Normally, when betting against a point spread, you bet $110 to win $100. This is shown as - 110. The extra $10 is known as the vig or the juice. There are sports books out there that offer specials, such as reduced juice (- 105, for example). 105 would mean that youd be betting only $105 to win $100.
NFL football betting involves a betting line, also known as a point spread. For example, lets say Miami is playing against Buffalo. Miami is listed as 7, which means Miami is the favorite. Buffalo would then be listed as + 7, which makes them the underdog. If you place a bet on Miami at 7, then Miami must win the game by more than seven points in order for you to win your bet. If you place a bet on Buffalo at + 7, then Buffalo must either win the game or lose by less than seven points in order for you to win your bet. If Miami wins by exactly seven points, then the game is a push or no action and everyone who wagered on one of the teams gets back their original wager amount.
You can certainly see where there would be much more opportunity to win by betting on Buffalo, since they dont even have to win the game in order for you to win your wager. If you bet on Miami, on the other hand, they could win the game and you could still lose your wager if they do not win by more than seven. This is why many NFL football betting experts wager on nothing but underdogs.
You may also see a Total listed for the game. For this example, lets say there is a Total listed at 43. The total is the number of combined points scored by both teams in the game. If you think the two teams will combine to score more than the posted total of 43, then you would wager Over the Total. If you think the two teams will combine to score less than the posted total of 43, then you would wager Under the Total. If the total score ends up being exactly 43, then the total is a push or no action and everyone who wagered on the total gets back their original wager amount.
For this example, lets say Miami won the game, 27 17. If you placed a bet on Miami at 7, youd subtract seven points from Miamis score, making it Miami 20, Buffalo 17. If you placed a bet on Buffalo at + 7, youd add seven points to Buffalos score, making it Miami 27, Buffalo 24. Either way, anyone who wagered on Miami won and anyone who wagered on Buffalo lost.
The actual final score of the game was Miami 27, Buffalo 17. Thats a total of 44 points. The posted total line was 43. So, bettors who wagered on Over the Total won their bets since 44 is over, or higher than, 43. Bettors who wagered Under the Total lost their wagers.
Those are the basics. I hope the examples above helped those of you who are new to the world of NFL football betting. Youre now ready to begin your own NFL football betting. Good luck.
