How To Make Money On Live Football Betting

Betting on pro football has become more and more popular with each passing season. There’s something about putting intense research in all week to have a litany of bets go your way on (usually) one day a week.

Inplay betting IS the future of profitable betting on football. The sooner the punter comes to realise that and begins to hone their skills on this front, the sooner big money will be made by even the most amateur of football. Betting football parlays is relatively simple in that you need at least two games to make a parlay, and whether or not you chose to use the money lines, point spreads, totals, or any combination of those.

That build-up from Monday to Sunday can be pretty intense, but if you convert even half of your bets, you’re usually coming away in the green.

For some, part of the battle is first finding out the best way to bet on the NFL.

You’ll also want to know the best places to bet on pro football. If you’re looking for reliable NFL betting sites, look no further than these options right now.

Those pro football sportsbooks are incredibly reliable and also happen to offer some of the best wagers and odds you’ll find online.

Beyond knowing which sites you should bet on, of course, you also will want to know which wagers and betting markets lead to wins. Here’s a breakdown of the best ways to make money betting on the NFL.

Before the NFL season even begins, there are so many different ways to bet and potentially profit. This can start with team futures, predicting who will win the Super Bowl, betting on NFL division winners, and so much more.

The point here is you can use your NFL knowledge, some research, and pricing from the top NFL betting sites to carve out some big wins.

Here’s a nice list of the types of NFL future bets you can attack ahead of any given season.

• Super Bowl Winner
• AFC/NFC Conference Winners
• NFL Division Winners
• NFL Division Order of Finish
• NFL Team Win Totals
• Will Teams Make the Playoffs?
• NFL Team Record Wagers

The list is pretty exhaustive, so forgive me if I’m leaving anything out. The idea is that there are 32 NFL franchises, and you basically can target all of them in a litany of ways.

If you think the Cincinnati Bengals will be awful, there are loads of ways you can benefit from their ineptitude.

Yes, you don’t actually have to bet on a bad team to profit off of them. And instead of taking chances against them each week on a game-by-game basis, you can just target them in NFL futures before the season even starts.

This obviously works both ways, so you can take how you view the coming NFL season, and bet on it accordingly. The best NFL sportsbooks may dictate how you view things (and bet) in some regard, but if you think there’s an edge to be had, there’s really no limit in attacking it.

There is a fine line between futures and prop bets, so I’m just including them together. Whatever the exact classification may be, player props and futures are concerning individual players and predicting their future to some degree.

Numerous situations pop up where players are released, suspended, and/or there is talk of a potential trade. When that happens, speculation ensues, and the top NFL betting sites tend to generate NFL player futures that bettors can hop on.

There are also more obvious betting markets like player awards, stat leaders, and others.

Whether you’re betting on which team a player plays for next, who wins the NFL MVP, or how many games someone will miss due to suspension, public information and your own instincts could lead to a winning NFL wager.

Betting on NFL props is understandably not just restricted to season-long wagers. The much more appealing form of NFL prop betting comes in individual games, as you’re rewarded the second the contest ends.

There is a lot of obtainable upside in NFL props from individual games, too, as sites offer intriguing prices depending on the wager.

You can choose to bet on NFL player props, or just bet on props dealing with the game itself. The list of options is quite long, but here are a few popular options you’ll come across in any given game.

• Team points by quarter
• Team sacks total
• Will the game go to overtime?
• Player touchdowns
• Player yardage

I’m not going to list every single viable NFL prop for players and games, but trust me when I say that there are so many that you’d go broke if you bet on them all.

The trick with this type of betting is to look over them all and gauge which ones are not just worth your time but have a good shot at actually paying off.

Some are worth a roll of the dice based on the odds, but typically with props, you’re looking for a stat you think will be produced that may not necessarily be contingent on the game’s outcome.

If Patrick Mahomes is averaging 300 passing yards per game and a site lists his passing yardage over/under at 275 yards, the over may make sense. If a different quarterback has thrown three total touchdowns in his first three games and his passing touchdown over/under is set at 1.5, you may want to go the other way.

