Friendly football bets are a great way to have some fun with your friends. They also allow you to test your knowledge of the game and improve your betting skills.
Over/Under bets are wagers on the total number of points scored in a game. They require a fair amount of analysis and research.
Straight bets
Straight bets are single wagers placed on a specific event. They are the simplest type of wager and offer the chance to win by correctly predicting one outcome. However, they can also be combined to form accumulators with multiple selections. It is important to manage your bankroll when placing straight bets, and not to place more than you can afford to lose. You should also make sure to compare odds to get the best value.
The most popular single wagers in football betting are spreads and totals. Getting on the right side of these lines is a goal for many bettors. In addition to pre-game betting, most online sportsbooks offer live betting during games as well. This gives you the opportunity to make a bet while the game is happening and can often result in bigger payouts.
Money line bets
In addition to money line bets, sports betting sites offer a variety of other types of wagers, including point spreads, over/unders, and parlays. These bets differ in how they are calculated, so it is important to understand how each one works before placing a bet.
Moneyline odds are based on a $100 wager and indicate the amount of profit a winning bet will return. They can vary widely between games, depending on the relative strength of the two teams. For example, a top-ranked college football team will often see a much larger gap in their moneyline odds than an FCS opponent. These gaps are due to factors like a team’s recent performance and injury history.
Over/Under bets
Over/Under bets are based on the total number of points that will be scored in a game. If the teams score more than the set amount and you bet the OVER, you win a payout. If the teams score less and you bet the UNDER, you lose your wager.
These bets are available on all games and can be placed online, over the phone, or in person. The odds on these bets can change rapidly, so it is important to follow the market closely and make decisions based on what you see. Over/Under bets are often combined with other bet types, such as accumulators and player props, in bet builders. This type of betting offers a wider variety of selections and higher potential returns, but the odds are usually lower than single-match outcome markets.
Parlay bets
A parlay bet is a type of football wager that combines multiple straight bets on the same game. This bet can be used to exponentially increase a bettor’s potential winnings. It is a great option for bettors who have good reads on a specific game.
This bet is like a full time result bet other than it is based on the score at Half Time. It wins if either team scores and you get your stake back if it is a draw.
A correlated parlay is a bet that combines two or more straight bets with an Over/Under total. This bet can be particularly profitable if the favored team covers the spread, as it will increase your odds of winning the bet. However, beware that you must win every bet in a correlated parlay for it to pay out.
Future bets
If you want to bet on something that will be decided not in a few hours, but over weeks or months, a futures bet is the way to go. These bets tend to have a lot more variables, but they also have higher payouts. You can place a futures bet on any major sport, including NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and CFL.
Futures bets can be placed on a variety of things, from the winner of the Super Bowl to who will win MVP. They are similar to prop bets, but they generally have longer odds and can yield a bigger profit. You can even hedge a futures bet to make sure you have a winning bet, regardless of the outcome. This is a great strategy for football season.