are risky, but if they are executed well, they can win a lot of space.

It should be the same with your actions when placing a bet. Make sure you do your homework and find the best bookmaker that you would stick to for the season and hopefully benefit from that.

You cannot influence the outcome of the game but can definitely put yourself in the best possible situation to benefit the most if your bet turns into a winning one.

Tips and tricks for American football betting odds

Hard work and research are two indispensable American football betting online strategies. You need to absorb as much information as possible about the team you are betting on, as well as their opponent. American football is an aggressive sport that often leads to player injuries.

To be aware of whether any key players will be absent from the upcoming event, check the Team Injury Reports. The absence of a key player can lead to a drastic decrease in the performance of the entire team.

In addition to this, one should investigate the statistics of each individual player, the performance of the team in the previous season, see the importance of the matches and other factors that can affect the final outcome.

Also, home field advantage is important in American football games. Do your research by comparing the success of your team's home and away games. According to general statistics, teams playing at home win 60% of the time. Teams playing away may be at a disadvantage due to crowd effect, travel fatigue, time zone difference, and the like.

Finally, we would like to mention that coaches and their tactics play an important role in the final outcome of each game. Coaches use repetitive strategies that can be very good against some opponents and fail against others.

All About American Football Odds