The odds will typically nudge you in the right direction. But the beauty here is that there are so many options that you’re bound to fall in love with at least a handful of solid wagers.

There are a lot of ways to set yourself up for winning NFL wagers prior to the season, but you do need to wait half a year to see how those bets pan out.

You don’t have to do that with NFL Preseason betting, which is self-explanatory in that it’s just the act of betting on NFL Preseason games.

There is not a real art to this, as you’re obviously dealing with a lot of meaningless games where star players play very little (if at all), and coaches aren’t always interested in doing everything it takes to win the game.

Where a sport is volatile, of course, there is opportunity to eat up some solid betting value. Most NFL sportsbooks won’t give you a chance at a crazy payoff during the preseason, but you can still profit by betting on these contests.

Just don’t go too hard when betting on the NFL Preseason. The volatility and general feeling of the unknown makes these games fun (and potentially profitable), but not really an area where anyone should comfortably risk a ton of cash in one sitting.

If you’re interested in making money betting on NFL Preseason games, I’d advise you to take most of that knowledge and excitement and focus on regular season contests.

You can obviously establish an edge and win money betting on the NFL Preseason, but regular season games are simply less volatile by nature.

Even NFL playoff games are often difficult to peg, so it makes a lot of sense to target meaningful games during the regular season. You get 10+ of them in any given week, and while there are always going to be landmines just waiting to ruin your day, there are a lot of options that can lead to profit.

One of the most popular ways to make money from betting on the NFL is targeting point spreads.

Due to favorites often garnering huge money lines that return very little money, it can make more sense to just bet on teams to cover or beat spreads. This is a bit of an art that you need to practice over time, and calling it an exact science at any stage is probably a lie.

That said, we can lean on all kinds of ATS (against the spread) data to formulate our bets. More than anything, though, you’re working off of the point spread the betting sites set, and you need to gauge which side of that bet is the most advantageous.

Just be sure you know where the public stands when it comes to ATS betting. Using public opinion when betting on the NFL is an often-overlooked tool, but when it comes to point spreads, we must keep it in mind.

While betting on point spreads can allow you to bet on teams you otherwise wouldn’t or get action on a favorite that is grossly overpriced on the moneyline, sometimes it can be really tricky.

There are certainly spots where the point spread is way too dicey, while there is often way more value to be had by simply betting on a straight-up winner.

Value is in the eye of the beholder, so when I say that, I don’t mean that betting on the Eagles to win at -135 is a better price than betting on the Eagles to win by five at -110.

However, it certainly is a superior price if you, the bettor, believe the Eagles will win but aren’t confident in betting by how much.

In these cases, betting NFL moneylines makes a lot of sense. You can also go the other way and obtain the most value by simply betting on NFL underdogs.

Predict Big NFL Upsets

Nailing NFL upset picks isn’t easy. If it were, everyone would do it for every game, every single week. You can pick your spots, however, putting all types of data, injury news, and matchups to work.

Betting on NFL moneylines can be worthless in both regards, but it can also lead to easy wins and even some extremely profitable victories.

This is another betting art form, as anyone can just bet on all of the underdogs, but actually seeing those value plays coming is easier said than done.

It’s worth attempting, however, as the NFL is extremely volatile, and the sport of football is more of a matchup game than any other sport. Depending on the situation, you can obtain amazing value by backing an underdog.

Here are some things to consider when hunting for a good NFL underdog pick.

• Home/Away Splits
• Injuries
• Matchups
• Star Talent
• Team Record History
• Team Success as Underdog

There are a lot of things that can lead to an upset. If teams are evenly matched, improperly priced, or betting sites don’t adjust pricing in time for injuries, there is a lot of value to be had.

Some teams relish the role of underdog and spoiler, too, while others are especially good at home, on the road, or against specific opponents.

These are all things to consider when betting on NFL upsets. Which teams you go with will differ for a lot of reasons each week, but the quickest way to big money is nailing some elite underdog bets.

