If the sportsbook is busy with action, it must be football season. Be it the NFL or NCAA, football betting action is fast and furious through the season. For the newbie sports bettor, it could seem a little confusing, but football bets really drop to two types-straight bets and parlay bets.

Football Betting – Straight Bets

Here’s the workhorse for just about any winning football bettor. A straight bet simply means you’re betting on one football game. If you bet on several game on a single ticket, it is a parlay, and we’ll discuss that in a minute.

꽁머니 When you make a straight football bet, you will be betting on a side or total. Simply put, when you bet a side, you “select a side” in the game. For example, let’s say the brand new England Patriots are playing the Seattle Seahawks. If you’re likely to bet a side, you’d bet on either the Patriots or the Seahawks.

Every game includes a point total (except NCAA football, which is most games). It is the amount of points scored between both teams. When you bet a total, you’re betting under or over that total. For instance, suppose the total is 47 and you also take the over. To win, both teams must combine for 48 or more points (47 will be a push, therefore you get your bet back).

Football Betting – Parlays

Okay, so you know about straight bets, which is where you bet on just one single thing per ticket. When you want to bet on several thing, it’s a parlay. You can bet on 2 – 20 things (depends upon the sportsbook).

For instance, let’s say you bet on the Seahawks and on the total on your ticket. That might be a 2-team parlay (despite the fact that technically there’s only 1 team on it).

The more items you placed on the ticket, the more money you’ll win should they all hit. Naturally, the more items on the ticket, the harder it is to win.

With parlay bets it’s an all or nothing thing. If one pick fails, the ticket is dead. Some sportsbooks will run specials so you can get close, but that’s very rare.

If you get into making football bets via parlay tickets, you may check out “teasers,” which are parlay tickets with added points for you personally. For instance, instead of taking the Packers -10, you can find them at -3. Of course, the payouts are a less since the risk is minimized.

Football betting is a blast and there’s nothing much better than hitting the sportsbook with a large winning ticket. I hit straight football bets and parlays all season long. I look forward to the NFL and NCAA football seasons.