Tips on How To Read and Understand Football Betting Odds

Meta: Reading and understanding betting odds can be a difficult task, so we’ve put together a few tips to help you get to grips with them.

Tips on How To Read and Understand Football Betting Odds

At first glance, the numbers and terms in football betting odds look like an indecipherable language not of this earth. Understanding and being able to interpret and apply this strange language is essential to any online sports betting you might want to do. Without a firm grasp of how these odds work, you’ll be flying blind; and that’s no way to make a good bet!

Worry not; we’ve come to your aid with some simple tips to help clarify the terms and language in the different kinds of online odds that you might encounter when you wish to place a bet on the most exciting upcoming football match. We’ll explain a few of the main kinds of bets you can place on your favorite NFL teams and help you see how to make responsible bets using the information you’ve just learned.

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Point Spread Odds

Point spread odds are one of the most used sets of odds in the sports betting game. Let’s look at the complexities of these odds.

1. The team favored to win must win by a greater number of points than what is listed in the odds to pay out. If there is a -5 next to the team’s name, they must win by more than five points for a bet to pay out. There may be a decimal point in this number; if that’s the case, the team in question needs to win by more than the next full number.
2. The underdog team will pay out if they lose by a number less than the number listed in the spread.
3. If there is a tie, you’ll get your original bet back in full. If the team you bet on scores the exact number listed in the spread, you get your initial bet back.
4. If there is no clear favorite and no clear underdog between the two teams playing, we recommend that you make a “pick ’em” bet. Go with your gut, or take a look at the records of the two teams in question to make a choice on who to bet on.

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Money Line Betting

Money line betting is relatively simple to understand; the odds are only based on which team will win. These odds are a little different to point spread odds but no more complicated when you get down to brass tacks; if you bet on the winning team, you get paid out. If you bet on the losing team, you lose your bet amount.

1. It’s usually more costly to bet on the team favored to win, and the payout is less than you would get if you bet on the underdog and they won.
2. Check the odds for the team name that has the – symbol next to it, as well as the amount that has the – symbol next to it so that you know how much you must pay. If you bet on the winning team, you get your money back plus $100.
3. The team and amount with the + symbol listed are the underdog team and the amount you must bet. Remember that betting on the underdog is far riskier, so you should do your research before making a bet like this. Let’s say that team has +235 odds. If you bet $100 and win, you’ll get $335 back.

Other Bets

1. Parlay Bet. This kind of bet is only an option if you’re betting on a number of games simultaneously on the same sports betting website. If you’re very confident in all your bets, then you may ask to “parlay” them all together and potentially earn yourself a much higher payout. It’s a high-risk, high-reward option, though.
2. Over/Under Bet. Maybe you think that the numbers listed in the odds don’t seem right; you could make a bet that the winners or losers will come in either over or under the odds listed in the spread. You win or lose as usual, but if the scores of both teams combined are the same as your over/under bet, you get your money back in full.
3. Prop Bets. These might have different odds than the ones listed. These bets can be made on absolutely any aspect of the football game; that a specific player might score, pass a given number of yards, etc. You’ll probably have to check with the site what the odds are and then wager accordingly.

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Final Word

Now that we’ve unpacked the seemingly excruciatingly complicated language of online football betting and odds, you can see that there’s not as much to worry about as you thought! If you move forward with this information on hand, you’ll be fully prepared to make responsible bets and hopefully make a little profit at the end of the day!