While two of the most popular NFL bets are on the moneyline and the point spread, a third most bettors love to target is the game total.

This refers to the combined points two teams will total by game’s end, and the top sportsbooks set this based on each team’s offensive and defensive ability.

The best way to exploit game totals is to find low totals involving bad defenses or underrated offense. That, or you can hop on a total that should be a bit higher than it is when you look at two explosive offenses that are facing off.

The old adage of “always bet the over” is something to consider, and there’s certainly a lot to think about when betting football totals. Ultimately, you’re trying to go over or under the game total, and this tends to be a reasonably easy bet to get the hang of.

Unfortunately, game totals don’t yield much upside, as most max out at +100, and usually, they’re set anywhere from -105 to -120.

String Together an NFL Parlay

Anything I’ve already gone over can be pieced together in a successful parlay bet. You can put together parlays for any betting genre, but they’re especially fun in football if you can string numerous bets that can work in unison.

One good example is if you see a game with a high total featuring two explosive offenses, perhaps you can target the over on a variety of player props.

There are even expanded props that allow you to bet more specifically on how players will perform, and stringing these wagers together can be extremely rewarding.

You don’t have to get crazy with it, though. Simply stacking some point spread, moneyline, or total bets together can end up seeing you cash in with a huge payday.

Just make sure all of those bets are going to win. Otherwise, it’s a wasted wager.

Master NFL Live Betting

Some of this can be applied to NFL live betting, which allows you to bet on an NFL game after it starts.

It makes the whole betting experience much more engaging, too, as you can follow along and track your new bets as the game goes on.

NFL live betting is often used as a hedge to bets prior to the game, but there is a lot of skill and anticipation that goes into this type of betting. So much so that some bettors prefer to only bet on live NFL games, as it eliminates bias from odds and analysis before the game.

Live NFL betting is what it sounds like, but the trick is bettors get to dive into the game and see how it’s beginning to play out.

Spreads, moneylines, and totals will naturally adjust due to how the contest has transpired, while some props will also be available on NFL live betting websites.

Whatever the case, you can gain a real edge if a favorite gets off to a slow start or if there is a game with very little happening in the first several minutes.

The Pro Bowl is akin to NFL Preseason games in that nobody really cares who wins, it’s virtually meaningless, and it’s incredibly volatile.

That said, you can still bet on the Pro Bowl in a lot of different ways. Player prop bets can be fun as you watch the game, while the point spread and moneyline tend to be fairly tight.

The AFC and NFC are both loaded with elite talent, so it really is a toss-up as to who can win in any given year. Should you have a good idea as to which side will win, you’re getting a nice price for what can often amount to a pick’em.

There’s also the game total, which will usually be high given the lack of desire to play defense, as well as some of the most explosive offensive playmakers in the league hitting the field.

Overall, Pro Bowl betting is a bit risky, but it’s plenty of fun, and if you play your cards right, you can win money doing it.

Bet on the Super Bowl

There’s also the Big Game. Everyone loves talking about the Super Bowl each year, and the chatter really never stops.

We discuss the preseason Super Bowl favorites and bet on NFL futures, and we start talking about next year’s game the second this one’s ends.

While you can build things up going into Super Bowl Sunday, you also can take on extra Super Bowl betting action the day of the game.

From wagering on Super Bowl commercials to betting on Super Bowl halftime show props, the opportunities to profit are seemingly endless.

The game itself is a huge draw, but you can also bet on who will win Super Bowl MVP and so much more. The latter is probably one of the best ways to reel in major value during the big game, provided you predict the correct winner.

Thought you were done betting on the NFL following the Super Bowl? Not so fast, as the NFL season truly never ends with hype surrounding the yearly draft.

And once you’re done betting on the NFL Draft, you’re right back to work with NFL free agency, trade rumors, and so much more.

Before you know it, the next football season is right around the corner, and you’re betting on NFL preseason games, NFL futures, and everything else we’ve gone over in this post.

