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For millions of fans, learning how to bet on the NFL has provided a fantastic platform to try and profit from their love for the game.
As if watching the NFL wasn’t enjoyable enough, fan-based betting is fuelling a staggering $100 billion a year in gambling revenue – making the NFL the most wagered-on sport in the US.
If you’ve always wanted to turn your passion into a rewarding pastime, our handy step-by-step NFL betting guide is here to help you get started.
How to Bet on NFL Games – Step-by-Step Guide
The great news is it’s quick and easy to get started by simply following our step-by-step guide below.
There a hundreds of top NFL betting sites around, but we’ve used BetOnline as our example as it’s one of the best.
Find a Sportsbook
First, you’ll need to create a sportsbook account, and the exciting part is most sites offer significant sign-up bonuses to help boost your starting betting bank.To help you out, we’ve created a shortlist of the best NFL betting sites and their welcome codes you can use.
Create an Account
Once you’ve found a site you like, the next step is to sign up by entering your personal information, creating a username and password, and agreeing to the site’s terms and conditions.
Deposit Funds
Next, head to the section that allows you to make an initial deposit into your new account. Sportsbook offers a range of payment methods including credit/debit cards and cryptos – just don’t forget to include your promotional sign-up code.
Navigate to the Sportsbook's NFL Betting Section
Deposit and bonus collected… now you’re ready to explore the NFL sportsbook markets. Clicking on the NFL tab will typically showcase a list of upcoming fixtures – pick the game you’re interested in, and it will reveal the different betting markets for that matchup.
Place a Bet
Once you’ve picked an NFL game you’re interested in betting on, simply select the result you think will happen and the amount you wish to stake. The sportsbook will then automatically calculate your potential payout based on the odds and your bet amount and add it to your bet slip.
Example of an NFL Bet
Let’s start our NFL betting guide by explaining how the American odds format works.
Using the advertised odds for week one’s blockbuster game between the current Super Bowl Champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, against the Baltimore Ravens as an example, here’s how it works.
- Kansas City Chief: -147
- Baltimore Ravens: +127
Here, the sportsbook has made the Chief’s favorites as indicated by a minus (-) figure and marked the Ravens as underdogs with a plus (+) figure in front of the betting odds.
The result of which means if you believe the Chiefs (-147) will win, you’ll need to place a $147 bet to win $100. If the Chiefs are successful, you’ll receive your original $147 stake back, plus $100 in winnings.
However, if you believe the Ravens (+127) will win by placing a $100 bet if they come away with the victory, you’ll get your original $100 bet back, plus $127 in winnings.
Types of NFL Bets
One thing you’ll notice when learning how to bet on NFL games is the variety of markets and types of bets available.
To help you out, we’ve outlined the most popular types of bets you can use when betting on NFL football games below.
NFL Betting Tips and Strategies
A comprehensive NFL betting guide wouldn’t be complete without a section dedicated to strategies that will enhance your gameday wagers.
So, here are a few top tips that you can use across the moneyline, points spread, and totals betting markets.
Fading the Public
A common strategy in NFL betting is “fading the public,” which involves betting against the majority opinion or consensus.
Sometimes also known as betting against the market, the odds typically shorten when money pours in for the same result.
As a result, fading the public means betting on the reverse result, which provides an opportunity to capitalize on potentially inflated odds.
Bankroll Management
Bankroll management is a key element to early success when learning how to bet on NFL games.
Ideally, it’s best to allocate between 1% and 5% of your bankroll per bet.
It’s crucial to stick to these betting limits, never chase losses, and do not risk an excessive portion of your bankroll on a single bet, as it only takes a couple of losing bets to deplete your funds when using larger stakes.
Finding Value
Value bets are a fantastic way to continually grow your betting bank account, which relies on identifying sportsbook prices with higher odds than the probability of the event happening.
You can find these value bets by researching a team’s form, player performances, injuries, and other relevant factors to help you spot value in the betting lines ahead of an NFL gameday.
Line Shopping
Line shopping involves comparing betting lines from multiple sportsbooks to find the best possible odds for a particular game.
The best online sportsbooks may all have slightly different lines based on their assessments and the betting activity they’ve received. Line shopping ensures you get the most favorable odds, maximizing potential profits and minimizing losses.
Home Field Advantage
Another crucial factor in NFL betting is recognizing the value of a team’s home-field advantage when learning how to bet on the NFL, as it’s amazing how a home crowd can help sway a game’s outcome.
Home field advantage can not only give the host team an edge in close games, but on occasion, it can also result in underdogs upsetting a solid favorite on paper to defy the odds.
Monitoring Betting Lines
Betting lines are dynamic and driven by factors such as injuries, weather conditions, and public betting trends, which result in line price changes in the run-up to kick-off.
Keeping an eye on line movements prior to a game is excellent at helping identify new value bet opportunities. However, if the line prices start to change dramatically, it could indicate crucial new information is available that might prompt you to modify your pre-game betting strategy.
Researching Picks
To truly be profitable when betting on the NFL, you must ensure you comprehensively research your bets before making any wagers.
