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Video Transcript:

Americans love betting on all kinds of pro sports but nothing even comes close to the NFL.

To put things in perspective, the National Gaming Association estimates that Americans wagered 4.6 billion dollars on the 2017 Super Bowl alone.

With all that action and sportsbetting becoming legal in more and more states, it’s no wonder more people want to get in on the action.

Well you’ve come to the right place to learn how.

If you’re already passionate about watching the NFL and you’ve got a good understanding of the sport, the teams and the players you’re already ahead of the game.

In this video we’ll explain the most popular ways to bet on the NFL, step by step, and we’ll also give you a few solid starting points for effective NFL betting strategies.

So, let’s get started.


NFL BETTING ODDS

Sportsbooks in the US use American Odds. They’re included with almost all kinds of bets so it pays to get familiar with them up front.

American odds use either a positive or a negative three-digit number.

This number tells you how much you’ll win on your bet compared to how much you wager.

To make things easier, American odds use a basic unit of $100.

You’ll see why in a second.

Negative numbers tell you how much you have to bet to win $100 in profit. The negative number means THAT team is the favorite which means they’re more likely to win and therefore pay out less.

If the odds were -150, for example, you have to bet $150 to win $100 in profit.

You don’t have to bet exactly $150. You can bet however much you want and the sportsbook will use the odds ratio to figure out how much you win.

When you see a positive odds number, it means that team is the underdog.

A positive number, like +200 for example, is the amount of PROFIT you’ll win for every $100 you bet.

So a winning $100 bet in our example would pay out $300 total, $200 in profit plus your original $100 wager.

When you place bets online it’s all really easy. Just type in how much you want to bet and the site will calculate the odds automatically and tell you how much you stand to win, before you have to actually make the bet.


NFL POINT SPREADS

Point spreads are the most popular way Americans bet on sports. Chances are you’re familiar with the basics but if not, don’t worry, it’s really easy to understand.

Since one team is usually better than the other, sportsbooks use point spreads to handicap the better team and give the worse team an advantage.

They do it by giving the favorite a margin of points they must win by to “cover the spread”. On the flip side, the underdog gets a margin of points they can lose by and still cover the spread.
If your team covers the spread, you win your bet. Let’s look at an example to make it crystal clear.

This weekend the Browns are taking on the Falcons. A point spread for the game might look like this:

A negative number indicates which team is the favorite and a positive number tells you which team is the underdog.

The Falcons are listed at -6.5 which means they’re the favorite and have to win by seven or more points to cover the spread.

The Browns are at +6.5 which means they can win the game or lose by six or less points and still cover the spread.

Next to the point spread you’ll see the odds. The most common odds on point spreads are -110 which means you have to bet $110 to win $100 in profit.

Point spreads are a really easy way to bet football which makes them great for beginners. They also give you a way to bet on the favorite or the underdog and still win roughly 50% of the time.


NFL MONEYLINE BETS

The moneyline is even easier to understand than point spreads. It’s just a straight up bet on which team will win the game. If your team wins, you win your bet.

Because there’s no point spread, the favorite is going to win the moneyline the majority of the time.

To make the underdog moneyline appealing, sportsbooks give bigger payouts using the American odds style we covered before.

Let’s look at an example:

Here we see the Falcons listed at -300 which means you have to bet $300 to win $100 in profit. That tells you they’re a pretty heavy favorite.

The Browns, on the other hand, are the underdogs, and they have odds of +240. That means for every $100 you bet, you’ll win $240 in profit.

Moneyline bets offer longer odds on the underdogs but you’re going to lose more often than you win.

Conversely, moneyline bets on the favorite pay out less because they’re so much more likely to win.


Good luck and thanks for watching.

Find out more about Kurt Long here: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1273767/