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NFL Betting - different wagers explained
by
Bettorsworld.com
In
this article we review and comment upon the basic and exotic types of bets
available to players who want action on the NFL. First, a couple of
"warnings"
1)
Not all bookies offer all of the bets below.
2)
Not all bookies offer the bets at exactly the same odds. The odds listed are
what I perceive to be the industry standard, and rarely should you accept worse.
Occasionally you'll find shops offering more generous odds, be it on a week-in,
week-out basis or as a short-term "special".
OK,
for the purposes of explaining the bets we'll assume the following first week
lines in the NFL. For more info on what a line is (and isn't), see the first
article in the series.
Patriots
47.5
JETS
6.5
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Oakland
45
GREEN
BAY 10
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Detroit
49
SEATTLE
7.5
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Minnesota
48
ATLANTA
3
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Pittsburgh
7
CLEVELAND
41.5
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Now
here we go:
1)
SIDES
This
involves the smaller number listed by each pair of teams. The team beside the
smaller number is favored by that many points. (So the Jets are favored over New
England by 6.5, Green Bay is favored over Oakland by 10, Seattle by 7.5, and so
on.)
Pick
the team you like to win the game, including the handicap. You risk $11 for
every $10 you want to win from the bookmaker. If you choose Seattle, Seattle
must win by more than 7.5 points (so 8 points or more). If you prefer Detroit,
Detroit either has to win on the field or lose by 7.5 points or less for you to
win your bet. So it doesn't only matter, sometimes, who wins the game, but who
wins including the handicap or "spread".
If
Detroit wins, Detroit bettors win.
If
Seattle wins by 8 or more points, Seattle bettors win.
If
Seattle wins on the field by 7 points or less, Detroit bettors win because
Seattle "didn't cover the spread".
Suppose
in the Pittsburgh-Cleveland game Pittsburgh wins by exactly 7 points, the line.
In that case all bets are considered off, and risked money is just returned to
bettors. This is called a "push", "wash", "jerk",
and other things I can't print here.
This
is the most common bet in football. If you're risking $11 to win $10 on each
bet, you must be right 52.4% of the time to break even.
2)
TOTALS
This
involves the larger number associated with each pair of teams. This is the
"Over/Under" number, and it's listed beside the underdog.
Envision
the total final score of both teams in the Pittsburgh-Cleveland game. If you
think it'll be "OVER" 41.5, risk $11 to win $10 from your bookie. If
you think it'll be 41 points or less, bet the same amount on the
"UNDER". Overtime counts!
If
the Minnesota-Atlanta game ends 28-20 for a total of 48, that's a push treated
the same way as a side that pushes. Bettors just get their money back.
Another
common bet, the "TOTAL" can see the bettor cheering both teams'
offenses, or both teams' defenses. At the dorm one year in university I had the
over on the Super Bowl. More than a few people were confused why I wanted both
the Bills AND the Giants to run it up!
3)
PARLAYS (in Europe, "ACCUMULATORS")
Number
of Teams .......... Odds
2
........ 13/5
3
........ 6/1
4
........ 11/1
5
........ 20/1
6
........ 30/1
7
........ 50/1
8
........ 70/1
In
a parlay, you pick two or more sides, totals, or a combination of sides and
totals, and if they all win, you win at the odds quoted. If one or more of your
picks loses, your bet loses. A popular bet is one that parlays the side and the
total in the same game often "favorite and over" or "underdog and
under".
Pushes
in Parlays: If one of your picks pushes, most places use "ties
reduce": that one part of your parlay that pushed was deemed not to have
been played and you now have a parlay with one pick less. So if you played a
5-team parlay and 4 of your picks won and 1 pushed, you would be credited with a
winning, 4-team parlay. Avoid any shop where ties on parlays lose.
In
general, multiple team parlays are BAD BETS! The true odds of hitting a 2-teamer
is 3-1 and a 3-teamer 7-1, so the standard odds above give the bookie a modest
edge. The bookie's cut gets big thereafter though: The true odds on a 4-teamer
are 15-1, on a 6-teamer 63-1, and on an 8-teamer 255-1; the payoffs aren't
nearly that good! Some people say "Well it's like the Lottery...maybe the
jackpot should truly be $20 million, but who's going to complain about winning
$7 million?". Take that philosophy if you like, but take it at your own
risk.