Spending time analyzing current team form, historical matchups, and player performance data provides valuable insight into how a game might play out. Factors such as player injuries, dips in form, and head-to-head statistics are all leading factors that can influence the result in your favor.
Most Successful NFL Teams
As every NFL fan knows, just getting to the Super Bowl is a hard enough accomplishment in itself… being crowned champions and lifting the Vince Lombardi Trophy is a feat reserved for only one elite team per season.
In fact, twelve of the thirty-two NFL teams have never experienced winning the Super Bowl, four of which have never even been to the big show – which makes the achievements of the following teams all the more impressive.
Here is a list of the most successful teams in NFL History:
1. New England Patriots
Super Bowl Wins: 6 (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLIX, LI, LIII)
Franchise History: The New England Patriots’ first Super Bowl victory didn’t come until 2002 under the leadership of head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady.
However, their dominance led to two decades of unparalleled success, resulting in 9 Super Bowl appearances in 20 years.
Legendary Players: Tom Brady is arguably the greatest quarterback of all time and was the face of the Patriots franchise for two decades.
Others also played a part, Brady enjoyed standout partnerships with tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receiver Julian Edelman that led to numerous Super Bowl victories.
2. Pittsburgh Steelers
Super Bowl Wins: 6 (IX, X, XIII, XIV, XL, XLIII)
Franchise History: The Pittsburgh Steelers were an NFL juggernaut in the 1970s, securing four Super Bowl victories in that decade alone.
Renowned for its dominant “Steel Curtain” defense, the Steelers were led by Hall of Fame coach Chuck Noll, who headed the team for 23 seasons between 1969 and 1991.
Legendary Players: Terry Bradshaw, star quarterback, and two-time Super Bowl MVP, formed a potent connection with wide receiver Lynn Swann, while Mean Jo Greene led the defense throughout the 1970s.
A more recent noteworthy inclusion is quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who won Pittsburgh’s last two Super Bowls in the early 2000s.
3. San Francisco 49ers
Super Bowl Wins: 5 (XVI, XIX, XXIII, XXIV, XXIX)
Franchise History: The San Francisco 49ers experienced their greatest success under the leadership of head coach Bill Walsh, who pioneered the West Coast offense that revolutionized the modern game.
Coached by Walsh to three Lombardi Trophies, San Francisco won all five of their Super Bowls between 1982 and 1995.
Legendary Players: Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana was known for his throwing accuracy and ability to perform under pressure, and he led the 49ers to four of their five Super Bowl wins.
It was Montana’s partnership with arguably the greatest wide receiver of all time, Jerry Rice, that combined to create one of the most lethal attacking duos in NFL history.
4. Dallas Cowboys
Super Bowl Wins: 5 (VI, XII, XXVII, XXVIII, XXX)
Franchise History: The Dallas Cowboys gained the nickname “America’s Team” under the guidance of head coach Tom Landry, who innovated the “Flex Defense” used by most NFL teams today.
The Cowboys also won three Super Bowls in four years in the early 1990s, two of which were under coach Jimmy Johnson.
Legendary Players: Boasting two NFL Hall of Fame quarterbacks in the form of Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman, Cowboy fans also argue Tony Romo is deserving of being the third.
However, Dallas was also home to the superb Deion Sanders, who played offense and defense for the Cowboys, along with the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, Emmitt Smith.
5. Green Bay Packers
Super Bowl Wins: 4 (I, II, XXXI, XLV)
Franchise History: The Green Bay Packers were the early NFL powerhouses winning the first two Super Bowls under the legendary Vince Lombardi, for whom the Super Bowl trophy is named.
Lombardi was known for his tactical brilliance, introducing the offensive scheme known as “Packers Sweep,” which became a hallmark of his coaching style.
Legendary Players: Lucky enough to already have two Hall of Fame quarterbacks in Bart Starr and Brett Favre, the Packers were also home to future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers.
Special mention also has to go out to defensive end Reggie White, who played a key role in the Packer’s Super Bowl XXXI victory and was voted #7 on the list of the NFL’s greatest players.
6. Kansas City Chiefs
Super Bowl Wins: 4 (IV, LIV, LVII, LVIII)
Franchise History: The Kansas City Chiefs, under coach Andy Reid, are on the verge of achieving NFL immortality as they strive to be the first team ever to win three Super Bowls in a row.
After winning the Super Bowl in 1970, Chief fans had to wait 50 years to claim their second, and have lifted the Lombardi Trophy three times in the last five seasons.
Legendary Players: While Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson is recognized for leading the Chiefs to their first-ever Super Bowl win, Patrick Mahomes is credited with reinventing the quarterback position entirely.
Partnering over the years with speedster Tyreek Hill, tight end Travis Kelce, and Chris Jones leading the defense, today’s Chiefs are a modern-day NFL dynasty.
Conclusion
As you can see, the NFL is rich in wagering opportunities, allowing you to leverage your footballing instinct and insights as you develop and learn how to bet on NFL games.
Applying the knowledge gained from this NFL betting guide and utilizing the different bet types, you, too, can start creating your own betting strategies to monetize watching your favorite sport.
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