How To Bet Spreads

When it comes to sports betting on the NFL, NBA, and NCAA football and basketball, the bettor is given an incentive by using the point spread. The point spread was designed, to attract bettors to take the underdog in games, as too much action was being placed on the favorite. The point spread, is used by bookie software agents, to balance out the money being placed on games. Here is a guide to help you understand the point spread.

The point spread is the amount of points within a game, that the sportsbook believe the favorite will defeat the underdog by. In order for bettors taking the favorite to cover the spread, they have to wager, that they believe the favorite will win by one more point then the spread to cover the bet. Conversely, a bettor taking the underdog has to believe, that the underdog will either lose by less than the point spread or win the game outright to win their wager. Here is an example using the NFLpoint spread.

Cincinnati Bengals

Houston Texans – 3

Final Score: Cincinnati 17 Houston 24

In this example, the Houston Texans were able to cover the three-point spread and make bettors taking them to cover the spread winners, as they won the game by seven points. Bettors taking the Bengals would have lost because they failed to cover the spread.

Cincinnati Bengals

Houston Texans – 3

Final Score: Cincinnati 21 Houston 17

In this example, the Bengals covered the spread, as they won the game outright, thus making the Texans losers both in the game and on the point spread.

Cincinnati Bengals

Houston Texans – 3

Final Score: Cincinnati 20 Houston 23

In this example, both bettors taking the Bengals and the Texans would lose their wagers, because the point spread was a push. The reason it was a push, is because Houston won by exactly three points.

NFL Betting – Significant Fallout From Bills’ Win Carries Over To Week Four

Few NFL betting lines experts would have projected that heading in to week four of the regular season it would be the Buffalo Bills standing alone at the top of the AFC as the only undefeated team, but after a shocking win over the division rival New England Patriots, that is exactly the case. The fallout from that game has carried over to this week, and affected the early lines.

Buffalo Bills (-3) @ Cincinnati Bengals

Sunday, 1:00 PM ET

The Bills have looked dominant at home with consecutive comeback sports betting wins, but how will they fare this week after three straight wins, when they find a team that isn’t very talented but very strong and desperate for a win. Cincinnati will be hostile territory for Buffalo, and if they get behind early again this week they may not be able to rally for another comeback.

NFL Betting Pick: Cincinnati Bengals +3

New England Patriots (-4) @ Oakland Raiders

Sunday, 4:15 PM ET

After a tough fishing loss at Buffalo, don’t expect Tom Brady and the Patriots to come out looking tentative. Head coach Bill Belichick doesn’t lose back-to-back games against teams that didn’t make the playoffs the year before, and after the Raiders hit the high of their season with a big win over the New York Jets, look for them to struggle to keep up with a New England team that will put nine in the box if need be.

NFL Betting Pick: New England Patriots -4

Super Bowl Prediction

With the NFL betting regular season almost over, it is everyone’s favorite time of year, as we speculate as to who the two finalists will be for the Super Bowl. While many football betting fans are hoping to see co-MVP contenders Tom Brady and Michael Vick, battle it out in the NFL’s biggest game, we believe the two finalists will be two underdog teams. Here are our picks to represent both the AFC and NFC at the beginning of February.

While team’s such as the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles have become consensus contenders for the Super Bowl title, teams such as the Baltimore Ravens and Chicago Bears are flying under the radar. Both the Ravens and Bears focal points are their defenses, and as we have seen in years past, defense not offense is what wins championships.

With that said, the Baltimore Ravens and Chicago Bears with identical records of 11 wins and four losses should be taken seriously as Super Bowl contenders. Now as we noted above, the Bears and Ravens base their teams around strong defense. What’s more, they also base their teams around strong run offenses. As a result, the teams pass games tend to fly under the radar with the critics.

However, over the last few weeks, the Ravens and the Bears have shown that they can play any style of football. For instance, in Chicago’s NFC North clinching game against the Jets, Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, threw for over 200 yards and four touchdowns. Meanwhile, Joe Flacco of the Baltimore Ravens threw for 100 yards while tossing two touchdowns in the Ravens playoff spot clinching win over the Cleveland Browns.

Of all of the teams speculated to make the post season, we believe that the Baltimore Ravens and Chicago Bears are the most complete teams. While many breeders cup betting fans had the new look Ravens as a Super Bowl threat, Chicago appears to have flown under the radar. When these two meet for the Super Bowl, expect a defensive minded game.

Stats To Help You Handicap NFL

When it comes to NFL betting, using statistical handicapping is the best course of action. Today we will be looking at several key statistics which most football betting enthusiasts overlook when handicapping the quality of a team.

• Yards Per Attempt - A great way to assess a quarterback. Essentially the name of this statistic makes it pretty self explanatory, as all you are doing is taking into consideration how many yards a quarterback gains per pass. Prior to each game, you should consider the YPA of each quarterback.