4)
TEASERS
This
bet is so named because it can tease the player into thinking he has the
advantage over the house. We'll discuss 2-team teasers, but teasers of more
teams are also available and work the same way.
2-Team
Teaser
6
Points: 10/11
6.5
Points 5/6
7
Points: 10/13
Pick
two sides, two totals, or one of each. Like a parlay both must win, but you get
to move the line in your favor by 6, 6.5, or 7 points depending on how much you
bet.
If
you like Seattle and the over in the Pittsburgh game and you choose a 6-point
teaser, then you lay $11 against your bookie's $10 and you need Seattle to win
by (7.5 - 6) only 1.5 points or more and the total in the Pittsburgh game to go
over (41.5 - 6) only 35.5.
If
you like New England and the under in the Pittsburgh game on a 7-point tease
then New England has to win or lose by (6.5 + 7) at most 13.5 points and the
Pittsburgh total has to go under (41.5 + 7) a score of 48.5.
Books
treat pushes within teasers differently from place to place. Check out the
shop's rules before you bet. Be sure to avoid a place where "ties
lose".
Is
the teaser a good bet? A teaser is a lot like a cello recital. Done properly,
with attention to subtleties, it can be beautiful. Done incorrectly, it's the
ugliest thing ever. A future article will be entirely devoted to teasers.
5)
MONEY LINES
Some
people prefer to bet on which team will win the game without the use of the
spread. This is called "betting on the money line" or "betting
straight up".
On
the Patriots-Jets game you might see a money line of:
Patriots
+$240
Jets
-$280
The
minus number goes with the favorite. That is how much you must risk on that team
to win $100 of your bookie's dough.
The
plus number goes with the underdog. That is how much your bookie would wager
against your $100 if you took that team.
If
there is no favorite, each team is listed at -$110. For either side you must
risk $110 to win $100.
Money
lines can be parlayed; consult a book on sports betting for how to calculate
payoff odds. (All baseball odds are money lines, so a book on betting baseball
would have this for sure.)
Most
shops have a fixed conversion table for spread odds to money line odds. 3-point
favorites are near -$150 on the money line, touchdown favorites near -$300, and
10-point favorites near -$500. Most shops won't have a money line on a game
where the spread is more than 14 points.
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Most
shops have all the above bets available. The following bets are slightly more
"exotic" and are hit or miss. Some books cover exotics, some don't;
those that do may have some and not others.
6)
1ST HALF and HALFTIME LINES
These
are very common now. Before the game the book will offer a line on the first
half side and total. Once again you lay $11 to win $10 and the bet is
"finished" at halftime. Similarly, at the half, bookies will deal a
line on the second half of play only (but this does include overtime, if any).
Many
people beat these lines with great frequency. I haven't figured them out yet.
Worse, they can be abused by dummies like a guy I know in town: ESPN's Sunday
game comes on here at 9pm, and this year MNF has unfortunately reverted to its
old time slot, 10pm. If he has a long day ahead of him my friend will just best
the first half numbers so he won't "have to stay up to see if he
wins".
7)
"IF"S
With
apologies to Rudyard Kipling, the "if" bet is more about being a
manager of money than about being a man. You call in two bets at once but the
second one only plays "if" the first one wins. Usually the second bet
is on a game that will start before the bet on the first game is decided. Be
very clear with the clerk that you are placing an "if" bet. (Say
"if" a LOT!).
You
may decide you like the Jets and Detroit in Week 1, but you want to limit your
risk. So you decide to bet $110 to win $100 on the Jets -6.5, and then instruct
your bookie to put $110 on Detroit +7.5 on the West Coast game, but only if the
Jets win for you in the early game.
If
both teams win, you win $200...$100 from the Jets and $100 from Detroit. Nice.
If the Jets win but Detroit loses on you, you're out $10: The Jets won you $100
but you lost $110 on Detroit. If the Jets don't win by 7 or more, you lose
$110-your Jets bet. The Detroit bet doesn't happen because the Jets didn't win
for you.
So
you can win $200, or lose pennies, or lose at most $110.
8)
REVERSES (Sometimes called "if-and-reverse")
The
reverse is two "if" bets on the same two teams, with each team on the
front end once (and so each team is on the back end once as well). A
"Reverse" on the above teams is simply the addition of a mirror
"if" bet: one that puts $110 on Detroit no matter what, and if Detroit
wins, puts $110 back on the Jets.