But let’s not gloss over NFL Draft betting here. Before the vicious cycle that is the never-ending NFL calendar year hits the reset button, you can make money betting on the NFL Draft.

There is a litany of ways to do it, but here are the most popular avenues to wager on.

• Top pick in the draft
• Player draft range
• Which team will draft player
• # of players draft by school

There are even more props and futures to work with, but betting on the draft can be easy money if we target the right bets.

Some research is required, and you can gauge how the draft will unfold based on industry mocks, rankings, and team needs.

Summary

As you can see, there is a lot to consider when betting on pro football, and the ways to make money betting on the NFL know no bounds.

Rule number one before placing bets, of course, is to make sure you’re using a trusted site. After that, a good amount of focus should be placed on player rewards, customer service, wagers offered, and pricing.

To ensure you’re getting the best options, check out our approved NFL sportsbooks.

Hopefully, this breakdown of ways to make money from NFL betting is helpful. At the very least, it serves as a reminder that you can bet on the NFL in a plethora of ways, and for some people, maybe some new ways were discovered.

If you’re new to football betting and keen to get involved
then you’ve just come to exactly the right place. On this page
we will teach you all the basics of betting on football, and
make sure that you are on the right track from the moment you
place your first wager. If you feel like you’re ready to dive right in, here are the top football betting sites we recommend:

In our opinion this is one of the most useful beginner’s
guides to football betting you’ll find anywhere on the internet.
It covers everything you need to get started, and yet you don’t
need to worry about getting overwhelmed with detail as we keep
our explanations as simple as possible.

For those who are only really interested in wagering for a
bit of fun, you’ll be ready to go as soon as you’ve finished
reading this page. For those of you with ambitions of making
long term profits, we also point you towards a wide range of
additional information and advice that will help you to achieve
such goals. We’re not promising that we’ll make you an instant
expert, but we’ll certainly give you the chance to become one.

If you’re simply just looking to bet on football games right now we have
listed our top recommendations for online betting sites below. These
are sites that we have found to be trustworthy with our money and
offer football bettors true value.

We recommend reading through this whole page from start to
finish, but we’ve listed the various topics we cover below if
you’d prefer to skip straight to something specific.

How to Bet on Football: Page Contents

Before You Start: Recommended Reading

If you’re already familiar with how sports betting works, and
know a thing or two about football, then please feel free to
skip this section. If, however, you’re completely new to sports
betting and/or not much of a football fan, then there are a few
things you should learn before you start placing bets on
football games.

Firstly you really need to understand the basics of what
sports betting is all about, and what’s involved with placing
wagers. These basics are relatively straightforward, so
thankfully it doesn’t take long to get up to speed. It’s
definitely advisable to familiarize yourself with them though.
Our beginner’s guide to sports betting is the perfect resource
for this. Here’s a selection of some of the topics it covers.

In addition to knowing the basics of betting, you should also
know at least the basics of football too. It’s likely that most
people reading this are big sports fans, and fully understand
it, but that’s not necessarily the case for all our readers. We
like to cater for everyone, so we’ve written the following two
articles explaining all about the game at both professional and
college level.

Different Types of Football Bets

One of the first things you should understand about betting
on football is the fact that there are several different types
of wagers that can be placed. You won’t necessarily use all the
different types, depending on what strategies you employ, but
it’s still advisable to learn at least a little about each one.

Below we look at the two most popular types of wagers, some
of the other commonly used options, and the various options for
wagering on multiple games with a single bet.

The Most Popular Types of Football Bets

There are two types of football bets that are used far more
than any other. Many people who bet on football place only the
following wagers.

• Point Spreads
• Totals

Some readers will already know all about these and how they
work, but we’ll explain a little about them for those that
don’t.

Point Spreads

A point spread is effectively a handicap that’s used to
create a 50/50 wagering proposition. For example, a bookmaker
may offer the following point spread on a football match between
the San Diego Chargers and the Indianapolis Colts.

