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

Football Betting – Straight Bets

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

slot When you create a straight football bet, you could be betting on a side or total. Simply put, once 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 going to bet a side, you’d bet on either the Patriots or the Seahawks.

Every game has a point total (except NCAA football, which is most games). This can be the amount of points scored between both teams. When you bet a complete, you’re betting under or over that total. For instance, let’s say 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, which means you get your bet back).

Football Betting – Parlays

Okay, so you know about straight bets, that is where you bet on just one thing per ticket. When you wish to bet on multiple thing, it’s a parlay. It is possible to bet on 2 – 20 things (depends on the sportsbook).

For instance, let’s say you bet on the Seahawks and on the total on your ticket. That would be a 2-team parlay (even though technically there’s only one team on it).

The more items you placed on the ticket, the more income you’ll win should they all hit. Naturally, the more items on the ticket, the harder it really 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 enter making football bets via parlay tickets, you might have a look at “teasers,” which are parlay tickets with added points for you. For instance, instead of taking the Packers -10, you can find them at -3. Of course, the payouts certainly are a less since the risk is minimized.

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