A football bet involves betting on teams or individuals and can be placed at a sportsbook. These are usually located in casinos and sporting venues and feature food, drinks, and agents to take your bets.
The main types of bets include point spreads and moneyline bets. A point spread lists a team as favored or underdog, and the favored team must win by more than the number listed to pay off.
Straight bets
A straight bet is a single wager that wins or loses based on the outcome of a specific event. It can be a moneyline bet, point spread, or over/under. A teaser is a type of football or hockey wager that allows you to move the pointspread on more than one game (in basketball, 6, 6.5, and 10 point teasers win while 14-point teasers lose).
Another popular straight bet is a totals bet. This wager combines the individual team’s scores into a total number and asks whether the teams will score more or less than that amount. This type of bet is a great way to up the action on a football game without spending a lot of money.
Straight bets are the most common types of bets and offer smaller payouts than exotics. They are also widely available, so bettor’s can shop around for the best prices. They can also be placed in accumulators, or ‘accas,’ which combine multiple bets into a single wager.
Parlay bets
A parlay bet is a wager that combines multiple individual bets into one large wager. Each individual bet, also called a “leg” of the parlay, must win in order for the bet to pay off. Parlay bets are common in football as the bulk of games on any given Sunday are played at the same time and each has its own betting total.
The advantage of parlays is that they can offer eye-popping payouts, but they are not for the faint of heart. Putting together 3 or more bets into a single parlay means that every leg has to win in order for the entire bet to payout.
NFL parlays are especially useful when a bettor has good reads on several different teams. For example, a bettor may choose to parlay a straight bet on two teams with a spread bet on another team. The point spreads for the first two teams must be correct for the whole bet to be a winner.
Future bets
Futures bets are season-long wagers on a team or individual to win a championship or an award. Typically, these bets are made before the season starts and offer better odds than regular bets. They also require patience, as the payout for a winning futures bet can take months to come through.
Throughout the season, a team’s futures odds will fluctuate depending on their performance and injuries. For example, if a large favorite has a bad start, their odds will decrease and the chances of winning will increase for bettors who believe that they can turn things around. This is why hedging a bet is important, as it can cancel out other wagers and limit your losses if you lose. It can also increase your profits if you hit a big score. For instance, Leicester City had 5000-1 odds to win the Premier League before the season began. But they did win, and bettors who took the risk were rewarded for their faith.
Prop bets
Prop bets are a great way to make a wager on specific player or team statistics that can’t easily be measured by standard game totals and other types of bets. These wagers can be a lot of fun and also help you build your bankroll. Just remember that you need to manage your money correctly and never risk more than 10% of your total bankroll on any single bet.
Unlike standard bets, props can have a wide range of odds and payout options. They can be categorized as event props, player props, and team props. Player props can be on any number of statistical categories, such as how many rebounds or assists a player will make. In basketball, popular props include the number of three-pointers made and missed.
When betting on football props, it’s important to study both teams’ strengths and weaknesses. This will help you find the best value and avoid making mistakes that can lead to large losses. For example, a strong running back could have a big game against a poor run defense while a weak receiver might struggle to cover the top-tier passing defenses in the league.