The average quarterback averages around seven yards per attempt. However, if you have a quarterback who operates at a YPA of eight or higher, you should consider taking their team. The YPA is also a good indication of an overall offense, as it tells you that if the quarterback is playing exceptionally well, then he is getting good protection, has a strong running game and great football IQ.

• Turnover Differential – This statistic goes hand in hand with the final outcome of a game. We can’t put it any simpler, the team with the fewer turnovers is the team that usually wins the game. Teams that have great ball protection are teams you should take when betting on the point spread, as they will cover without much issue.

• First Half Point Differential - This technique goes hand in hand with betting on each half. Basically, it stands to reason that a team that is ahead after the first half should win the game outright. Teams that have success in the first half almost always come out on top. While teams playing catch up tend to struggle. Take the Cincinnati Bengals for instance, who tend to give up large first half leads and have only come back twice this season to win games while losing the other seven.

Football Gambling Basics

Over the history of North America, conquerors and colonialists have been frowned upon and vilified rather than portrayed in a more positive light. For sports betting, without the conquerors and colonialists we as fans may never have known what it was like to place a bet on our favorite teams. For those new to betting online there is much to be overwhelmed by, odds, types of wagers, lines and so forth.

However, we are here to tell you that there are many basic principles experienced gamblers follow that can also be taught to new bettors.

NFL and NCAA Betting

When first getting into football betting, it is essential that you focus your attention on the point spread and over/ under bets sportsbooks offer. Each bet works in two similar ways, first it makes the game more relaxing by not having to pick a favorite. Secondly, if you happen to enjoy picking underdogs, both these bets are for you, because even though the underdog may lose, as long as they cover the point spread you may still win. With an over/ under bet as long as the underdog avoids the total you can be a winner. Here is how a point spread sports bet works

Bengals
Colts – 7

Final score 1: Bengals 14 Colts 21 Final Score 2: Bengals 21 Colts 14

In the first example if the Bengals lose by 7, you still win your money because they covered the spread. However, in the second example, when the Bengals won the match, you still won because the favorite failed to cover the spread.

Over/Under Totals

This form of betting was created in the 1970s with the idea that if sportsbooks could provide more options than money lines and point spreads for the gamblers, they would place more wagers. Essentially an over/ under total works when the bookie sets a suggested total and the bettor gambles on whether the total will be over or under, here is how it works:

Colts
Bengals
O/E  – 30

Final score: Bengals 21-Colts 14

Basically the bookie believed that the total score would be 30, however the final score added to 35. If you wagered on the total going over, then you would win, and would have lost if you bet under the 30.

Super Bowl 2014 Heading To New York, New York

NFL football betting fans – and even college football betting fans, to an extent – know that there no such thing as on offseason. On Tuesday, we were reminded once again.

The NFL has announced that the 2014 Super Bowl will be held in New York at the new Meadowlands, which is a huge story. The city of New York beat out Tampa Bay, where the weather is much warmer and milder. And that is the real issue, which surprised a lot of football fans on Tuesday. The Super Bowl is the single biggest day in American professional sports and the NFL is taking a risk by holding the event in the outdoors where the weather can come into play and potentially ruin the day.

NFL point spreads won’t be the only thing affected in late January in an open-door venue in New York as transportation, field conditions and even how the teams fare in the big game will have to be part of the plans now.

On the whole, there have been plenty of classic sport betting events that have been played in the outdoors and in the cold, but should Peyton Manning and his Indianapolis Colts, who play indoors, make it to the Super Bowl – or any other warm-weather team- they won’t be thrilled to be playing in the snow. It will be a conceivable advantage to certain teams and it could also just make a big mess of things.

We’ll find out in 2014!

Is it Time to Make the Colts our Super Bowl Pick?

The New Orleans Saints are hot NFL picks this season as one of two undefeated teams left in the NFL. It’s no wonder they’re so popular – their offense is as exciting as any in football and they’re even playing inspired defense. In other words, they’re a very “loud” undefeated.

Has there ever been a quieter 7-0 team than this year’s Indianapolis Colts, though? They’ve won 16 straight regular-season games including last season, they’ve looked untouchable this season yet no one’s talking about them. Why?

One possible reason is that their schedule hasn’t been too tough; St. Louis, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Arizona, and so on – not exactly terrifying. The Saints, on the other hand, have beaten Philadelphia and the Giants. Not bad.

People also may not be leaping onto the Indy Super Bowl futures bandwagon because the Colts still aren’t a perfect team. They struggle a bit against the run and they haven’t run the ball too well themselves.

In the end, Northbet.com wagering Week 10 will tell us how we should really feel against Indy. The Colts take on the Patriots in what should be one of the most anticipated games of the season. We know Indy will probably score plenty of points in that matchup but the real question is whether or not Indy can stop Tom Brady and the Pats.

If the Colts leave Week 10 with a 9-0 record, they’ll be a “quiet” undefeated team no more.