Football Betting >Pick Tips

From: The MUSCLE

Football Betting Tips for Making Your Weekly Picks!

There are a lot of variables in football - some you can factor in to your game analysis - many you can't. Successful football picks, even for the pros, are hard to come by. Remember, in a very good season a good handicapper will only win 58 out of 100 bets. He bets big though!

A good place to start is early in the week watching the 'NFL wrap' style programs readily available on the TV. Listen to what coaches are saying, what players are saying and assess their levels of motivation. Of course you need to analyse this on the field too on game day.

Through the week, as you get closer to the Sunday kick off, you will get a clearer picture regarding injuries to players, the weather, staff and management changes, rivalries, and NFL gossip (remember the T Owens affair and what a bad effect it had on the Eagles?) Try to understand how these issues might affect the result.

Many more knowledgeable punters like to make their football picks earlier in the week - when the lines first go up. The reason for this is that they can pick up the value. Indeed the sportsbooks expect this early action and it helps them to even out their spreads.

Very often it can pay to get onto a favorite early because that team, especially if it is a popular team, will often have their spread deteriorate during the course of the week e.g from -2.5 to -3. Conversely, it can pay to get on to an underdog later in the week because in order to draw some action on an unfashionable team the sportsbook may move out the line from e.g +9 to +10 or +11.

Of course the danger of getting in your football picks early is that a key participant could be ruled out of the game later in the week, or the weather could change dramatically, which often effects the Totals (over / under) market.

Sometimes, even when virtually all the information points to the favorite winning and covering the spread - you may well still take the opposing team from a value perspective. This likelihood of the favorite winning could already be 'in the price' and you need to know when to leave teams alone. The best way is to have an idea of the spread or odds in your head after you have gathered your information and before you look at the posted line!

Other points, less obvious than some, are also worth looking at. Is the game you are looking ot bet on, a Monday night game going out live to the whole country? You'd be surprised how a dog team can pick themselves up under the spotlight. Also look at whether or not one of the teams has been humiliated by the other in the previous game? Is it likely to happen again - perhaps the spread is skewed due to that last game?

Hopefully the above had proven somewhat helpful and help you to decide on your own football picks and what factors to consider.

Football Betting Lines

By: THE PLAYER

Football Betting Lines
Football betting lines come in many shapes and sizes and give us many different betting opportunities. I’ll explain the many football betting lines you are likely to see, and give you examples of each of them so you understand what you will be looking at. Let’s begin by going over the various football betting lines you are likely to encounter.

The first basic football line lists the side and the total and looks like this: 101 New England Patriots -3 102 Miami Dolphins 41

You are risking 110 for every 100 dollars wagered on either the side or the total. If you like New England, you must win the game by more than three points to collect your bet. If you like Miami, you must either win the game outright, or lose by less than three points to collect. If the Patriots win by exactly three points you get a tie, or what is called a push, and your money is refunded. The total number of points is 41 and you can wager the game to go over or under that amount.

The next betting line is called the moneyline and looks like this: New England -160 Miami +140

The moneyline wager is just a bet on who will win the game outright, no points involved. If you like New England you are risking 160 for every 100 dollars wagered. If you like the Dolphins, and they win, you win 140 dollars for every 100 dollars wagered.

The next most common football betting line you are likely to see is the halftime line. It looks like this: New England PK -140 Miami 19

If you like the Patriots for the second half you are risking 140 for every 100 dollars. If you like the Dolphins you get 120 for every 100 wagered. The take back on the Dolphins is 20 dollars lower than the price on New England; therefore, it is called a 20-cent line. The total of 19 is the amount of points for the second half and you can wager over/under that amount risking the traditional 110 for every 100 dollars bet.

At some sportsbooks you can also bet the first half. The line would look very similar to the example listed above for the second half. You may also find individual quarter bets in the NFL and they would look like this: New England PK -120 Miami 7

That could be the example of a first quarter line and it is the same as the previous examples. Those are the basic football betting lines you are likely to see. Now let’s take a look at another possibility for a football betting line you might see during the season.

Future odds are very common in football as odds are posted for NFL teams to win their individual divisions, conferences, and ultimately the Super Bowl. Odds to win those events are very simple and straightforward and look like this: New England 7-1 Miami 15-1

Those are two examples of odds to win the Super Bowl. You would win 700 for every 100 dollars wagered if New England won the Super Bowl and 1500 for every 100 dollars risked on Miami if the Dolphins won the Super Bowl.

The odds look the same but are lower for winning the conference and individual divisions. College football has similar odds to win the National Championship and the separate conferences. Those are the basic football betting lines you will see during the football season. If there is any line you don’t understand, ask your sportsbook, and they will be happy to explain it to you.