How to Bet on American Football - NFL Betting Guide, Tips & Strategies
Stake Sportsbook is the home of American football betting. At our online sportsbook, you can bet on individual players from your favourite teams throughout the regular season and into the post-season playoffs.
Here, we introduce the different ways you can bet on American football and explain the various bet types, American football betting markets, and opportunities available to casual bettors and online betting fanatics alike. But first – how does American football work? Let’s take a look at the sport’s gameplay and rules.
American Football Rules & Gameplay
American football is a game played between two teams of eleven players, split into offence and defence. Games are divided into four quarters of fifteen minutes apiece.
The objective of the game is to score more points than the opposing team, which come via touchdowns in the end-zone (6 points), field goals (3 points), and extra points converted via post-touchdown kicks (1 point).
It’s helpful to regard American football as a game of phases. When a team is attacking, they have four “downs,” which are attempts to make it ten yards further up the field. Every time the team makes it past the ten-yard line, the number of downs resets to four.
This continues until the team makes a touchdown, scores a field goal, or gives the ball away to the opposition.
Major American Football Tournaments & Leagues
The leading American football league in the world is the National Football League (NFL) in the United States, while the NCAA (college football) also has a considerable following. The Canadian Football League (CFL) has also increased in popularity recently.
There are 32 franchises in the NFL, split evenly into two conferences – the NFC and the AFC. Each conference has four divisions, with four teams in each.
Every team plays seventeen regular season matches during eighteen weeks. The season culminates with the playoffs, which precede the conference finals.
The two best teams compete for the Super Bowl at the end of the season to be crowned as the NFL Champions – the greatest prize in the sport.
How Does American Football Betting Work?
Ahead of each game week in the American football season, you can search for the available markets and odds. These are set depending on various factors, including a team’s form and injuries and which team has home-field advantage.
American football betting odds at our online sportsbook are subject to change, which you need to be aware of when selecting.
You will often find American football odds given in the American format. For instance:
Cincinnati Bengals (+140) vs. Denver Broncos (-160)
In the above fixture, the Broncos are the favourites to defeat the Bengals, as we can see by the negative odds given. It means you would need to bet 160.00 on the Broncos to return a profit of 100.00. Conversely, if you fancy the Bengals for the upset, a 100.00 bet would return a profit of 140.00.
If you would prefer to see the odds in a different format, you can adjust the settings in your Stake.com account and see American football odds as fractions (4/1) or decimals (4.0).
How Do You Bet on American Football Games?
Betting on American football is just like betting on any other sport. Create an account at Stake.com and deposit cryptocurrency into your account. You can then research the NFL betting lines available and consider the upcoming fixtures.
Specifically, you have the following American football betting opportunities and types of bets at Stake.com:
American Football Bet Types
Moneyline
An NFL moneyline bet is a straight-up bet on the winner of a fixture. With money line odds, you must pick which team you think will win the match, as shown in the Bengals v Broncos example above.
Parlay
Parlay betting on American football is super popular and is a type of accumulator wager. Rather than placing wagers on single games, parlay bets (or teaser betting) bring multiple selections into the same line. For instance:
Giants, Ravens, and Rams @ +320
Here, you’re betting on the Giants, Ravens, and Rams to win their fixtures. However, for your parlay bet to win, all three teams must win – if one lets you down, you lose your bet.
Point spread
Point spread betting a type of bet that is much loved by NFL bettors. Spread betting is a form of handicap betting and is a way of levelling out the playing field. For instance, you might see the Cleveland Browns at (-5.5) against the Kansas City Chiefs. This makes the Browns the six-point favourites to win this fixture, and they would need to win by at least six points for your wager on them to pay out.
Totals (over/under)
If you’re unsure which American football team will win a match, you could opt for a totals wager. In a totals bet, you only need to bet on whether over or under a specific number of points will be scored by both teams combined. For example:
Arizona Cardinals vs Houston Texans (O46 / U46) -110
The line for this fixture between the Cardinals and Texans has been set at 46 points, enabling you to bet on whether the final score will be over or under this number.
Props
Proposition bets (prop bets for short) are also a great way to bet on American football. These bets allow you to bet on occurrences that aren’t tied to the final result of a match, and are usually placed on team performance and key players (known as player props). Some popular NFL props include:
Cincinnati Bengals O/U 220 passing yards
Derrick Henry total rushing yards O/U 110
Austin Ekeler (LA Chargers) anytime TD
Long-Term American Football Betting
Rather than focusing your NFL betting efforts on the current or an upcoming game week, American football bettors can look longer into the future with American football outright bets. This is also known as futures betting, and is growing in popularity amongst sports bettors. Here are some examples that you might consider adding to your betting slip before or at the start of the season:
Philadelphia Eagles to win the Super Bowl
Buffalo Bills to win the AFC
Minnesota Vikings to win the NFC
Patrick Mahomes to be named MVP
Georgia Bulldogs to win the NCAA Championship
Live American Football Betting
Another option available for football fans is to place various live bets on American football matches as and when they take place. Stake.com offers a variety of American football live betting markets, giving you lots of betting options when it comes to backing your favourite teams. Some examples include:
Number of TDs in the first quarter
Number of flags in the second half
Next team/player to score a TD
The beauty of live betting is that you can wait to see how the action develops before placing your bets. Learn more about the differences between pre-match and live betting at Stake.com.
American Football Betting Strategies & Tips to Win
Whether you're a recreational bettor, or an American football fan, you’re all set to place a range of American football bets at Stake! But before you get stuck in, explore our helpful tips and predictions, as well as the strategies to boost your winning chances below:
Always do your research before betting on American football. Search a team’s recent form and consider their head-to-head record against their opponents before backing them to win. Also analyse the recent statistics, as well as key player injuries and environmental factors like the weather forecast. These can all cause major differences in the results of the game. At Stake.com, you can get the latest picks and predictions so you can be well-educated when making your American Football bets.