So
if both teams win, you win $400-two times $200, the total winnings on a single
"if".
If
one team wins, you lose $120. Lets say the Jets win but Detroit loses. In the
"Jets first" side, you won $100 on the Jets, but you then lost $110 on
Detroit. Down $10. On the "Detroit first" side, Detroit lost, so you
lose $110, and the Jets bet never happened. So you lose $10 plus $110 for $120.
If
both teams lose, you're out $220. Both front-ends are losers so both back-ends
are thankfully void!
Some
people like parlays, some prefer reverses. Get opinions on this in the posting
forum. I prefer single bets rather than parlays or reverses!
9)
ACTION POINTS
Somebody
once called this "the crack cocaine of wagering". I wish people used
more creative analogies. It's just another intriguing bet!
You
not only back a team to cover the right side of the spread, but your payoff
depends on how well they do it. Suppose you like Atlanta -3 over Minnesota.
Figure out your unit-bet. Let's say it's $10. For every point more than three
that Atlanta wins by, you win $10. For every point Atlanta falls short of
winning by three by, you lose $11.
If
Atlanta won by 10, you'd win $70: Take the winning margin (10), subtract the
spread (3), and multiply the result by your unit-bet ($10). If Minnesota won by
3, you're out $66: Atlanta came up six points short of winning by three, so
multiply 6 by your unit bet to figure out your loss.
Most
shops "cap" a win or loss at 15 or 20 points, and clients can usually
lower the cap number when the bet is placed. So if Atlanta loses 56-7, you're
not out $520. If they win in a rout, in this example you win a maximum of $200
on a 20-point cap. Most people who bet action points bet them when they smell a
blowout.
Playing
Action Points offshore requires a big bankroll because most shops require you to
have in your account enough money to cover an "absolute loss" of the
cap number of unit-bets.
10)
SUPREMACY or SPREAD BETTING (European & some Australian Books)
This
bet emerged from financial districts in London, Madrid, and likely other stock
exchanges. It's the European version of Action Points.
The
term "Spread" here is NOT the traditional spread. In the Atlanta
example above, instead of booking Action points on Atlanta -3 (or Minnesota +3)
the bookmaker would list what he calls the spread here as something like
"Atlanta, 1-5".
The
good news is that winners earn $10 a point and losers lose $10 a point, not
$11/point per action point loss. The bad news is that it's a split-line:
Atlanta-backers have Atlanta at -5 (the higher spread number goes with the
listed team, the favorite), and Minnesota-backers have Minnesota +1 (the lower
spread number). What happens if Atlanta wins by exactly 2, 3, or 4 points?
Everybody loses!
Supremacy,
for this reason, is a poor choice for the bettor in comparison to Action Points.
When a game lands splat on the odds-maker's line in Action Points, all bets are
off. In Supremacy, the bookie collects a small sum from everyone. This is
particularly poisonous in pro football when the number 3 lies within the
spread...a disproportionate number of games are decided by exactly three points.
11)
BUYING POINTS
Suppose
you like the Patriots at the quoted line of +6.5, but you "really"
like them +7. If you can't find +7 at another shop, you can move the line half a
point ("buy" a half point) in your favor by laying $12 to win $10
instead of $11 to win $10. On a to-win-$10 bet, each half-point move will cost
you an extra $1 of risk. One exception is moving "onto" or
"off" the number 3, which usually costs $1.50 of risk to move both on
and off. (This is because lots of NFL games are decided by exactly 3 points.)
Places that offer point buying will usually let people buy up to between 3 and 7
points.
This
can be useful when the line is around the number 3 in football, but otherwise is
of questionable value. Check out opinions on the subject in our posting rooms.
12)
PROPS ("Propositions")
Any
other strange bet may be referred to as a prop. You may see something in the
Jets game like "Who will pass for more yards, Testaverde or Bledsoe?"
Odds are quoted with each possible outcome in money line format. These are
especially popular for the Super Bowl.
Play
props that interest you, but if you're going to play a lot, look for lines that
don't give the bookmaker too much juice-or you may wind up being squeezed dry.
Bettorsworld.com
About the Author
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