What this spread means is that, for the purposes of wagering,
the Chargers will have 3.5 points deducted from their final
score. For a bet on them to be successful, they would therefore
have to win by four points or more. The Colts, on the other
hand, will have 3.5 points added to their final score. A bet on
them would be successful if they won the game, or lost by 3
points or less.

You can read more about point spreads on the following page.

Totals

Totals are just as easy to understand. With these, the
bookmaker posts an expected total for the amount of points
scored by both sides. On the previously mentioned match between
the Chargers and the Colts, for example, they might set the
total at 48.50. You then have to decide whether to bet on the
over or the under.

A wager on the over will win if the combined score from the
two teams is 49 or over (e.g. Chargers 29, Colts 24). A wager on
the under will win if the combined score from the two teams is
48 or less (e.g. Chargers 19, Colts 17).

We explain totals in more detail on the following page.

Before we go onto explain some of the other types of wagers
you can place, there’s some very important information that we
need to mention.

The basic principle of point spreads and totals is that you
have roughly a 50% chance of winning, so technically a “fair”
return on these types of wagers should be equal to the amount
staked. However, they are usually priced up by bookmakers at
odds of -110 (1.91 in decimal odds format, 10/11 in fractional
odds format), which means for every $110 staked you stand to win
$100. You don’t have to stake as much as $110 of course, but the
point is that a successful wager will only return 90% of the
amount staked (plus the initial stake of course).

This is because bookmakers are in business to make a profit,
so they effectively charge a commission for taking wagers. This
commission is known as the vig, short for vigorish, and it’s one
of the ways that bookmakers stay profitable. They don’t charge
it just for points spreads and totals either, as it’s built into
the odds for every wager that they offer.

If you have any ambitions of being a
successful bettor, we strongly recommend reading our article
explaining vig and how bookmakers make money.

Other Common Football Bets

In addition to point spreads and totals, there are three
other types of bets that are commonly used for wagering on
football. These are as follows.

• Moneylines
• Props
• Futures

We’ll now provide a brief overview of each of these, and
point you towards some additional information on each one too.

Moneylines

A moneyline wager is very simple. It involves simply backing
a team to win a match, with no point spread involved. The odds
for moneyline wagers are based on each team’s relative chance of
winning. For example, the moneyline on a game between the San
Diego Chargers and the Indianapolis Colts might look like this.

The Chargers are the favorites here, and the odds of -175
mean that a stake of $175 is required to win $100. To put it
another way, every $1.75 staked stands to win $1 if the Chargers
win. Initial stakes are returned too of course.

The Colts are the underdogs, so backing them means the
potential for higher payouts relative to the amount staked. The
odds of +155 mean that every $1 staked stands to win $1.55 if
the Colts win (i.e. a $100 wager stands to win $155 if the Colts
win). Again, initial stakes are also returned.

For more information on moneylines, and the strategy involved
in placing them, please see the following article.

Props

Props, short for propositions, are wagers on outcomes that
are decided during a football game, but are not necessarily
directly linked to the final result. Some examples include the
following.

• The first team to score.
• The distance of the longest touchdown.
• The total passing yards of a quarterback.
• The number of field goals kicked.

These are just a very small selection of some props. Many
bookmakers offer dozens of different options, particularly on
high profile matches. Props are generally considered a fun type
of bet rather than a way to make money, but it is possible to
make consistent profits from them. We explain more about props
on the following page, where we also offer some strategy advice.

Futures

How To Make Money On Live Football Betting Websites

Futures are wagers on how teams, or individual players, will
fare over the course of an entire season. A wager on a team to
win the Super Bowl, placed at the start of the season, would be
considered a future. So would a wager on a team to be the
National Football Conference champions, or a wager on a player
to win the Most Valuable Player award.

There isn’t a lot more to explain about futures, and there
isn’t really much in the way of specific strategy for them
either. We do go into a bit more detail on them on the following
page though.

Betting on Multiple Football Games

A lot of people like to bet on multiple games at once, as
this can provide the potential for big payouts. It’s not
something we particularly advise beginners to get involved with,
but it doesn’t hurt to understand the options available. The
main ones are as follows.

• Parlays
• Teasers
• Pleasers

Let’s take a quick look at what these are all about.

Parlays

A parlay basically combines several different wagers into
one. For example, a parlay could be made up of five point spread
wagers on five separate games. The payout for such a wager could
be very attractive, but only if ALL the wagers were correct.
Just one wrong pick would mean the whole wager failing. That’s
why these are considered quite risky. They’re a bit more complex
than the previous wagers mentioned, but we won’t go into any
more detail here. We do on the following page though.

Teasers & Pleasers

Teasers and pleasers are essentially types of parlays that
use modified point spreads or totals. With teasers, the spreads
or totals are moved in the bettor’s favor. With pleasers, they
are moved in the bookmaker’s favor. There’s plenty more to
explain about these wagers, which we do on the following pages.

Where to Place Your Football Bets

Now that you know about the different wagers you can place on
football, the next step is actually placing them. The question
you’re probably asking now is “how and where can I do this?”
There are a few options, which we list below, but please be
aware that not all of these are available in all parts of the
world.

• Casino Sportsbooks
• Bookmaking Shops
• Telephone Betting
• Online Sports Betting Sites

Casino Sportsbooks

Many casinos around the world contain a sportsbook. They
usually feature several big screen TVs showing any live sports
action currently taking place, and computerized odds boards
displaying all the latest odds. There are typically cashier
windows where you can place your wagers with a real person, but
some books have interactive machines instead. Either way, these
are great places to place some bets and watch the games at the
same time. The problem for Americans, though, is that they are
only legal in Nevada. There are plenty of sportsbooks in Las
Vegas casinos, but not in other parts of the country.

Bookmaking Shops

Bookmaking shops are mostly like sportsbooks, they’re just
not inside a casino. They also generally have lots of TVs
showing sports, and a counter where wagers are placed. These
shops can be found in many countries around the world, but
they’re not legal in the United States.

Telephone Betting

A lot of bookmakers offer telephone betting services, and
they are usually very straightforward to use. It’s a simple
matter of calling the relevant number, telling the operator you
reach which wagers you want to place, confirming the odds, and
then providing your credit card details. Some bookmakers take
other payment methods too, and some even offer credit lines to
select customers.

This is another option that’s not available to Americans. Not
legally at least, as the Federal Wire Act of 1961 made telephone
betting illegal. You might be getting disheartened by now if you
live in the US, and wondering exactly how you’re ever going to
place any wagers. Don’t worry though, as we have one more option
to tell you about.

Online Sports Betting Sites

How To Make Money On Live Betting

Using an online sports betting site is far and away the best
way to bet on football, or any sport for that matter. It’s the
most convenient and accessible option, and there are several
other advantages too. Best of all, it’s legal in the United
States. There are some laws against online gambling in the US,
but these mostly apply to companies and individuals providing
gambling services. There’s no law that states it’s illegal to
use a gambling site of any kind, so Americans are at liberty to
place football bets online if they so choose. We’ve written the
following page explaining things in more detail for those
interested, or you can just keep reading for a quick guide to
getting started online.

Using Online Betting Sites

How To Make Money On Live Football Betting Online

Using sports betting sites to bet on football online is
relatively straightforward. It’s super easy to open accounts at
most sites, and the majority of them are very user-friendly.
Finding and placing wagers generally takes no time at all, and
can be done from the comfort of your own home with just a
computer and internet access. You can even use most sites from a
smartphone or tablet these days.

How To Make Money On Live Football Betting Sites

Please make sure that you use the right sites though. Most
places are pretty good, but there are some that are best
avoided. It’s vital that you use a safe and trustworthy option,
and you also want to use somewhere that is suitable for
football. We suggest taking a look at the following sites.

How To Make Money On Live Football Betting Games

Our Top Ranked Football Betting Sites: